C THAMBUNDIT / THE DEPAUW
The crunch of tortilla chips and the scent of diced tomatoes filled the steamy air at the first annual Putnam County Salsa Tasting Contest Friday evening.
Main Street Greencastle partnered with First Fridays to bring the salsa contest to the downtown square. Main Street Greencastle is a new not-for-profit organization dedicated to rejuvenating downtown, promoting the small businesses on the square and preserving historic buildings.
“This is almost like a coming-out event for us,” said Tami van Rensselaer of Main Street Greencastle.
Each month, First Fridays and Main Street Greencastle host an event. Van Rensselaer said they aren’t sure what October’s event will be, but they came up with the salsa easting contest because she is “a redneck.”
“I said, ‘Well, it’s September, let’s do salsa,” Van Rensselaer said.
There are Main Street organizations throughout the Midwest, and Main Street Greencastle is one of the newest.
A handful of DePauw students volunteered at the salsa tasting, brought in by Jazmin Lesane, a sophomore Bonner Scholar interning with Main Street Greencastle.
“It’s fun,” Lesane said. “We need to come out and show that we want to be part of the Greencastle community.”
Lesane said that most DePauw students don’t attend Greencastle events, only coming to the square for Eli’s Bookstore and Starbucks. The small student turnout at the salsa tasting proves her point.
“What I’m trying to do is bridge the gap between DePauw and the Greencastle community,” Lesane said.
Although not many students stopped by the contest, the event was well attended by community members, and 26 salsas were entered.
“There are a lot of different kinds,” said Dan Merrell, one of the contestants. He learned to make salsa from his grandmother in Mexico City.
Susannah Hardesty talks to an attendee about her
seafood salsa at the first annual Putnam County
Salsa Tasting Contest. C THAMBUNDIT / THE DEPAUW
Susannah Hardesty entered a seafood salsa that included avocado, shrimp and crabmeat. She learned the recipe when she lived in Houston, Texas working in the energy industry.
“This is how they do it near the Gulf of Mexico,” Hardesty said.
Overall, the contestants were satisfied by the contest and its turnout.
“I thought it was very well run,” said Bruce Stinebrickner, a contestant. “The directions were clear."
Stinebrickner thought it would be a good idea to add categories to next year’s tasting.
“Let’s say I really like hot salsa and there’s a mediocre hot salsa and a fantastic medium salsa,” Stinebrickner said. “I’m going to vote for the hot.”
Of the 26 salsa chefs that entered the contest, only four would go home with a trophy. Three judges chose the first, second and third place winners. These winners took home $50, $25 and $15, respectively.
Jason Hagen won first-place with a salsa that included only five ingredients. He said he was surprised to take home a trophy.
“It’s a very simple salsa,” Hagen said. “It wasn’t anything I was expecting to win with.”
Tom Belledin won second place with a salsa made mostly from homegrown ingredients. This was the first time he’d entered his salsa in a contest. He was happy with the results.
“The worst you can do is please a lot of people,” Belledin said.
Sue Matson won third place. Like Hagen, she was surprised the judges chose her salsa.
“It was just regular, old salsa,” she said.
The judges chose their winners based on the initial taste and aftertaste of the salsas, as well as on appearance.
“You always eat with your eyes first,” said Mike Garcia, one of the judges and the chef at Autumn Glen Senior Living.
The judges had a difficult time choosing winners because of the wide variety of entrants.
The three judges of the first annaul Putnam County Salsa
Tasting Contest. From left, Mike Garcia from Autumn Glen,
Mary Anne Birt, culinary arts teacher and Robert Britton, butcher at
Myer's Market. C THAMBUNDIT / THE DEPAUW
“They’re all good in their own way,” said Mary Anne Birt, another judge and a culinary arts teacher.
Garcia agreed.
“We judged them on themselves, not against each other,” he said.
Attendees chose the fourth winner, People’s Choice. Narrowing the entries down to a single favorite proved to be a challenge for Bob and Mellissa Huffman, attendees form Bainbridge, Indiana, a town about 15 miles northeast of Greencastle. The couple came to the contest because Bob likes spicy foods and Melissa likes salsa.
“He’s picking the hottest one,” Melissa said. “I am not.”
In the end, the public chose Joe and Mary Cash’s salsa for the People’s Choice trophy and $100 award.
“Whoo-hoo!” Joe exclaimed. “That’s what it feels like to win.”