Calling all apple pie bakers!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Denise Donohue
(800) 456-2753
Statewide contest seeks out best pie recipes featuring Michigan Apples
(DeWitt, Mich.) – It's time to brush off and perfect your favorite apple pie recipe just in the knick of time for the holidays and a statewide baking contest.
The Michigan Apple Committee will sponsor the 4th Annual Michigan's Best Apple Pie Contest on Wednesday, January 21, 2009, at Zehnder's of Frankenmuth.
Amateur bakers are eligible to enter by submitting their original apple pie recipe, which must contain Pioneer Sugar and Michigan Apples. Prizes will be given away for the top three pies, with the first-place winner earning $500 and a trip for two to Florida where he/she will compete in the National Pie Championships.
“This is a fun-filled event for us with the competitors always taking the contest very seriously,” said Denise Donohue, executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee. “It's ironic that one of the most delicious comfort foods can create so much heat in the kitchen between these bakers.”
Entry forms and contest guidelines are available at MichiganApples.com/contests. The competition is divided into two categories: crumb topping and double-crust. The top pie from each category will go head to head to determine the ultimate winner.
Early registration is required and must be received by Dec. 31. Sixty recipes (30 from each category) will be chosen by a group of judges to compete.
Apples are Michigan's largest and most valuable fruit crop, with an estimated annual economic impact of $700 million. About 23 different varieties, many of which are great for baking, are grown for the commercial market.
The Michigan Apple Committee is a grower-funded, nonprofit organization devoted to market development, education and research activities to distinguish the Michigan apple and encourage its consumption by consumers in Michigan and around the world.