LIME MINT JELLY TAKES THE RIBBON.

Byline: Sandra J. Terrell Staff Writer

WESTLAKE VILLAGE - After a friend gave Lois Cox a batch of limes from his yard, she combined them with mint from her own garden to win a blue ribbon for her lime mint jelly recipe at the Ventura County Fair.

Cox, who has lived in Westlake Village with her husband, Paul, since 1981, entered five items in the Preserved Food category at this year's fair, and won ribbons for them all.

``It's really a tough competition, you never know what the judges think of your product. (They judge on whether) it is sealed properly, they look at the color, the texture and whether the fruit is evenly distributed,'' Cox said. ``(They look at) the appearance, and the consistency. That's tricky, a lot trickier than you think.''

Cox, who with her husband runs Westoaks Insurance Services in Westlake Village, originally became interested in food preserving years ago when her husband started growing vegetables, herbs and exotic fruit at their home.

``We have a lot of fruit trees. There's too much to save without it spoiling,'' Cox said. ``It's economical if you're not buying the fruit.''

She took a 10-week course at the University of California Cooperative Extension, where she and her husband both earned a ``Master Food Preserver'' certificate, and carefully follows the principles they learned.

She said she is especially busy in the summer months when produce from the 12 to 15 fruit trees and other plants on their property ripens.

``There are loquats in May, apricots in June, apples in August, and pineapple guavas in September, plus the avocado, figs and lemon trees.

She said she is always searching for new recipes, and has accumulated a large collection of cookbooks. She often uses jams or chutneys in her cooking to add flavor, and often adds flavored jam, such as apricot jam or orange marmalade, as a sauce when baking chicken or pork.

``(I) use pineapple guava chutney with pork loin roast instead of gravy, it's really good,'' she said.

Cox and her husband, who is a member of the California Rare Fruit Growers Association, seem to work well together. ``My husband helps me. He's a big help. He tries to pick the fruit right away,'' she said. ``He's the gardener of the family.''

Besides her first-place ribbon, she won two second-place ribbons, for her apricot preserves and feijoa (pineapple guava) preserves, and two third-place ribbons, for her strawberry preserves and feijoa chutney.