Kosher pickle champion, playwright victorious at this year’s state fair

One of the Minnesota State Fair’s new Creative Activities competition categories was nearly 25 years in the making. Back in the year 2000, Doris Rubenstein was disqualified from the Minnesota State Fair’s pickle competition for the second time. The liquid in her pickle jar was cloudy, because she made them by a different process than the pickles the judges were used to. They were traditional kosher pickles, fermented in brine instead of preserved in vinegar. Rubenstein took the experience to local media and even turned it into a one-woman play that was performed at the 2017 Minnesota Fringe Festival and more recently in Winnipeg, Canada. This year for the first time, fermented pickles had their own category at the Minnesota State Fair. Rubenstein was a judge. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer live from the state fair to share her story — and some pickles.