In the U.S., state fairs are a time of celebration and fun. It's also a time where Americans push the limits of decency when it comes to fried foods. While some fried foods found at state fairs are somewhat on the benign side (think deep-fried donuts), there have been, and continue to be, other foods that...just...well...you'll just have to read on.
Here are our top 4 fried foods found at state fairs in the United States:
1. Fried Beer. Ok, it's not actually fried beer, since you can't fry liquids (and it would be a waste of beer). The food is actually a ravioli that is filled with beer and then deep fried. The ravioli is a dough, much like that of a pretzel and then cooked in oil for less than 30 seconds. Because there is alcohol in the ravioli, anyone who wants to buy one (or a dozen) must be of legal drinking age.
2. The Deep Fried Ice Cream Burger. You'll be happy to know that this deep-fried fiasco starts out with something you're familiar with - a good-ole hamburger. And that's about where the familiarity ends. You see, the burger toppings are topped with a square of ice cream that has been dipped in crushed corn flakes and cinnamon and then plunged into a deep fryer for about 15 seconds.
3. Fried Alligator. This one is a bit weird in that it's very common in Illinois - a state where there are no alligators. At all. Unless they're in a zoo. So how this came to be an actual thing in that state is beyond us. All we know is that, according to most people, alligator tastes like pork. Which likely means that pork tastes like alligator. You may or may not have wanted to know that. But as far as we can tell, it's a very popular treat in the state.
4. Fried Sugar Cubes. But...not just fried. They're dipped in vanilla- or chocolate-flavored batter and THEN deep fried and THEN drizzled with chocolate or some other sugary liquid like a caramel or liquid jam. It's enough to give you a cavity just thinking about it. But, there is a small part of us that would actually try this one at least once.
Honestly, in our research we found enough weird fried foods that are found at state fairs in the U.S. to write a small book. But since we aren't really about writing small books, let's just say there may be another post on this topic in your future.
