Competition among serious canners in Orangeburg County has long reached its zenith each year of the county fair. While veterans probably have the rules and regulations down cold, novices can benefit from some general canning guidelines when submitting entries at this year's fair.

Orangeburg County Fair food conservation supervisor Sylvia Wells has overseen the canning competitions at the fair for more than 20 years and has been involved with the process since 1976.

"Some things have changed since I started helping out with food conservation," Wells said. "We used to have to write everything out by hand, but now, my daughter brings in her computer. We used to also accept cured hams and peanuts for competition, but we don't do that anymore, either.

"Fortunately, I have a good group of five girls working with me to make sure everything goes smoothly."

Wells said over the years, entries have dwindled in the canning competition, down to less than half of those she saw when she first started working with the Orangeburg County Fair.

"Hopefully, we'll see canning start to make a comeback since food prices are going up," she said.

Orangeburg County Fair canning competitions

* The Miss Annie Award features $100 in prizes awarded to adults for first, second, third and fourth place. Each contestant must submit 15 or more different varieties of fruits and vegetables in standard canning jars of one size only, either pints or quarts. Items entered in other fair competitions cannot be shown in the Miss Annie competition.

Other Miss Annie competition requirements include:

* All cookies and candies must be displayed in zip-locked bags. All cakes and bread must be wrapped in cellophane paper ready for placing.

* No items previously exhibited or canned in previous years can be entered.

* All canned products must be in clean, standard jars. Any not adhering to this will be disqualified. No canned products with rusty lids will be exhibited.

* Exhibitors can enter only one exhibit in each category.

Canning exhibits for Miss Annie must be entered from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, or 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29. Baked goods will be accepted on Sept. 29 only.

* The Ball Fresh Preserving Award competition will award first-, second- and third-place prizes for each child ages 9 to 19 in each of the following categories: fruits, vegetables, pickles and soft spread (preserves, jams and jelly), with each entry using standard canning jars that are heat-sealed with no paraffin. The same standards apply for the adult division, in which competitors can enter canned items in 13 different categories.

Each competitor must preserve their entries in Ball or Kerr jars and lids. Soft spread entries will be limited to recipes prepared using Ball pectin -- original, no sugar needed or liquid. A proof of purchase at the time of entry must be provided.

An adults-only special prize competition will award for first, second and third place, plus $2 for each remaining exhibit, for competitors who have a single exhibit consisting of two quart jars apiece of fruit and vegetables.

* The Family and Community Leaders Club's competition is open to Clemson Extension homemaker clubs. Each club exhibit will consist of five jars of one size with two fruit, two vegetable and one jar of tomatoes.

The 4-H and Youth Foods competition is for kids ages 9 to 19, awarding cash prizes for first, second and third place in the candy, bread, cake, and pie categories.

All canning entries must have been preserved within the last year, and all exhibits must be labeled with the name of the food, the date it was preserved and the method of food preservation. If the food is canned, the label must also state whether it was hot or raw packed, boiling water or pressure canned, the process time and the pounds of pressure used (if pressure canned). Each canned entry should also be accompanied by the recipe used, such as the exact amount of citric acid, lemon juice or vinegar that has been added. Judges also need to know whether certain foods have added meat, low-acid vegetables or starches.

Some contests also require that a source of canning instructions is included. All canned products should be prepared and processed according to the current USDA and Clemson Extension Service information.

For more canning competition rules and regulations, visit the Orangeburg County Fair Web site at www.orangeburgcountyfair.org.

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