It seems like just about anything can be battered and dipped in a tub of hot oil, and that’s basically what the vendors who set up shop at state fairs count on. We’re a nation addicted to fried foods, from pickle chips to mac and cheese balls, which may have started our love of French fries and ketchup decades ago. While fried foods are nothing new, what we batter and fry seems to get more outrageous every year. Here’s just a short list of the newer (overpriced) deals you can expect if you’re attending a county or state fair:
Krispy Kreme Burger: Two KK glazed donuts that house a burger, instead of the boring old bun, White Castle’s original slider, dipped in batter and fried (almost sacrilege)
Koolickles – You can get a drink and snack all in one (KA-soaked pickle chips, then battered and fried)
Chicken Fried Bacon – A new twist on an old favorite, for those addicted to breakfast meat
Deep Fried S’Mores – No need to toast marshmallows
Whole pickle stuffed with cheese on a stick, battered and fried. Does this count as a vegetable?
Pop-tarts – a late breakfast
Hard Boiled Egg: After frying it, you can always wrap it in a slice of bread and you’ll have another late breakfast.
Mashed Potato Balls – served with gravy, when chips won’t cut it
Cola balls: dough injected with cola, then battered and fried (like getting a free drink)
Funnel Cakes: With Funky New Toppings and Syrups
Stuffed Corn Dogs – For those who still like their corn dogs but want to expand their horizons
Oreo cookies: part of the cookie ‘n creme craze
Beer Battered Burger – Do you add the ketchup and mustard before or after?
Fried Candy Bars – Twix, Snickers and Goo Goo Clusters are the most popular
Chewing gum: lasts longer because you can keep chewing
Sriracha Chicken and Waffle Sliders – Cash in on the popularity of sriracha and slider combined with an old southern standby
Cotton candy, doesn’t it dissolve in the heat of the oil?
Fried jelly: there is always room for jelly
Pizza – why ruin a good thing?
Chicken noodle soup, probably not like mom’s
Pretzels: first dipped in beer, then battered
Butterballs – when you just can’t get enough cholesterol
Jelly beans – you can choose one flavor or several
Elvis on a Stick: A Peanut Butter Cup with Bacon Fried Banana
And the old standbys, which seem to pale in comparison (all of them battered and fried, of course):
pickle chips
cheese curd
corn dogs
funnel cakes
Zucchini and mozzarella sticks
ice cream bars
Twinkies
meatballs
cheese curd
Macaroni and Cheese Balls – Well, heck, you can buy them frozen at Trader Joe’s
(Author’s note: While this has been an interesting article, as always, to research and write, she’s feeling a little queasy and is going to finish this list.)
If none of this appeals to you, somewhere you can look for a hot dog on a plain bun, with mustard and fresh-squeezed lemonade, which you can enjoy among the disapproving eyes of the masses. But stand firm. Some of our most beloved snacks got their start at world’s fairs over a century ago and no one scoffed.