Saturday, August 17, 2024 | Country Acres • Page 1
Country Acres Saturday, August 17, 2024
Volume 11, Edition 11
PRSRT STD ECR U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #861 Sauk Rapids, MN 2 Second Ave S Suite 135 Sauk Rapids MN 56379
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Blueribbon B A K I N G
B U D D I E S
Freeman, Thielen bake history at Minnesota State Fair PHOTO BY SARA EISINGER
Lois Thielen (left) and Candy Freeman are surrounded by hundreds of blue ribbons, plaques, firstplace shadow boxes and many recipes on Thielen’s kitchen table July 8 in Grey Eagle. The competitive bakers reminisced on approximately three decades of baking over freshly baked blueberry muffins and warm scones.
BY SARA EISINGER STAFF WRITER
MELROSE — Over freshly-baked blueberry muffins and warm scones, blue ribbon baking buddies Candy Freeman and Lois Thielen relived approximately three decades of fierce Minnesota State Fair baking competitions. Scattered around Thielen’s kitchen table were award-winning conversation pieces — hundreds of state fair
ribbons, plaques, first-place shadow boxes and recipes. “I compete in cakes, almost all the quick breads, gluten-free and international baking,” Freeman said. “I would say I probably have about 500 ribbons from first, second, third, fourth and fifth between the state and county fair, and about 75 blue ribbons.” Last year, Freeman won the Supreme Baker Award for best all-around baker. “In 2022, I had seven or eight placings out of 20 or so entries in the state fair,” Thielen said. “I have two best-of-class awards for quick breads in 2013 and 2016. I usually enter about four plain dough breads — white, whole grain, whole wheat and potato; banana, lemon and vegetable quick bread loaves; Bundt coffee cake and scones;
a chiffon cake or two; several Bundt cakes and the vegetable cake, which now has to be made as a single layer. I occasionally enter other lots, such as the international baking for a cake or bread. I also enter the honey baking and enter five or six items, including a yeast bread and several quick breads.” While making baking history, Thielen and Freeman have gotten to know American chef and radio personality Andrew Zimmern, recipe developer and food blogger Jessie Sheehan and pastry chef Zoe Francois. “I met Zoe Francois in 2022,” Freeman said. “I had gotten a blue ribbon on my angel food cake.
Bakers page 2
PHOTO SUBMITTED
A lemon cake with fresh blueberries made by Candy Freeman is displayed in the summer of 2023 at her home in Melrose. Freeman won the Supreme Baker Award at the 2023 Minnesota State Fair.
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