Date: Fri 19-Apr-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-9

Quick Words:

Springmeyer-apple-pie-contest

Full Text:

(feature on apple pie contest winner Charlotte Springmeyer, 4/19/96)

A Seed Is Planted In Newtown

(with photos)

By Shannon Hicks

Charlotte Springmeyer decided to try something different last year when she

was baking an apple pie: For the first time in her life, the mother of two

decided to enter the annual apple pie competition at the Bethlehem Fair.

Charlotte's recipe eventually took her to the upper crust of Connecticut's

best pie-baking aficionados: into competition in the Connecticut Best

Two-Crusted Apple Pie Contest.

Although she did not place at the state finals with her pie baking - which

would have advanced her to the New England Best Two-Crusted Apple Pie Contest

- Charlotte nevertheless has had an adventure with her recipe that would make

Johnny Appleseed proud.

"We usually go up to the fair," Charlotte said earlier this week. "I don't

know why, but I thought it would be fun to enter the competition." She was

relating the story of how, after entering the contest for fun, she ended up

taking home a blue ribbon for apple pie baking.

Going into the Bethlehem Fair last September, Charlotte says, she "didn't even

know about this Best of New England Apple Pie Contest." When contestants enter

their pies into a fair's competition, they are then given information

concerning the Best of New England competition, an annual contest sponsored on

the state-level by the Connecticut Fair Association.

Charlotte's recipe is a melding of a few recipes from cookbooks. She tried

alterations on the amounts of spices until she came up with a taste she was

happy with. Obviously, the judges in Bethlehem were happy with her results,

too.

In the "Special Apple Pie" category at country fairs, once someone wins a

contest at the local level, they are then invited to compete in the next level

of competition: A cook-off among all first place winners from fairs across the

state. Held last November, approximately 40 winners met at the Norwich Ramada

Inn for a second round of baking, in hopes of placing in the top ten of that

cook-off.

By placing in the top ten, bakers next compete at the Salem Cross Inn, in West

Brookfield, Mass., in a second state competition. Self-described as "tense"

during the Norwich event, Charlotte nevertheless placed second that weekend.

For the Salem Cross tournament, contestants are supplied with the

Connecticut-grown apple variety - or varieties - of their choice, then bake

their pies in a historic 1699 beehive oven at the Salem Inn. This year's Salem

Inn cook-off was held March 31. Pies were judged on the basis of appearance,

flavor, texture and ease of preparation.

Charlotte's original recipe called for 12 Granny Smith apples. For the Salem

Inn contest, she did some experimenting and eventually settled on Ida Reds.

"I thought, by using the Ida Reds and still using the same recipe, I didn't

have to do that much adjusting at all with the spices to have it come out

pretty much a similar flavor," she explained. "The Granny Smith apples are a

little bit tarter, but otherwise I think the texture [of the two varieties] is

fairly similar."

Pamela Duchaine of Bethlehem and Victoria Steponaitis of Middlebury were the

two bakers won at the statewide level March 31. Mrs Duchaine, who won first

place in March at the Inn, won top honors at last year's Litchfield Grange

Fair, and Mrs Steponaitis' pie won first prize at the Wolcott Fair. The two

ladies represented Connecticut in the New England finals at the Salem Cross

Inn on April 14.

Unfortunately, this is where Charlotte's story ends... but only temporarily.

"That was when I didn't win," says Charlotte. She was undaunted, however, by

the loss and is already looking ahead to entering not just Bethlehem's fair

this year, but others as well.

"I've been thinking that in the fall I'd like to enter at the fairs again, and

see if I'm lucky enough to place first again, in any of them. You can enter as

many as you want," she explained, "until you win first place.

"I think it was kind of beginner's luck, because I just entered the one pie in

the one fair. But now it's kind of in my blood," she said with a laugh. "It

was just a lot of fun."

This is Connecticut's ninth year of participation in the annual New England

Best Two-Crust Apple Pie Contest. The contest is sponsored by the Connecticut

Apple Marketing Board, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, the Salem

Cross Inn and a number of produce wholesalers and supermarkets.

A household goods moving coordinator with PHH Relocation in Danbury for 17

years, Charlotte took this week off from work to spend time with her

daughters, Danielle, 9, and Christine, 7«, who are on April break from school.

Charlotte and her daughters enjoy roller skating, and hope to be able to do

that, and a lot of other activities, together this week.

They may even bake an apple pie or two.

Charlotte's Winning

Apple Pie Recipe

Crust:

2 c flour

« tsp salt

4 heaping Tbs shortening

¬ c cold water

(or more as needed)

Filling:

6 c apples (peeled, cored & sliced)

¬ c light brown sugar

¬ c granulated sugar

¬ tsp cinnamon

Ô tsp nutmeg

Ô tsp salt

1 Tbs cornstarch

1 tsp lemon juice

1 Tbs butter

(dot on top of apples)

To make crust, sift flour and salt together. Cut in shortening. Add water and

toss with fork until dough forms a ball. Divide in half, set aside.

Mix apples with all other filling ingredients, except butter.

Roll out half of dough to fit a nine-inch pie pan. Fill with apple mixture,

dot with butter. Roll out dough for top crust. Flute edges. Brush top with

milk, then sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.