I’ve noticed these contest on the back of various food products. Use their food in a recipe, send it in, win fabulous prizes. Now surely there are a lot of would-be chefs mailing out entries.
So how do they judge them? Surely they don’t have enough time/money/resources to make and test every recipe. Do they read each entry and decide, based on the types and amounts of ingredients listed, what recipes to cook and taste?
Do they even read every entry? Also, what if the best-tasting recipe is submitted by two, three, or a hundred people? If the prize is shared among them, suppose someone submitted an almost-identical recipe, but minus 1/8 teaspoon of some insignificant ingredient, producing a dish that tasted identical to the winning entry, would they also share in the prize?
Doesn’t it seem like a contest of this type would be one giant headache to administer?
This is all just idle curiousity, of course. My culinary expertise doesn’t extend too far past the toaster oven.
Found lots of advice for entering, but it must be a secret how to actually judge the bloody things.
Did find one lickle site about recipe contests - including a few tips on judging, preparing and participating. Nothing academic mind, but might give you a tip on what else to look for.
As I understand it, first they look at eligibility. Has the contestant filled in all the forms properly, does the recipe indeed use the ingredient required, etc.? Second, legibility, which is less of a problem when many people have access to printers. Third, the ease of a recipe, that is, whether or not it takes extraordinary cooking skills. Fourth, using exotic ingredients won’t help the recipe’s chances, either. Basically, if the average cook doesn’t have the ingredient in the kitchen, or it’s not available from a major grocery store, the recipe’s chances of winning decrease markedly. Fifth, standard measurements…one person’s pinch might be another person’s smidgen. And just how much IS a handful of rice, anyway? I know how much I put in, but my daughter’s hands are smaller!
Toaster oven recipe:
2 slices of rye bread
3 or 4 slices of ham lunchmeat
1 or 2 slices of Swiss cheese
Mustard
Drizzle mustard on one side of each piece of bread. Arrange ham slices on one piece of bread, and cheese on the other piece. Make sure that nothing hangs over the sides of the bread*. Put in toaster oven on Toast for 5 minutes, watching closely. It’s done when the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted. Very good with a cold side of kraut and/or applesauce.
*Or else you’ll have a nasty mess to clean up afterwards.