Culinary superintendent gives advice to fair cooks

Diane Slobojan has been the Superintendent of the Home Culinary and Dairy Department at the Northwest Montana Fair for more years than she can precisely count.

“Well … over 30,” she says when pressed to come up with a number.

Slobojan's family moved to Columbia Falls in 1954 when she was 12 years old.

“There wasn't a lot to do back then,” she says, so she joined 4-H. “I grew up in town so I did sewing.”

She entered sewing projects in the Northwest Montana Fair and even dabbled in entomology. Her insect exhibits were so stunning she was offered a scholarship to the University of Montana to study entomology. She declined.

“I'm not real fond of bugs,” she says.

But her love of home economics stuck.

She married Tim Slobojan in 1964 and together they raised four children in the Flathead Valley, all of whom were active in 4-H and participated in canning, baking, and other fair competitions. Today the Slobojans’ grandchildren participate in fair competitions. As superintendent, Slobojan doesn't judge the Home Culinary and Dairy exhibits, but she has lots of blue-ribbon advice to offer competitors.

It's all about how the cookie crumbles.

“If you roll a small crumb of cookie between your fingers, you'll know if there's too much grease or if the cookie was baked too long,” said Slobojan.

This year there are dozens of cookie categories, including chocolate chip, peanut butter, molasses, snickerdoodle, sugar and oatmeal. “Gingersnaps should snap and chocolate chip cookies should be the same size and have the same amount of chips per cookie,” she says.

Breads, including zucchini, pumpkin and banana are another popular Home Culinary category at the fair.

“Bread should have a nice top on it, and it shouldn't hang over the pan,” she says. “Banana bread should have a nice break down the middle.” And please, no gooey centers.

This year the Northwest Montana Fair will feature a Crafty Cookie Decorating Contest for kids on Aug. 16. Children ages 6 to 12 can preregister Aug. 13 for the contest. The female and male winner of the ages 6-9 and 10-12 categories will be awarded a fishing rod and reel courtesy of Snappy Sports Senter and KALS Radio. Every child who participates will receive a ribbon, says Slobojan.

Home canned fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, jams and. of course, pickles, will fill the shelves in Slobojan's corner of the Expo Building. Slobojan does not believe people home can to save money.

“The taste and the texture is better,” she says. “Take store-canned peaches, for example. They are always tough.”

Home canners also have the ability to control how much sugar they add to the fruit, she says.

Slobojan says that interest in home canning is on the rise. She recommends that aspiring home canners find a mentor.

“We can provide names of people who will advise,” she offers.

Huckleberries are the star of this year's Great American Pie Contest at the Northwest Montana Fair. Baking a blue-ribbon huckleberry pie is no easy feat, Slobojan says.

“The challenge is that huckleberries are runny,” she says.

A runny pie will not win a blue ribbon, nor will it win the $350 first place prize.

“Huckleberries have their own amount of pectin, which is the thickener,” she explains. “You don't know until you bake the pie just how much pectin those berries have.”

Amateur pie bakers can submit their entry on Aug. 18 in the Expo Building between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to be eligible for the competition, with judging to begin at 2 p.m. Second place pays $200, third place pays $100, and fourth and fifth places pay $75. Although huckleberries are expensive to purchase, Slobojan says she hopes the cash prize incentives will encourage pie bakers to get out their rolling pins.

But the real winners in the Great American Pie Contest will be those lucky enough to be milling around the Home Culinary Department after the judging is complete.

“We slice up the pies and offer everyone a slice,” Slobojan says.

The Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo runs Aug. 15-19 at the Flathead County Fairgrounds with a theme of “Vote for Fun!” For more information, visit www.nwmtfair.com.