The assignment seemed simple: go to Canadian Western Agribition and taste the food samples.
But I knew I was in trouble when I tasted the beer sausage right after the maple sugar.
They were both delicious, but the combination of flavors was just a bit, well, odd.
I needed to approach my task more scientifically – dessert first, then the main course.
Back to the maple sugar from Maple Gold Farm. I loved it. Judging by facial expressions, others did too.
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Served on the end of a popsicle stick, the little taste was just enough to convince people to buy it.
Some, however, thought it was too sweet.
I directed them to The Fudge Factory, where I fell in love with the pumpkin pie flavor.
With the sweetness and texture of fudge, it was also spicy like pumpkin pie. I bought some to take home, but ended up eating the whole piece myself.
Some Agribition-goers had obviously discovered The Fudge Factory earlier. They marched up and boldly purchased without tasting.
“I already know it’s good,” laughed one woman as she loaded up on pumpkin pie and Heavenly Goo.
For one taste test I called in an expert – my five-year-old son, Brayden.
The booth showcasing the winners of the honey competition offered puffed wheat cake made with honey instead of corn syrup.
“Is it good?” I asked my son.
“Mm, hmm,” he mumbled around the cake.
“Better than any other puffed wheat cake?”
A shrug.
It was time for a drink to cleanse our palates.
Brayden thought the hot chocolate with whipped cream at the DairyWorld Foods/Saskatchewan Dairy Foundation booth was awesome. I liked the hot cider at Homestyle Beverages.
I also liked the tiny tastes of omelet at the Saskatchewan Egg Producers booth, the antipasto at Parenteau’s Gourmet Foods and the hunter sausage from Lilydale Foods.
Brayden’s flat-out favorite was Klassic Katahdin Meats’ lambits. The fried seasoned pieces of lamb were gone as fast as they were set out.
He also liked the garlic dill dip from Parenteau’s.
There was a lot more to try but we were getting full. And I had to leave room for cheese. This is the fourth year I’ve judged the specialty cheese competition along with other Regina media representatives.
All the cheeses were delicious but my choice was a butter cheese with white wine from The Village Cheese Co. in Armstrong, B.C.
Other flavorful choices included stinging nettle cheddar and smoked salmon gouda.
