Such healthy food at the Indiana State Fair!

[CathyA]

INDIANAPOLIS -

A food-tasting panel has declared a confection called spaghetti and meatballs ice cream the signature food of this year's Indiana State Fair.

The dish made by Monroe Concessions bested such offerings as micro beer cheese sauce and Hoosier caramel corn sundae to take the honor for this year's fair top food.

The spaghetti and meatballs ice cream features noodles made from gelato ice cream and chocolate meatballs.

The Indianapolis Star reports the winning signature food was announced Tuesday for the fair, which runs Aug. 3-19.

Fairgoers this year will also be able to snap up deep-fried Girl Scout Samoa cookies, deep-fried M-&M's, deep-fried Hershey's drops and deep-fried bubble gum.

Previous deep-fried fair delicacies have included pickles, Twinkies, Snickers bars, ice cream, Kool-Aid, doughnuts and bacon.

[shadowmoss]

I have very fond memories of the Indiana State Fair from my youth. Yep, healthy all the way. :)

[Float On]

The big fair up in Springfield 'Ozark Empire Fair' has been having a lot of radio spots about their new 'healty living' area - featuring fresh, healthy, food offerings, Missouri ag products, and a healthy cooking kitchen show. I imagine that the lines at those won't quite be as long as the lines at the kettle corn or fried candy bars.

[CathyA]

LOL! I agree.......the lines to the healthy food is probably very, very short! No waiting.........

[small & friendly]

This might sound like a dumb question, but do they sell food at these state fairs, or is it only for display?

p.s. you know I'm not talking about the concession stands

[SteveinMN]

small & friendly, "fair food" typically is a major reason people visit. Certainly, there is much on display which is not for direct sale to fair-goers (ironically, it's the healthful stuff -- vegetables, fruits, meat animals). But for many folks, it's the stuff from the concession stands that people like most.

I understand in Texas they offer deep-fried butter. How that -- umm, delicacy -- has not migrated to Minnesota mystifies me. But it's just as well, I think. Kind of the ultimate deep-fried food; after that, where can you go? At the Minnesota State Fair, I always find it ironic that one of the deep-fried cheese curds stands is right across the street from a long-standing building promoting preventive health and offering free blood-pressure checks.

[JaneV2.0]

I haven't been to a fair in years, but i can eat "healthy" food at home, so If/when I next go Puyallup, I may very well go for deep-fried something or other. I can be as priggish about food as the next person, but Puritans annoy me.

[daisy]

In my opinion, something you eat once a year isn't a big deal, no matter how outlandish it is. And since we eat 95% of our meals at home (mostly cooked by me), when we do go out somewhere I don't put a lot of worry into healthy eating.

Having said that, spaghetti and meatballs ice cream does not sound like something I would stand in line to taste! :sick:

[CathyA]

I no longer go to the State Fair, but when I did, eating was a major event. I think the worst thing we ate, healthwise were the elephant ears. some of the "bad" stuff probably tastes good. But I have the feeling that alot of the people who go to the fair, eat similarly at home. (Maybe its that 100 extra pounds I see alot of that gives it away).
I don't see anything wrong with sticking to elephant ears/ice cream/lemon whatchamacallits/gyros/ribeye sandwiches/sausage and peppers, etc. Why do we have to create all this other crud?
Its like a contest now to see who can create the absolute unhealthiest "food" at the fair. I think they had deep fried koolaid last year.

[puglogic]

Deep fried Samoas? Sign me up now.

I eat about as healthy as anyone I know (well, when I'm not tasting food for my blog), but this sort of thing every now and again doesn't offend me - I think it's pretty funny actually.

It's well known that the state fair is the land of the deep fried everything. It's where I had deep fried green beans for the first time. Once it year it won't kill me, or anyone else {shrug} But to eat that way all the time, sure, that would be cruddy.

[iris lily]

At the Wisconsin State Fair some years ago I had two varieties of fried Cheese on a Stick.

One variety was forgettable. The other variety was sublime--I dream about it. ho boy.

[creaker]

In my opinion, something you eat once a year isn't a big deal

The trick is not coming up with 365 of them :)

[JaneV2.0]

" ...But I have the feeling that alot of the people who go to the fair, eat similarly at home. (Maybe its that 100 extra pounds I see alot of that gives it away)."

Flawed assumption.

[Stella]

" ...But I have the feeling that alot of the people who go to the fair, eat similarly at home. (Maybe its that 100 extra pounds I see alot of that gives it away)."

Flawed assumption.

Agreed. I don't know anyone who deep fries their own butter or kool-aid. Maybe once in a while with the cheese. :)


I don't see anything wrong with sticking to elephant ears/ice cream/lemon whatchamacallits/gyros/ribeye sandwiches/sausage and peppers, etc. Why do we have to create all this other crud?


You don't. No one is making you eat it. Who cares if other people eat it at the fair. It's the fair.

[Tussiemussies]

We don't go to Fairs anymore just for this very reason. We don't eat these types of foods at all, not even French fries so we wind up bored.

The one fair we used to go to also had very little in the arts and art and crafts. Mainly just foods and some shows that also aren't our interests.

Oh well...

[ApatheticNoMore]

I would never be lured to the fair by that food, but if I found myself there, well I can't be around yummy food and not eat. I can't go to a restaurant and "oh I'll just get a coffee" or go to an ice cream parlor "I'm watching my diet so nothing for me, you guys get something". No. That's a level of discipline I don't even try to have, that's food as ocassional celebration. But some of the more ridiculous foods don't even have any appeal: deep fried M&Ms, deep fried butter and kool aid. In what universe does that even sound tasty? Just some normal junk food, fries or onion rings or the cheese, would be enough. Healthy food can be PLENTY tempting, but it's all about quality ingredients (perfectly ripe peaches or tomatoes or something, that's yum) and preparation, it doesn't necessarily lend itself to feeding thousands of people a day.

[Wildflower]

Cathy A, what are elephant ears? Never heard of them.

I personally like the fried corn dogs on a stick, and those little fried cheese balls. Yum! Once a year I indulge in crap like that. LOL All things in moderation has always been my motto. :)

[sweetana3]

Elephant ears are thin stretched rounds of dough fried and dusted with sugar. I used to walk around the fair and never could decide what to eat because it was all so heavy and EXPENSIVE. Round and round I went. Now I dont go for food.

[bunnys]

Elephant ears are thin stretched rounds of dough fried and dusted with sugar.

Is that like funnel cakes? I was wondering myself. But where I live you can also get them topped with chocolate sauce, whipped cream or fruit pie filling (strawberry, blueberry, etc.) I've never had one.

[SteveinMN]

I've never eaten a funnel cake. I think I tried some of an elephant ear one year and was not impressed, but that kind of sweet is not what gets my motor running anyway. I tried the elephant ear because I've never had one before. And I think that kind of novelty drives a lot of eating at the fair. People just want to try unusual items and vendors are only too happy to oblige.

I should say it is possible to eat healthfully at the Minnesota State Fair. You can get a "good ol'" turkey sandwich, fresh-fruit kabobs, good coffee and milk. Of course, there's plenty to do at the Fair even if you didn't nibble on anything....

[Float On]

The trick with a funnel cake is to get one to share with several others. I think eatting one by sitself must be in the 4000 calorie area.
Sharing would also leave room for everyone to sample one of those deep fried somoa cookies. :)

I've yet to try the fried greenbeans but would probably do that if it came with a great dipping sauce.

I don't do fairs - county or state. And when we travel for art shows we rarely eat at any of the vendors that book the same shows (we've seen a few too many unsafe food handling examples). We always pack food for the day - lots of protien and energy foods to make it thru the day and then splurge on a great restaurant in the evenings with friends (if we had good sales).

I do think about having a food vendor trailer and selling crapes. Breakfast and dessert style. Bonus if I could swing transforming a little vintage trailer into my vendor trailer.

[CathyA]

deep fried samoas.............isn't that gilding the lily? haha

My SIL had store-bought frozen deep fried green beans that she heated up in the oven and they were good............but no long the healthy green bean. You really couldn't even taste the green bean............but I think that was the plan.
I remember when cotton candy was the big thing at a fair. YUK. (Although as a kid, I just had to have it).
I don't think salt water taffy is very popular any more either.
I just can't handle sugar like I used to.
I did like the grilled polish sausage with peppers and onions......
Now I'm hungry...............

[Stella]

Steve the turkey sandwich and milk are always on my must-have list. The roasted corn too. Of course so are the deep fried cheese curds. :)

[JaneV2.0]

One of my favorites is twice-fried green beans, a Chinese dish in which you deep-fry them first, then stir-fry them with garlic, ginger, tamari, and chilis. No breading is involved. Usually, my stir-fry includes chicken. Both texture and flavor are divine.

[puglogic]

Roasted corn, yum. And turkey legs. I have to finish my turkey leg before I go over to the Poultry Building, my favorite part of the state fair.

[treehugger]

And turkey legs. I have to finish my turkey leg before I go over to the Poultry Building, my favorite part of the state fair.

Lol, don't want to make the live poultry nervous, after all! I was in 4-H from age 9-17, so I spent quite a lot of time each summer at our county fair. We used to get in free, and then have to work a certain number of hours at the cake booth or other 4-H-ey places. My favorite fair food always was, and still is, chocolate covered frozen banana.

Speaking of summer jobs (we were, at one point), lots of people I went to high school with got jobs at the fair every year, working for two long, hard, lucrative weeks at various food vendors.

I've never been to a state fair, but our county fair was pretty big, with lots going on (even horse racing), so I have always imagined state fairs to be similar, just bigger. Lots of 4-H friends who raised animals for show and sale would go on to the state fair after winning big at county. I never raised animals in 4-H, but I did enter a few cooking and crafts competitions at the fair when I was younger.

This thread is bringing back lots of good memories,

Kara

[CathyA]

LOL Pug.........that's very considerate of you. :~)

Jane.........our local China buffet has some green beans that are our favorite. They are plain, with garlic and I think a bit of soy sauce. I've tried to make them in the oven (roasted) and they come pretty close. But I'm thinking the ones at the restaurant are deep fried..........no breading, but still deep fried. Man are they good!

[sweetana3]

I made similiar green beans and it take high heat and a wok and a lot of cooking. Lots of garlic and sesame oil.