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Canfield Fair bakers bake up winning entries
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Marly Zeigler, 13, of Salem and her grandmother, Karen Zeigler, also of Salem, plan to again enter their baked goods in the Canfield Fair’s annual baked-goods contest.
Fair Bakers
By Kalea Hall
canfield
Delores, 80, and Doxie Damico, 54, of Austintown are bound together as mother and daughter.
But they are also bound by decades, countless hours, and hundreds of ribbons for their baked goods entries at the Canfield Fair.
They could not imagine life without the fair.
“It’s fun,” Doxie said. “You get to be a part of the fair.”
They have been “a part” of the Canfield Fair for the past 44 years. This year will be their 45th.
“We never stopped,” Doxie said. “We just kept increasing [entries].”
It all started when a neighbor encouraged Delores to enter her baked goods at the fair, and also her 8-year-old daughter’s, since there is a junior fair entry for bakers.
Over the years, they each have perfected their own recipes for peanut butter cups, Cracker Jack cookies, brownies, breads, candy and more.
But even the perfect cookie, with perfect texture, taste and look could fail to place.
“You really don’t know,” Doxie said.
Judges have different tastes, so each year varies as to how many ribbons the Damicos receive. There are two judges per category who judge on appearance, texture and taste. There are about 1,200 baked-goods entries each year.
“And everything is different each time you make it,” Delores said.
There are several variables that go into making the beyond-perfect baked good — from having air conditioning so cookies do not get soggy to the ingredients themselves.
“Baking is a science. You have to time everything perfect,” Doxie said. “It’s kind of a balancing act.”
The Damicos are no strangers to winning. Doxie has 395 ribbons from the fair for baking, photography, sewing and cross-stitching. Her mother has well over 400 — if not 500 — for baking. Last year, Delores entered 16 items, and 13 placed. Her daughter entered 12 items and placed in eight.
“There are years we have hardly won anything,” Delores said.
Their recipes are a mix of family secrets and some picked out of recipe books. Doxie starts prepping what she can about a week ahead while her mother does a marathon of baking the weekend before the fair.
“Usually when I take it in, something is still warm,” Delores said.
Both women plan on entering in multiple categories this year, as they always have done.
“I encourage everybody to try it,” Delores said.
Karen Zeigler, 69, and her 13-year-old granddaughter, Marly Zeigler, are another pair of bakers who bake for the fair. They may not be as seasoned as the Damicos or have as many ribbons, but they still enjoy the excitement of fair time and the bond they have in baking.
“Cooking, baking and everything in the kitchen equals fun,” Marly said.
Karen began entering after she started volunteering at the arts-and-crafts building and decided to get her granddaughter involved when she was age 7. They made what they call “the famous brownies,” and Marly placed first.
“It’s just fun being in the kitchen and creating,” Marly said.
As a child, her grandmother would let her “experiment” with different ingredients while baking.
“She would pull things out of the cupboards” to bake with, Karen said.
Marly still gets creative with her baking. Recently she made vanilla cupcakes from scratch and decided to add a little flavor with an apple filling. Last year she won at the fair for her decorated three-dimensional fish cake.
“It’s always pretty exiting,” Marly said.
Her grandmother has never placed for her baked goods, but she still plans on giving it a shot again this year.
“It all depends on who is judging,” Karen said.
To enter baked goods or any other item in the Arts and Crafts Building at the fair, entry forms are placed inside the Canfield Fair premium books, which should be available the first week of April at the Canfield Fair office. The forms must be sent back to the office no later than Aug. 10. The cost to enter a baked good is 75 cents for the first entry, 25 cents for any additional entries and $1 for shipping and handling.
Professional bakers are not allowed to enter.