Meet the Iowa State Fair’s Winningest Canning Competitor

[Narrator] When you wander through the aisles of the canned foods on display at the Elwell Family Food Center, you’re likely to see one name more than 100 times—Rod Zeitler. For 25 years, Rod has competed in nearly every canning class that the fair offers, such as jams, jellies and pickles. He's a familiar face at the Elwell Center and he's also earned national attention. More than 700 of his canned goods and ribbons are currently on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. We caught up with Rod in July in his Iowa City kitchen to see what it takes to be a Blue Ribbon winner.

[Rod] There are 183 classes that I enter. I've done 162 of those 183. I have 21 left to do. So the plan today is to can pineapple and also peach jelly. The first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to slice my pineapple. The most important thing is not necessarily the exact inch or the like, but that they be consistent.

[Narrator] Rod's attention to detail is a key ingredient to his success. In the canned fruits division, appearance is worth 60% of the judging criteria.

[Rod] Canning is certainly a science, but it's also an art. I don't know how Del Monte does pineapple, but I'm sure it's not like this.

[Narrator] He's an expert now, but Rod will be the first to tell you that it took many years to find success.

[Rod] I didn't win at the beginning, but the important thing is I didn't give up.

[Narrator] Now, with thousands of ribbons to his name, Rod is likely the winningest canning competitor at the Iowa State Fair.

[Rod] I'm especially proud of this ribbon. It's called the Arlette Hollister Food Supreme Sweepstakes Award for exceptional culinary skills and his knowledge. I don't know about the culinary, but I'll take the knowledge.

[Narrator] It's worth mentioning that Rod can spend upwards of 1,000 hours in the kitchen on his entries every year.

[Rod] Look at that, guys. It fits like a charm.

[Narrator] Rod retired from his career as a physician in 2022, but even while he was working, he made time to can.

[Rod] Ha! Look at that, we got them all. Sort of like a jigsaw puzzle.

[Narrator] It can be laborious, but to him, it's all worth it.

[Rod] I get satisfaction from it. Oh, to see that you've accomplished something. In the work I did, you know, I dealt with a lot of sick people, and it wasn't always clear I was accomplishing— I did, but this is more immediate than some of the things I did in my work.

[Narrator] Of course, for a pastime this intense, the home has to support the hobby. At Rod's house, canned goods can be found in nearly every empty space, including the bathroom and living spaces. The main pantry, though, is in the dining room.

[Rod] This is my primary storage area for canned goods. My brother is a farmer, Fred, and he came into this room and he said, “Hey, Rod, you got a lot of weight in this room. I don't know whether your floor can handle this.”

[Narrator] Rod also has an impressive garden in his backyard where he sources many of his ingredients.

[Rod] So, this is my herb garden. It looks pretty good this year. I have one of my tomato plants. I have about 60 black raspberries through here, but they're about done. I have a grapevine over there. I have my own elderberry bushes.

[Narrator] By now you're probably thinking, that's a lot of work, and Rod agrees. He announced this year that he'll be scaling back and will only concentrate on a few of his favorite classes from now on.

[Rod] It takes a lot of time. I'm not getting younger. There are other things I can do, you know. I— it'll be nice just to not have to go through what I go through.