Photos by Janine Peck/Ventnor Commissioners Tim Kriebel and Lance Landgraf Jr. were judges in the salsa making contest.
VENTNOR The Ventnor Farmers Market was buzzing with activity Friday morning as vendors sold Jersey Fresh produce and a panel of judges got their taste buds ready for the market's second annual Salsa Making Contest.
In all, 18 entries were judged by a panel of expert taste-testers, including two city commissioners a Downbeach.com reporter.
Ten home chefs entered the tomato-based salsa category, while eight entered the fruit-based category.
Entries were judged anonymously based on a scale of 1-10 in three criteria appearance, texture and taste.
Some of the entries were whirled up in a food processor, while other were chopped by hand using the freshest ingredients available. All pleased the palates of the judges, who took their time tasting, and tasting again, to ensure a methodical judging process. One judge decided to make three rounds of tasting, one for each criterion. Judges were provided tortilla chips for tasting, and bread and water for palate cleansing between entries.
The concoctions were as unique as the people who made them, remarked Downbeach.com staff writer Nanette LoBiondo Galloway, who judged the tomato-based competition for the second year running.
Some were drier, some juicier, some had avocados, others had black beans and corn, but all of them were very tasty, Galloway said.
They're all good, fruit-based judge Commissioner Tim Kriebel said, going back for seconds.
In the end, it was lucky sevens all around. Market Manager Andy Starer tallied the judges results to reveal the winners were the No. 7 entry in each category.
From left, Olive Gregg, 13, of Egg Harbor Township and Farmers Market Manager Penny Starer.
Olive Gregg, 13, of Egg Harbor Township took the prize for the fruit-based salsa.
It was a first-time recipe for the teen, who enjoys cooking for her grandmother who lacks her culinary prowess, she said.
It was my first time making it. I selected produce that was the freshest and ripest, she said. I tried mixing and adding more ingredients to eliminate any one ingredient being too overpowering.
She used a combination of chopped mangos, orange tomatoes, peaches, tomatillos, red onion, jalapeno, lime, cilantro, parsley, and salt and pepper.
I added ingredients a little at a time. You can always add more, but you can't take away, she said.
When her grandmother tasted her creation and then tasted a store-bought brand, she said liked mine better, Gregg said.
Mary Kay Ryan of Ventnor took first place in the tomato-based salsa contest.
Taking the tomato-based prize was Mary Kay Ryan of Ventnor, who entered a tried-and-true salsa recipe that she makes several times each summer season.
Ingredients included heirloom tomatoes purchased on Thursday at the Margate Community Farmers Market, Vidalia onions (because they are sweeter, she said), garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, lime and sea salt.
It's a recipe I've had for years, Ryan said. You can chop it by hand or put it in a food processor, but I chopped mine.
It was the first time entering the contest for both contestants.
They each received $50 in market dollars good at any market vendor, Market Manager Penny Starer said.
[rl_gallery id="9336"]
Leftover salsa was packaged into individual servings and shared with market shoppers.
The market is held 8:30 a.m. to noon, every Friday until Labor Day weekend at St. James Church of Holy Trinity Parish, Atlantic and Newport avenues.
