No Elephant Ears in Marshall

Back in the early 90's the Ambassadors at the Lewiston (Idaho) chamber of commerce were famous for the Elephant Ears that they prepared during the community's largest event: The Dogwood Festival, an event welcoming in the blooming of the numerous dogwood trees around town.

Sweet dough was prepared well in advance by a local grocery store using a very secret recipe. Hundreds of pounds of dough was prepared each year for the two day arts and food event outside on the College Commons.

The ambassadors would set up a tent on the college lawn (the center point of the Dogwood Festival) and sell Elephant Ears to the public. The deep fat fried sweet dough was covered with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar and sold faster than they could be made. Oil was heated in metal pans on top of backyard bar-b-ques. The only thing that sold faster were the hand dipped in batter and fried asparagus spears sold by the local advertising club. They were using tongs, tupperware and electric skillets from home to prepare these delicious delights!

Unfortunately, Elephant Ears and Asparagus spears prepared in that manner will never be sold in Marshall, much less Minnesota as a fund raising activity for local community organizations.

Our chamber sponsored a workshop on Monday in response to concerns by community event organizers and local health officials: Cooking Safely for a Crowd. The workshop featured health inspectors from the Minnesota Department of Health and a food specialist from the U of M Extension Office. They clearly demonstrated that unless proper licensing is obtained and that food is prepared in a commercial kitchen setting, "food-based" fundraisers ever so popular at community celebrations and festivals will soon go the way of the dinosaur.

The workshop was an excellent educational program that outlined the need for proper food preparation based on public safety and health concerns. Thanks to the good folks at SMSU for providing us space and to the Health Department and the U of M Extension office for providing knowledgeable and professional staff to share their expertise.

More than one person after their presentation wondered aloud, "gee, makes you ask how we all survived as long as we have."


That's my opinion, what about yours?