“Best of Show” is what any contestant at the Panhandle-South Plains Fair hopes to receive.
Long-time Littlefield resident, Delmer White, received exactly that at the 2024 Panhandle-South Plains Fair in Lubbock, Texas, in the culinary exhibit.
“It’s just been passed on year after year after year,” White said.
Passed down from generations in his family, White has used “old family heirloom recipes” and his experimentations to create his ribbon- winning creations.
White’s mother, Betty, attends the fair with him every year.
Seven years ago, White started his garden in his backyard.
White’s above-ground garden uses farm chemical totes, cut in half. He makes his own compost and has 16 set up around his yard.
From okra, squash, tomatoes, peppers and more, White has grown a garden he’s proud of.
“This year, I had 12 different varieties of peppers,” White said.
He’s no stranger to peppers or hot sauce.
Sweet cherry peppers, banana peppers, bell peppers, jalapenos and serranos are just a few growing in his backyard.
White won “Best of Show” for his canned mixed peppers.
“Best show out of all the canned goods,” White said.
Preparation for the Fair begins in January. He saves his seeds and regrows them inside of cups in his house, later to be planted in the garden.
“Getting ready for the Fair just seems like all year long,” White said.
Before winning multiple ribbons, White never thought of entering his items into the Fair. His friend, Shawna Wagley, and his daughter, Kimberly Olmos, encouraged him.
The Panhandle-South Plains Fair hosts the Women’s Building Competition with exhibits including culinary and relics and antiques.
In 2022, the first time White entered his items in the Fair, ladies were tickled by him.
“I walked in there with a box of canned goods, and they asked me what I had. And I said, ‘Well, I’ve got some canned goods.”’ The ladies, stunned, responded with, “Well, sir, we don’t try to show grocery store canned goods.”
“No, these are not, I’ve canned these on my own,” White said.
He opened up the box for the ladies to see the goods he canned at home. Now, he’s become friends with the ladies.
Before his wife passed away, White was taught how to can vegetables by her and his mother years ago.
“And so that’s what I would do with my vegetables. I learned how to count them, make pickles and fix pickled okra and hot sauces and all that kind of stuff,” White said.
White not only shows his canned goods but also submits antiques and relics. Through his submissions, he now has 86 ribbons.
In 2022, he won 18 ribbons. In 2023, he won 40.
This year, he not only won Best of Show for his canned mixed peppers but also first place.
“I was on cloud nine,” White said.
When receiving his submissions back from judging, White noticed one of his jars was missing. He then spotted his jar.
“And there was my mix of peppers that had the big purple ribbon on it,” White said.
Different ideas are in the works for White as he prepares for next year’s Fair. He hopes to see more people submitting items as well.
“I encourage anyone and everyone to try to enter,” White said.