Judging Hungarian Wax Peppers

Above: We found the 5 Best Hungarian Wax Peppers!

A few days ago, I rambled on about the various competitions at the Circleville Pumpkin Show. Now that I’ve returned from a pleasant weekend in Ohio, I may not know the criteria by which Hungarian Wax Peppers are judged, but I can tell you that the blue ribbon went to the best. Look at them (above): the waxy, blemish-free skin, equal size, proportion, and symmetry, and perfect color. Don’t you almost want to pick them from the Styrofoam plate and chomp their ends off? Maybe that’s just me (and Chairman Kaga from the original Iron Chef).

I’ll admit that the laundry list of potential entrants for the fruit, vegetable, and baked goods competitions brought a few chuckles. That wasn’t fair; I have all the respect in the world for farmers, but I couldn’t help it – thirty-three pages???

Above: Normal Girl VannaWhites the prize-winning vegetables.

When we walked into the fruits and vegetables exhibition (also home to the photography and artwork), I was overwhelmed by the display. Look at the table behind Keryn (above). That’s one-third of one aisle.

The cakes and other baked goods were especially difficult to walk past without sneaking a sample. My grandmother once presented a cake to a friend that was actually a round block of wood that had been meticulously decorated. (What a surprise the recipient got when trying to make the first incision!) To guard against such chicanery (and presumably to conduct the taste test), two slices had been removed from each cake and pie, one cookie from each plate. On that note, I remain unconvinced about the Best Plate Tollhouse Cookies. On aesthetics alone they deserved no higher than third place.

Above: Guess which won the prize for Most Unusual Freak...

It’s a good thing Keryn is observant, or we might have missed the freaks. I’m sad to report I failed to photograph the potato who had assumed the shape of a duck, but as you can see above, I managed to sneak a shot of the amazing double pumpkin. I wonder what kind of jack o’lantern it became.

I wonder, too, what happens to prizewinning fruits. Do the winners hold ritual feasts? I know that if the 5 Best Hungarian Wax Peppers had grown in my backyard soil, I would have a grand party replete with streamers and confetti.