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Dutch Oven World Championship 2007

2K views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  phatch 
#1 ·
Here's the newspaper report for this years Championship cookoff including some pictures and recipes. Kinda odd ingredients in some of the recipes this year. Inst-Gel, Butter flavored Shortening (not uncommon, but yuck!)

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660204607,00.html
 
#2 ·
Our recipes have evolved over years and each ingredient was used for a reason - I've cooked the same type of cake many times, and once during a July cook-off we used butter instead of shortening. Judges usually take about an hour to judge desserts. Do you know what happens to butter at 90 degrees? Do you know what happens shortening at 90 degrees? The main reason we used butter-flavored shortening is because it has a higher melting point. Trust me, butter cream frosting is not good when the butter melts.

Cooking is all about trial and error- do what works best for the situation and learn from your mistakes. With the World Championship Dutch Oven cook-off, you have to wow the judges on all three dishes: dessert, bread, and main dish. And about this cake recipe, it turned out perfect and the judges loved it. You should give ultra gel a try with some fresh strawberries. Don't knock it 'til you try it.

Scott Clawson
2007 IDOS World Champion

Chapter Link: http://stormmtn.phpnet.us/index.htm
 
#3 ·
So rather than make a recipe that won't work for the conditions without using highly processed questionable ingredients, why not make something more appropriate to the conditions with quality fresh ingredients?

Phil
 
#4 ·
Hey Phil,

I totally agree with you that the freshest ingredients should be used, and thats how I try to cook for my family at home. I would much rather cook with something picked fresh from a garden than something shipped across the ocean to my grocery store.

I love cooking healthy, sometimes cooking bread or dessert at home, mill my own whole-wheat flour and bake with stuff like naturally sweetened applesauce, safflower oil, and fresh fruit. But it can be hard to make something like that fly in a Dutch Oven cook-off, I've tried.

The judges focus on taste and appearance more than anything. We ended up just using shortening in our dessert and Cheese Wiz in our bread, which is now the norm for a cheesesteak in Philly. I know that the most convenient thing is not the best thing, but the judges for this competition were fine with those ingredients, and it paid off for our team. But I don't normally use stuff like that in my day-to-day cooking.

Scott
 
#5 ·
I can respect necessity. I'm a camper, I cook dutch ovens casually and on long trips, I plan some meals from canned and shelf stable ingredients because I know that my cooler will be out of ice and will not be able to get more at that point in the trip.

Cheez Whiz has been a staple of the cheese steak for decades, true. Not my preference though.
 
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