Blue-Ribbon Bakers

"I don't cook much, but I'm pretty good at it," says Ryan, 16, a junior at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax.

Buoyed by his blue-ribbon win last year for a cucumber and tuna sandwich in the shape of a clover, Ryan entered a ham salad sandwich, a berry cobbler and ginger cookies this year, in addition to his nut pie.

He says his secret is that "I don't use corn syrup. The flavor in my pie comes from butter and brown sugar."

For bakers contemplating the competitive baking world, Carolyn Gurtz of Gaithersburg has a suggestion: "Go with simple."

"If you're starting out, enter, say, just white rolls or bread. And then once you get the feel of it, branch out to sticky buns," says Gurtz, 58, who has been entering the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair every year since 1972. This summer she had 18 baking entries.

The walls of Gurtz's Gaithersburg kitchen hold nearly 200 blue and championship ribbons. For recipes, she relies on her more than 500 cookbooks. This year, for the first time, she took home best in show; her winning entry was a pecan pie. From experience, she should know what judges are looking for.

"They look for little details, like pastry leaves on a pumpkin pie," she says.

Over the years, she has seen a lot of entries that are either overcooked or undercooked. "So calibrate your oven," she says.

Gurtz also suggests buying new baking powder, because "old powder has a nasty taste."

And don't try to get away with using a cake mix. Says Gurtz, "Judges will know."

Recipes, Page 5.