Jane McGill judges the Chocolate Chip Cookie category at the 258th Hants County Exhibition in Windsor, N.S. on Sept. 15.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
By the time Jane McGill gets to judging the pies at the Hants County Exhibition in Windsor, N.S., she has already eyeballed, cut into, nibbled and sometimes discreetly disposed of small samples of a large number of baked goods.
Within the span of an hour one soggy day in September, she tasted white and brown bread, milk rolls, buns, banana and pumpkin breads, two pound cakes, cookies (sugar, peanut butter and chocolate chip), several kinds of brownies, a marble cake, two single-layer white cakes, chocolate cakes (both single and double layer), banana and lemon loaves, half a dozen tea biscuits and a variety of squares – now all on display like in a bakery case, some boasting red first-place ribbons.
The gold lettering on the ribbons proclaim this agricultural fair in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley the oldest in North America. First held in 1765 at the British military grounds of Fort Edward, the fair now takes place over two weekends in September at the Hants County Exhibition Arena. In its 258th year, hundreds gathered from nearby farming towns and settlements to cheer pairs of oxen pulling blocks of concrete, gape at five-metre sunflowers, take a ride on the midway and find out who makes the best rolls and cakes and pies in the county.
At the long judging table, Ms. McGill, the sole judge, takes a sip of water from a Dixie cup and pulls back the tightly wrapped cellophane on a golden lattice-topped apple pie. She slices a small wedge and lifts it onto a paper plate.
“Sometimes it’s really hard to decide. Like really hard,” she says.
Above, Roots and Vegetables judge Donnie Wilson, left, and Leonard Sherman measure an entry for the tallest sunflower. Below, judges look for Best In Show amongst the potato entries at the 258th Hants County Exhibition.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
For those times, she keeps a yellow dog-eared provincial judging standards booklet handy. Published in 1992 – the last training session she recalled being held – the booklet lays out the principles of award-winning pies: symmetrical and golden brown (20 points), flaky and tender crust (40 points) and filling sufficiently thick to hold its shape when served (40 points).
Ms. McGill, sporting an apron printed with images of roosters and rams, brings a forkful of pumpkin pie to her mouth and chews, a fixed look of concentration behind her wire-framed glasses.
To win the coveted ribbon for best-in-show harvest pie, strict rules need to be met. The filling has to be fresh, not canned. Pies must be 9 inches. The recipe must be included, for both filling and crust. And pies must be delivered the night before judging. “Entries will be disqualified if criteria is not met,” the rules state.
Ms. McGill peers quizzically at the pumpkin pies. Is she detecting pumpkin scooped out of a can?
Around the room, it’s clear who the grand slam baker is. The name Evelyn Strong appears on nearly every winning plate behind the show cases. A quick survey reveals Mrs. Strong has been, for as long as anyone can remember, the baking queen of the Hants County Exhibition.
Baked Goods participant Evelyn Strong has been, for as long as anyone can remember, the baking queen of the Hants County Exhibition.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
Mrs. Strong, 76, petite with an easy smile, says she’s been coming to the exhibition since she was a young girl. She remembers being mesmerized by the confections and the prize money. “I said, ‘Well I must try that.’”
That was 58 years ago. She’s racked up piles of red ribbons since, tucked away in her bedroom at home on a country road in Scotch Village, a 20-minute drive from the fair.
Years ago, exhibition-goers would seek out Mrs. Strong’s long table of baked goods to admire her work, says her husband Leigh Strong, though he notes nowadays there are fewer contestants. “She was known as the best,” he said, his wife’s face turning pink.
“I don’t know whether I make the best but I like to do it,” she says. “You need to have patience.”
She’s steadfast about her method, starting with triple-sifting her flour (Robin Hood cake and pastry, if it’s on sale). After adding the salt and baking powder (always Magic brand), she sifts again. Lard, not vegetable shortening, is a must. And she has no need for a fancy electric mixer when an old-fashioned handheld one will do.
Over at the judging table, Ms. McGill, per protocol, is flipping pie slices over to examine the bottom crust: Is it well-baked and not soggy? Is the edge attached to the upper crust?
The shocker comes when she discovers the crust on one of the most beautiful pies – the apple one topped with a golden lattice – has a mushy lower crust.
Then comes the final pie. Silence befalls the judging assistants – Ms. McGill needs her full concentration. She plucks off a bit of crust and chews. She takes a sip from the Dixie cup. Then she calls it. She points to a perfectly uniform pumpkin pie edged in crushed pecans and nods.
With a recipe inherited from her mother, Mrs. Strong's 46-year-old daughter Valerie won Best in Show for her pumpkin pie.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
An assistant festoons the prizewinning pie with a shiny red ribbon and it’s transported to the most prominent display case in the room, along with the accompanying handwritten recipe.
The recipe is Mrs. Strong’s, but it’s not written in her rigid cursive like all her other red-ribboned plates of breads, rolls, sugar cookies, brownies, pumpkin loaf, marble and other cakes. Unrivalled until now, Mrs. Strong laughs when she learns that the winning pie came from the oven of her 46-year-old daughter Valerie, who inherited the recipe from her mother.
When Valerie Strong hears that she won the top prize – $40 for the best-in-show harvest pie – she’s shocked.
“I learned everything from her,” she said. “It runs in the family I guess.”