As you trundle your way through the Minnesota State Fair, you'll eventually come across display cases full of food. Pies, breads, jams, locally produced honey, salsa, and much more. There are blue ribbon winners from all over the state.
But WCCO's Jason DeRusha did something extra special this year, giving away "DeRusha's Best" to the blue ribbon banana bread recipe. Monday at the Fair he talked to Carol Felland who won on her first try.
"This is the first time I've done it," Felland told WCCO's DeRusha. "Very first time. My daughter kind of talked me into it so I couldn't believe it when I heard that I got the first prize."
The 81-year old says she's been making this recipe for over 30 years.
"It was my mother's recipe and she actually got it from her cousin's wife, her name is Marlys, from Jeffers, Minnesota," explained Felland. "A farm wife and she kind of passed this down to us. Everybody tries it and they all like it. So I just pass it around, whoever wants it can have it."
That's right, she's not hiding anything. You can have the recipe for blue ribbon banana bread (full recipe below). Even with that, Felland needed some convincing to submit the recipe.
Banana bread is actually one of the biggest entry categories with over 120 submissions according to Felland. There are two categories, with nuts and without. Felland's recipe had no nuts, although she says you can certainly add them if you want.
"It's mind boggling," says Felland. "I think I was just lucky."
So, is there a secret to this amazing banana bread?
"I don't know, it's all very simple ingredients, and the only thing is, it has sour milk in it and that may have something to do with it," Felland explained. "What you can do if you don't have sour milk, you just put a little vinegar in sweet milk and that turns it sour. So you can do that too."
Felland, like all of us, says eating banana bread is preferable to making it though.
"I love to eat it and I love to make it. Although I like it better if somebody makes it," she says.
Felland, who is from Columbia Heights, says the State Fair has always been a family tradition but especially so for her husband who unfortunately passed away this year.
"I feel bad because he would love this if he could see this. But we're here every year. We've loved it since we were teenagers. That's how long we've been coming," Felland said.
If you think it took multiple tries to get that perfect banana bread, Carol Felland has news for you.
"I just did it once," she said, because when you're good? You're good.
In addition to her State Fair blue ribbon, DeRusha is giving her a special "DeRusha's Best" ribbon and and $25 prize, which Felland says is a thrill.
MARLY'S BANANA BREAD RECIPE
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
3 mashed, very ripe bananas
3 tbsp. sour milk ( or 1/2 tsp vinegar in 3 tbsp. sweet milk)
2 cups flour
1 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Mix together and bake in a greased pan at 350 degrees for an hour. This will make one large loaf or two smaller ones. You will know when it is done if you put a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.