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My church had a pie competition one year and the winner was lemon meringue. What's more, when I was growing up, my mom often made lemon meringue because it had been HER dad's favorite and she had perfected her recipe long before. Most everyone loved her pie. Except people who don't like meringue.
It may have been partly a popularity contest, but it could also be that lots of people like lemon meringue and that pie was particularly well done. I wouldn't eat peanut butter and banana pie at all; I greatly dislike bananas in anything and am not a big fan of peanut butter, but to each their own.
Don't take it so personally. Apparently many people entered and only one won. Why not enter your pie again next time? My guess is that the same person won't win twice in a row.
Your pie sounds delicious and I'm sure that it could go on to win many a contest. But I think this is the time for clear-eyed personal self-assessment. Maybe the cutthroat world of baked goods competition just isn't for you.
First, it is definitely possible that this was more of a popularity contest than a true pie-making contest. For that, you would probably have to go to a state fair or a bake-off with a panel of actual judges.
Second, did I read correctly that people could actually enter store-bought pies? Because that would be weird. Or did they just bring them so that there would be a lot of pies there, making the atmosphere that much more festive, and only the homemade ones were judged?
But as someone who has made some pies in my time, I have to say that if in the process of judging, any weight at all was given to the technical factor, meringue would garner points there, as the meringue, she is a fickle and temperamental thing. If not made perfectly, it cracks and weeps, and is subject to fail if the weather isn't just right.
Compared to meringue, whipped cream is a walk in the park, and while delicious, its preparation does not come near the sheer tightrope-walking suspense and sense of foreboding that sets in when making meringue.
I would agree with this - whether you think a meringue tastes good, I think it is perceived as a pie for expert bakers. I’m no baker, but my grandmother aspired to be, and she was always humbled by a lemon meringue. If she got it right, we heard about it for weeks. And don’t let this loss stop your enthusiasm for baking as it sounds like something you care about - if friends and family love it and it makes you happy to feed people delicious food, just focus on that.
Was this pie competition in a small town? Since everyone knew who brought in the lemon meringue and it sounds like that was one of the key people in the group, then it's quite likely that person's pie would have won no matter what type of pie it was. That they're letting folks buy pies to bring in also means it's not a serious competition. It sounds more like they wanted pies to eat without having to buy them. That your pie placed directly after the one brought in by that one key person, I'd say your pie was the best pie there. But, they'd have had to have 'chosen' the one brought in by the key person no matter what else showed up.
So, don't sweat it, it wasn't a true contest and it doesn't matter what all those other folks think anyway, your mum loved your pie. Oh, if there was a ribbon awarded or anything else, usually there's a trophy shop in most towns and you can for a few dollars and a lot less work than making a pie go buy one of any type you like. It's ever so much easier.
EXACTLY. How much of a contest could it be if they let people bring STORE BOUGHT PIES?!?
I appreciate those who wrote in with positive and productive comments. To the people who come to these forums to invalidate and dismiss other people's feelings/problems/challenges/experiences, please go find something better to do.
The number of people who mistake CD for a support group is becoming larger by the day it seems.
I feel like I just read one of those cut away gags/scenes from Family Guy.....smh
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but I think I would love your Elvis pie too.
