15 photos of over-the-top fair foods that will make your mouth water
Gabbi Shaw
- 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.
These fried Oreos were made at the 2019 Iowa State Fair, which takes place in Des Moines every year.
Another classic? Candy apples. These appear to be a bit more ornate than your average candy apple, though.
These candy apples are normally found at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo.
Anyone who doesn't automatically think of a fair when they see cotton candy clearly has been missing out.
These giant bags of cotton candy were at the Texas State Fair in Dallas.
And the most classic of all is, of course, the funnel cake.
Be sure to look for this funnel cake at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium. Every year, the celebration is held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds.
Not all fair foods are sweet — just look at these savory curly fries ...
This photo was taken at the 2012 California State Fair in Sacramento.
... or the Bacon Ball on a Stick, which can be found at the Iowa State Fair.
The Bacon Ball is a pork meatball wrapped in bacon and dipped in barbecue sauce. These bad boys were sold at the Bacon Box stand at the fair.
Maybe nachos are more your style — these are called "lasagna nachos."
At the 2018 San Diego County Fair, fair-goers were treated to lasagna nachos: pasta, chips, pesto, veggies, cheese, marinara, and meats. They are the creation of Pignotti's Pasta.
But fairs are most famous, or infamous, for their fried foods. This is a fried stick of butter, for example.
According to Getty, this was taken at the Iowa State Fair. This is Colton Anderson, an 11-year-old fair-goer who is trying deep-fried butter-on-a-stick for the first time.
This is fried bubblegum.
At the 2011 Texas State Fair, the culinary concoction that won "Most Creative" was this snack: fried bubblegum, according to Time. Justin Martinez, the creator, told the magazine exactly how he created it. He "infuses puffy marshmallows with bright pink bubblegum extract, then batters and fries them," he told Time. He then tops the marshmallows with blue icing and powdered sugar.
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.
These all came from the Texas State Fair.
For those trying to be "healthy," there's always fried avocado slices.
This snack can also be found at the Iowa State Fair, which has been around since 1854.
But if fried food isn't what you're looking for, maybe caramel-dipped pecan pie on a stick is what you need.
It's "made with homemade stuffed pie crust, filled with pecan filling, dipped in a chocolate caramel mixture and rolled in extra pecans and bacon and is [normally] available at the Bacon Box" at the Iowa State Fair, according to Getty. Sadly, this year's fair was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This is what's called a "unicorn roll"
While it's not immediately clear what's inside a unicorn roll, it appears to be a cinnamon roll with vanilla ice cream, Fruity Pebbles cereal, and a rainbow sour strip. These were created by Country Fair Cinnamon Rolls and sold at the San Diego County Fair.
This is called the "Sugar High," and it was created by Ten Pound Buns.
The Sugar High looks like a sticky bun covered in peanut butter, marshmallows, and M&M's — the perfect sweet tooth fix.
And lastly, sometimes food at the fair can be a work of art and tasty, like this sugar painting.
Sugar paintings are a traditional Chinese dessert. According to the Daily China, sugar paintings were invented "around 400 to 600 years ago," and can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty. This sugar painting was enjoyed at a fair in China, though you can find it in Washington, DC, too.
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