Up Next: Fried Air

I continue to be amazed by the new fried foods that make their way to the state fairs around the country. Fried Coke was one that caught my attention this year.

The concoction is made up of a Coke-flavored batter that is deep fried. The fried bits are doused in Coca-Cola syrup and then topped with whipped cream, cinnamon-sugar and a cherry. The inventor, Abel Gonzales Jr., has said that since the dessert’s inception in 2006, he has been able to alter the recipe enough so that he can pack significantly more Coke syrup in the batter. Essentially, he has perfected the recipe of stuffing sugar with sugar. 

 The State Fair of Texas recently released their list of foods competing for the Big Tex Choice Awards- here they are:

• Fernie’s All-American Fried Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Yup, you guessed it. It’s the traditional grilled cheese, battered and then finished off with a long soak in the deep fryer. To complete the all-American meal, the sandwich is served with shoestring potato sticks, tomato soup dipping sauce and a pickle.
• Chicken Fried Bacon. Oh dear. This is serious- it’s like dipping a stick of butter in ghee… in this case, it’s actually bacon, seasoned and double-dipped in batter then deep fried. It comes with a few dipping choices- ranch or honey mustard.
• Fried Banana Split. This treat starts with honey flavored peanut butter and banana rolled into balls, battered and then… yeah, deep-fried. It’s presented with a dusting of powdered sugar, drizzles of caramel and chocolate, some extra peanuts, loads of whipped cream, banana split-flavored ice cream bites and… drumroll please… a cherry on top.
• Texas Fried Jelly Bellys. The poor lil beans. They’ve been rolled in funnel cake batter and deep-fried. So these must be the “bean curds” at the fair. Say goodbye to tofu and cheese curds.
• Deep Fried S’mores. Take a smore, dip it in batter, deep fry and dust with powdered sugar. Maybe it’s late and I’m having cravings, but this sounds good… really good…
• Fire & Ice. Okay this is weird: An unsuspecting pineapple ring gets battered and deep-fried. Then the ring is ”topped with banana-flavored whipped cream that’s been frozen in liquid nitrogen”- that would mean that the whip cream smokes. I guess this could qualify as fried air…
• Fried Chocolate Truffles. Dark chocolate truffle that’s battered, fried and dusted with cinnamon, sugar and cocoa powder. 
• Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Waffle Balls. Take a chocolate-covered strawberry, dip it in waffle batter, fry it and dust with powdered sugar. And oh yes, this treat is served on the only fair-approved utensil- a stick. 

I’m torn on the issue of crazy fried fair foods. Often times, we say these foods will be our “once-a-year treat”. But, I’m seeing a lot of these foods on restaurant menus (e.g., cheese curds, deep-fried candy bars). If these foods are popular, restaurants will sell them. Are we setting ourselves up to have deep-fried jelly beans and Coke available 365 days a year? Are these novelties affecting the health of our society or are they just innocent, rarely eaten fair foods? (Of course, if you have some other funky-fried-fair-food stories, you’ll want to share those here too.)

Breathe in, Peace out,

Aimee