15 photos of over-the-top fair foods that will make your mouth water

Gabbi ShawJul 18, 2020, 00:27 IST

Fried butter.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Fairs are known for their over-the-top foods, especially of the fried variety.
Though many state and county fairs have been postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, that doesn't mean we can't celebrate these culinary concoctions.
At the Iowa State Fair, they sell everything from fried butter to Bacon Ball on a Stick.

National Junk Food Day, which falls on July 21, is almost upon us — and what better place to snag some junk food than the local county or state fair.

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, many fairs will look different, or have been canceled altogether. But it's all the more reason to dream about the next time you can munch on lasagna nachos, funnel cake, or cotton candy.

Keep scrolling to see 15 of the wildest foods available at fairs around the country.

One of the most classic fair foods of all time is fried Oreos.

Fried oreos. ALEX EDELMAN/AFP/Getty Images

Another classic? Candy apples. These appear to be a bit more ornate than your average candy apple, though.

Candy apples. RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post/Getty Images

Anyone who doesn't automatically think of a fair when they see cotton candy clearly has been missing out.

Cotton candy at the State Fair of Texas. Donovan Reese Photography/Contributor/Getty Images

And the most classic of all is, of course, the funnel cake.

Funnel cake. Edwin Remsburg/VW Pics/Getty Images

Not all fair foods are sweet — just look at these savory curly fries ...

Curly fries. Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images

... or the Bacon Ball on a Stick, which can be found at the Iowa State Fair.

A Bacon Ball On A Stick. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Maybe nachos are more your style — these are called "lasagna nachos."

Lasagna nachos. Mark Rightmire/Orange County Register/Getty Images

But fairs are most famous, or infamous, for their fried foods. This is a fried stick of butter, for example.

Fried butter-on-a-stick. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

This is fried bubblegum.

Fried bubblegum. NBC DFW

The fried food doesn't stop there. This is, going clockwise from the top, fried Oreos, fried s'mores, fried pumpkin pie, and fried Snickers.

A smorgasbord of fried food. Yelp/Joey W.

For those trying to be "healthy," there's always fried avocado slices.

Fried avocados. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

But if fried food isn't what you're looking for, maybe caramel-dipped pecan pie on a stick is what you need.

Caramel-dipped pecan pie on a stick. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

This is what's called a "unicorn roll"

A unicorn roll. Mark Rightmire/Orange County Register/Getty Images

This is called the "Sugar High," and it was created by Ten Pound Buns.

Sugar High. Mark Rightmire/Orange County Register/Getty Images

And lastly, sometimes food at the fair can be a work of art and tasty, like this sugar painting.

A little girl can't waiting to lick her sugar painting in a spring festival temple fair. Zhang Peng/LightRocket/Getty Images

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