Food...

The following advice comes from eleven judges of state-fair food contests. All are state-certified to judge with college degrees in home economics and career experience in foods. Following a recent state-fair, the interviews with the judges disclosed the following tips.

• Remember that we eat with our eyes first; make it attractive when entering a competition.

• Always use fresh ingredients. Spices lose flavor after about six months; poppy seeds become acidic within six months unless refrigerated. This will extend their freshness to a year. Note the expiration date on baking powder.

• Measure accurately when baking and know the difference between measuring sifted flour and "flour, sifted". The latter you measure before sifting.

• Get your ingredients, bowls and utensils together and read the recipe before you begin preparing it. Make sure you understand the recipe. If it fails, try to figure out why; it could be humidity, over-mixing, under-mixing or an inaccurate oven temperature for a few examples.

• It is all right to freeze high-fat cookies, such as sugar cookies; the cookies may be more flavorful with time. This is how contestants are able to enter multiple contest categories; they bake ahead and freeze. Be sure cookies are completely cool before freezing them in airtight containers so they do not become soggy when thawed. Thaw over night in open air to remove excess moisture.