There were a lot of fancy pies at the Pennsylvania Farm Show.

But it was a Dimock Township woman’s traditional apple pie that captured the Blue Ribbon.

Harford Fair Blue Ribbon Apple Pie Contest winner Jeralyn Adams traveled to Harrisburg to compete Saturday in the apple pie contest.

Armed with her own rolling pin and ingredients for four test pies, she set out to bake the perfect pie.

“I think one plus is that I used mostly Susquehanna County apples,” Adams said. She brought Northern Spy from an old orchard near her home; Jonagold apples from Jayne’s Orchard; and added in some Pink Lady apples.

“The Spy adds a depth of flavor that’s hard to find in store-bought apples,” she said.

Five judges tasted a total of 80 entries in search of Pennsylvania’s best apple pie. Judges included Brenda Frochlich, a judging school graduate; Lee Showalter, a representative from the Pennsylvania Apple Marketing Board; Ena Bieber, a retired family and consumer science teacher; Martenen Firestone, a judge with 30 years of experience; and Chef John Moeller, a former White House chef.

Judging of the apple pies took place in two separate rounds. In the first round, the judges examined the pies’ overall appearance. They then tasted each of the 16 pies on their respective table. The top five pies on each table then advanced to the second round. All five judges then tasted the top 25 pies and then deliberated together to name the best five pies.

Adams’ Harford Fair pie entry was her first, although she has been baking pies most of her life – and not always with prize-winning results.

Adams said that as a new wife, she attempted to make a pie and ended up throwing it out. “I said I would never make another,” she said.

But utilizing the techniques learned from her mother and grandmother, Adams got into the rhythm of making a good crust. She generally uses all lard in her crust, but after some research before the Harford Fair, Adams traded that out for a half butter, half lard crust. She also said the crust needs to be made “by feel” and it’s not fussy or exact.

In preparation for the contest, Adams said she had lots of help “testing” her pies on friends and family. Her Endless Mountains Health Systems co-workers got to benefit from her trials.

Adams said she had a wonderful time during the baking competition process. “I think back to all of the people who helped get me to this point,” she said, doling out special thanks to the Harford Fair and her husband, who hurriedly brought apples in last week so they wouldn’t freeze, and to her mom, LeJune Ely’s advice on pies.

“Mom always had apple pie at home or for the neighbors,” Adams said. “The tradition came from her.”

SIDEBAR
1st Place
Apple Pie Recipe
Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup lard
1/3 cup unsalted butter
4-5 tablespoons cold water
Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Blend in lard and butter with a fork or pastry blender until crumb is pea-sized and smaller. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, blending gently until dough almost cleans side of bowl. Divide dough in half and shape loosely into two balls. Roll out each in a circle on floured surface to fit an 8 ½ or 9 inch pie pan. Line bottom of pan with one crust.
Filling:
5-6 cups of tart Pennsylvania apples (cored, peeled and thinly sliced)
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup corn starch
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of ground nutmeg
1 Tablespoon butter
Mix apples, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Pour into crust-lines pan. Dot the top of the filling with butter.
Top with remaining crust. Seal edges. Pierce top crust with fork at intervals to release steam while baking.
Topping:
1 Tablespoon milk
1 Tablespoon cinnamon sugar (1 Tablespoon sugar combined with ¼ teaspoon cinnamon)
Brush top of crust with milk. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Protect crust edges from over-browning by covering them with strips of foil or purchased crust protector.
Bake at 425 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, removing edge protector for last 15 minutes of baking. If top crust starts to over brown, cover loosely with foil.