Photographs by Paula Forbes

EMD's Paula Forbes is in the Midwest doing research for her Up North Cookbook. She's going to report back from the field from time to time, and here's her report on the Dane County Fair in Madison, Wisconsin.

It's summer, which, among other things, means that it's time for rural America's best jams, pies, quilts, steers, piglets, and llamas to make the trek to the closest thing to a big city and duke it out for the almighty ribbon. That's right, it's state and county fair time.

I recently visited the fair of my childhood, the Dane County Fair in Madison, Wisconsin, to find out what has or hasn't changed in the world of competitive canning, and whether I can still hold my cream puff after going on the Tilt-A-Whirl. Answers: not much, and yes! but probably not twice, so don't make me do it again.

Cheese curds and cream puffs »