Page 45 - Simply Veg Issue 1 2016

class than any other so exhibitors please note! Weigh any bulbs that look like they are near 250 gms to check them, check your scales regularly as a few grams out either way could be critical with some exhibits and could result in an exhibit being disquali ed in error. Good exhibitors will aim to get as near to 250gms as possible.
This class is usually seen in the later shows so the skins should be well ripened, fully intact, and smooth, with a good colour. Again the necks should be thin and rm and tied, the roots trimmed back to the root plate. The onions should all be uniform in size, colour and shape. They look better if presented on some type of ring and are often shown on a black cloth.
Salad Onions
These should be fresh with straight stems (no bulbing that is swollen at the base) and be white at the base. The roots are usually still attached but have been washed and sometimes trimmed. The leaves should still be attached, be green in colour and look and feel fresh not wilted or yellowish.
Shallots
Like the onions shallots are divided into
two classes but this time are measured by their circumference not weight. Size again is important and if a mistake is made can result in the dreaded NAS. The two main classes are the exhibition (large) and pickling (small under 30 mm dia). Over the years I have issued a good number of NAS’s for oversized shallots in the pickling class, possible nearly as many as the overweight onions!
Exhibition Shallots – these are usually shown on a dish / plate of 6, 8,9,12 or 15 depending on the show; you need to check the schedule carefully to ensure the correct number is on the dish.
They are best if shown on dry sand or
small rings so that the judge can see each shallot easily and they look better present this way.
The condition of the bulb is important and they should all be checked to ensure they
are rm, especially the necks and that the skins are well ripened and intact (not broken or cracked). The shape is also important but this depends on the cultivar as some are a nice round shape (Hative de Noirt) others are a blocky shape and there are now some that are a banana shape. The round shape seems to win over the other two all things being equal.
The necks should be tied and the root plate trimmed; they should be spaced out evenly on the sand in a nice pattern. The larger size providing it is of good quality should win. If the bulb has a greenish or purple tint near the base it is a sign that it has been over skinned.
Pickling shallots – size is again a major factor with this class but this time the aim
is to keep the size below 30mm diameter, this is checked using a ring which can be obtained from the NVS (see advert) . Any shallot which will not pass through a 30mm (or whatever size is speci ed in the schedule) will result in the exhibit being disquali ed. All exhibitors should buy a ring to ensure their shallots are within the rules it will save any disappointment after judging.
When judging the pickling shallots the judge should check the numbers are correct and then the size of any shallots that look a bit large. After this the judge is looking for similar criteria as the large shallots that is rm ripened bulbs of a good shape with skins intact and nicely trimmed and tied.
Leeks
Moving on to the leeks which are another mainstay of many shows, these can again be divided into different types. This can vary a bit depending on what part of the country the show is held in as there are areas where certain types are grown in preference to others. The two main types are blanched / intermediate and pot leeks. I have to admit that my judging experience is in the East Midlands and the South East and I think I have only judged pot leeks once or twice at the most.
Blanched and intermediate leeks – rst what is the difference between the two, it comes down to the length of the barrel (the blanched stem). The length is measured from the root plate to the button (the point where the lowest leaf breaks from the barrel).
Blanched leeks are over 350mm
Intermediate leeks are between 150mm to 350mm.
In most small shows there will just be a leek class and the length of the barrel does not matter, although the bigger the leek the better its chances of winning. It is only in the large shows that there will be both classes in the show.
Having got that out of the way what is
the judge looking for? The barrels should
be straight, rm, clean and with parallel sides and there should be no bulbing at the base. The foliage should be a good green colour (this varies between cultivars), no pests or diseases and fresh; it is usually tied to keep it tidy and improve appearance.
The roots should be fresh, clean and the
root plate intact. Coming back to colour it
is recommended that the leaves are a dark green, but some of the newer cultivars have a lighter green foliage so this should be allowed for when judging.
Leeks are often shown in pairs or three’s and they should all be of the same size and as uniform as possible.
Pot leeks – I probably should have got an expert to write this section! But will give a brief description of what the judge is looking for when judging pot leeks just in case you come across them on the show bench, which in certain parts of the U.K you will.
Firstly the blanch should not be longer than 150mm from the root plate to the button
and this should be checked at the start of judging, any over will be disquali ed. Once this is done the judging is similar to other types of leeks in that the barrel should be straight, rm and clean with unblemished skin. The foliage should be fresh, pest and disease free and the roots fresh and washed.
Garlic
These are normally shown well ripened
even in the early shows as they are planted
in the autumn and lifted in early summer
to ripen. They should be shown as a solid, well ripened, roundish bulb with unbroken skins. The necks should be thin and rm
and are sometimes tied with cotton or twine. The roots are trimmed and they look better presented on rings or a dish. The bulb should be round and solid, not segmented into cloves.
That completes the alliums and in the next article I will cover the Brassicas.
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