Baking for Bucks

In addition to the regular baking and preserved food competitions, there are several contests at the Los Angeles County Fair sponsored by brand names such as Crisco, SoftasSilk, Land O Lakes, Weber and Spam.

While regular county fair prizes top out at $10 for a blue ribbon, prizes in the sponsored contests go much higher. The SoftaSilk Champion Cake Award, for example, offers $175, an engraved cake stand, an apron and a box of SoftaSilk cake flour.

Crisco’s Americana Cake Celebration, the local level of a national contest, offers a gift basket with a portable mixer, oven ware, cookbook and other prizes. The national winner stands to take home more than $15,000 in prizes.

And then there’s the Spam Luncheon Meat Recipe Contest, with a first prize of $100, plus a ribbon and a Spam apron. To win, entries must create a hot or cold dish using at least one 12-ounce can of Spam.