However there is a segment of the American population I just do not understand.
I can best explain this through the following true story I read in Dining section of The New York Times on my recent visit. The article relates to the Iowa State Fair and their annual effort to create new and exotic food, preferably on a stick, as food on a stick accounts for a 30 to 40 percent increase in sales. I understand the economics, but the execution leaves me faint with disbelief. It is not the 2012 treat that amazes me - a "deep-fried pickle dawg". This concoction is a pickle slice, pastrami or ham and cream cheese. The creators of this treat were sadly defeated in their efforts to make it stay on a stick and had to serve it in a cardboard boat.
Which makes the 2011 creation even more marvellous in both inception and execution.
If I give you 10 guesses I bet you will never come up with the answer.
If I tell you the symbol of the Fair is a giant butter sculpture of a cow, you may start to think along the right lines. As an aside, the Butter Cow starts with a wood, metal, wire and steel mesh frame and about 275kg (600lb) of low moisture, pure cream Iowa butter. Layers of butter are applied until a life-size butter cow emerges - measuring about 1.67 meters by 2.4 meters (5-1/2-ft by 8-ft ).
Is it an ice cream on a stick? Too easy, besides, it has to be deep-fried to be truly delicious. How about something cheese-y. We all know melted cheese is good to eat. No, let's go for gold.
The Iowa State Fair PROUDLY brings you, for the second year by popular demand, at a price of just $4, DEEP-FRIED BUTTER ON A STICK. If you would like to try this at home, take 60 grams of butter and put a stick in it, keep it close to frozen and dunk it in funnel cake batter (what the hell is this? I am afraid to google it) with cinnamon and spices, then fry in vegetable oil heated to 200 Celcius (400F). Cook for 60 to 90 seconds then drizzle with a honey glaze - go on, I dare you.
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| Larry Fyfe, the brilliant man behind the concept |
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| Kids, don't fry this at home. |
In case you are thinking of a trip to Iowa in 2013, the website tempts you with a list of foods on-a-stick, but be warned - not all foods are deep-fried.
Here's the list of foods on-a-stick as of Fair 2012
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| Too many deep fried foods on-a-stick? |
- Chocolate-Covered Chocolate Chip Cannoli - NEW in 2012
- Chocolate-Covered Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pop - NEW in 2012
- Fruit (with yogurt dipping sauce) - NEW in 2012
- Double Bacon Corn Dog (a hot dog wrapped in bacon, deep fried, dipped in bacon bit enriched batter and deep fried again to golden perfection) - NEW in 2012
- Bacon
- Chocolate-Covered Frozen S'more
- Fried Butter
- Peanut Butter & Jelly
- Chocolate-Covered Deep Fried Cheesecake
- Griddle Stick (turkey sausage wrapped in a pancake)
- Cake Pops
- Fair Square
- Chocolate-Covered Tiramisu
- Chocolate-Covered Turtle Mousse Bar
- Twinkie Log (frozen Twinkie dipped in white chocolate and rolled in cashews)
- Octodog (hotdog in the shape of an octopus)
- Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Bar
- Chocolate-Covered Key Lime Dream Bar
- Carmellows
- Pickle
- Pork Chop
- Corn Dog
- Cheese
- Cajun Chicken
- Sesame Chicken
- Carmel Apple
- German Sausage
- Teriyaki Beef
- Corn on the Cob
- Cotton Candy
- Veggie Corndog
- Turkey Drumstick
- Nutty Bar
- Hot Bologna
- Chicken
- Monkey Tail (chocolate-covered banana)
- Honey
- Ice Cream Wonder Bar
- Deep-Fried Snickers
- Deep-Fried Milky Way
- Deep-Fried Twinkie
- Breakfast Lamb Sausage (brat)
- Deep-Fried Ho-Ho
- Deep-Fried Cupcake
- Dutch Letter
- Chocolate-Covered Cheesecake
- Pineapple (Fresh pineapple dipped in funnel cake batter and deep fried)
- Hot Lips (breaded chicken breast smothered with hot sauce, served with blue cheese dressing)
- Cornbrat (bratwurst dipped in corndog batter)
- Chocolate-Covered Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich
- Rock Candy
- Salad
- Hard-Boiled Egg
- Unicorn Lolipops
- Rainbow Popsicle
- Push-ups
- Turkey Tenderloin
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