Baked goods a favorite at the Fair

Entries ready for the Pacific County Fair.

From pies to pickles, some of the favorite displays at the Pacific County Fair are the food items, including canned and/or baked goods.
Rachelle Martin is one of three people who will be judging baked goods and candy at this year's Pacific County Fair.

Martin has been the Food Superintendent at the Pacific County Fair for the past three years after graduating from the WSU Master Food Preserver course a few years ago.

The judging and ribbon awarding was done Tuesday so that ribbons will be in place when the Fair opens today. When judging a food entry, the judges only taste a small portion of the item.

"Through my relationship with Toni Gwin (WSU Extension Agent) I was recruited to the Fair," Martin informed. "I love my position there because I love seeing people's hard work and how excited they are to show off what they have made."

"We accepted almost any kind of baked or canned good," Martin said. "We also accepted and judge candy and dehydrated food as well.

"There are so many different categories that people can enter - from yeast and quick breads to decorated cakes," Martin noted. "We judge the canned goods using the USDA guide for safe and healthy processing. We accept entries from juniors as well as adults."

Martin is a graduate of Kelso High School and The Evergreen State College. She lives in South Bend with her daughter, Eleanor, 6.