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From mutton busting and Ferris wheels to rodeo shows and fireworks, the time-honored tradition of the American state fair showcases the very best of Yankee ingenuity and eccentricity — and nowhere is that better featured than in the culinary arena.
Where other than the US would fairgoers find deep-fried beers and chocolate-covered scorpions? From coast to coast, edible novelties abound — with regional favorites of all description to be found in different states. The state fair may have begun in the 19th century as an agricultural event centered on livestock and farm products, but the events have now evolved to be firmly rooted in fun foods, including contests seeing who can eat the most of them.
Classic items include hot dogs, corn dogs, cotton candy, blooming onions and funnel cakes, though certain vendors appear to relish the challenge of producing the most outrageous, and (sometimes) borderline revolting items that they can.
Geographical specialties are also spreading further field; Louisiana Mac N Cheese is on offer in Iowa, for example, and a Nashville hot chicken-inspired contender can be found in Texas.
But here’s a look at some of the craziest and most memorable State Fair foods from across the US.
Arizona – Chocolate Covered Bugs
Squeamish visitors should steer clear of Arizona fairgrounds; a novel but fairly staple food is – horrifyingly – chocolate-covered bugs. According to the Phoenix Sun, in 2010, visitors could pay as little as $2 for a single mealworm or cricket – ostensibly made palatable by a sugary, chocolate coating. For the braver (or possibly more foolish) among us, there are also deep-fried scorpions.
Similar creepy-crawly delicacies have been known to feature in other west coast state fairs, including California. And if you don’t like your scorpions deep-fried, there are always lollipops.
Wisconsin – 2,000 Cream Puffs
The Wisconsin State Fair has this year promised attendees that there will be 1,924 specialty Creme Puffs available, as the Original Cream Puff celebrates 100 years of sales at the event. The number commemorates the debut year of the fan favorite.
And not to be forgotten, of course, is the state’s favorite product: cheese. Chocolate-covered cheddar on a stick abounds, along with the Brisket Beer Cheese Baker – a take on the classic Midwest meat and potatoes all in one hand-held item, with a Wisconsin twist. The baker is a smoked baked potato topped with ranch butter, Wisconsin white cheddar beer cheese, chopped brisket, Doc’s sweet BBQ sauce, and crispy fried onion strings.
Other delicacies to be found at the Badger State Fair include “Blazin’ Jalapeno Deep-Fried Olives” and alligator tacos.
Iowa – Caprese Salad-on-a-Stick
"If you can find it at the Fair, you can find it on a stick,” goes the saying in Iowa. This year’s event, taking place from August 8 to 18, features more than 60 different food items that can be bought on sticks. The line-up includes the BLT on a stick, loaded taters on a stick, and the ambiguously titled “Disco Stick.”
Previous years have also pushed the limits of what food can be put on a stick, starting from the more innocuous Twinkie-on-a-stick, through to cherry pie-on-a-stick, before the baffling Caprese salad-on-a-stick.
Iowa also deserves an honorable mention for its famous life-size cow sculpture made of 600 pounds of low moisture, pure cream Iowa butter – though the bovine, sadly, is not consumable.
Alaska – Reindeer Hotdogs
While hotdogs are an obvious staple of all US state fairs, most don’t make theirs with reindeer meat. In defense of The Last Frontier, reindeer are far more common than cows and pigs in the Alaskan climate.
Another noteworthy event of the Alaska state fair is the annual Giant Cabbage Weigh Off – now in its 28th year. Winners of the competition can take home up to $1000, with competitors in the Junior Grower Division hoping for $250.
Alaskan farmer Scott A Robb set the Guinness World Record for heaviest cabbage in 2012, with a specimen that weighed just over 138lbs.
Texas – Deep-Fried Beer
Texas is no stranger to deep-fried delicacies. The 2024 Big Tex Choice Awards semi-finalists include deep-fried crispy Vietnamese Crepes, deep-fried “drowning” taquitos, and “Fat Bacon Pickle fries” – deep-fried dill pickle slices covered in queso and topped with bacon chunks and jalapeños.
If that doesn’t sound ridiculous enough for you, then how about some deep-fried beer? Yep, that’s correct.
It remains to be seen whether deep-fried PBR cans may one day take off, but pockets of alcohol-filled pretzel dough won the Big Tex Choice Awards at the fair in 2010.
Kansas – Pickle Pop
Texas may have its own take on pickles, but Kansas has something altogether more chilling. The Kansas State Fair’s answer to a freezer pop is filled with briny pickle juice and is said to be a delightfully sour pairing for the region’s famous barbecue.
The surprising treat is reportedly common among fairgoers in the Sunflower State looking to cool down on a hot summer day.
California – Python Kebabs
Over on the west coast in 2014, vendor George Sandefur changed his offerings from chicken to foods that "taste like chicken." Grilled python kebabs, seasoned with Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, Old Bay, and lemon-pepper were the talk of the California State Fair that year.
If that sounds fairly hideous, then you’ll probably be further horrified to know that Sandefur is also credited with introducing the “maggot sandwich” and state fairs in California and Colorado in 2011.
Sandefur said the maggots are grown on a farm and USDA-approved, as well as being filled with protein. That year he claimed he went through at least 23,000 maggots at the California State Fair in Fresno.
