1. Deep–fried butter sticks: Paula Deen has been making deep–fried butterballs for years. But this year, the Iowa State Fair offered deep–fried butter on a stick. This meta dish features an entire stick of butter, on a stick, covered in honey and cinnamon batter, then fried and served with a sugar glaze. What’s that? Yes, it is the sound of your arteries clogging.
2. Deep–fried bubblegum: OK, it’s not actually fried bubblegum. But this year’s Texas State Fair winner in the “most creative” food category includes a marshmallow dipped in bubblegum–flavored extract, covered in bubblegum–flavored dough, then deep–fried and served with blue bubblegum icing and sprinkled with Chiclets.
3. Deep–fried kool aid: This snack made quite a splash at the San Diego County Fair this summer. The fried–food legend Charlie Boghosian deep–fried a mixture of Kool Aid powder, flour and water to make the artificially–flavored childhood drink available in a heart attack–inducing ball.
—Mady Glickman
