|
Fried Coke: The Unreal Thing |
|
Wednesday, 12 September 2007 |
Deep-fried Coke is it. Apparently, decadence in the world of deep-fried delicacies at the Kansas State Fair didn't reach its zenith when the first Twinkies were dropped in a vat of boiling oil at the 2002 fair.
Nor did it happen a year later when Oreos were added to the pantheon of products plunged into piping-hot oil.
What was missing from those calorie-laden, cholesterol-raising treats?
What could be added that could make dieticians and cardiologists shriek even louder in horror?
Caffeine, of course.
Not to worry. That missing ingredient can be found in fried Coca-Cola, which is making its Kansas State Fair debut.
It was last October at the State Fair of Texas where Abel Gonzales, a Dallas computer analyst, introduced this innovative way of simultaneously getting a buzz while clogging your arteries.
Gonzales ran two stands at the fair and sold up to 35,000 fried Cokes over 24 days for $4.50 each and won a prize for coming up with "most creative" new fair food, according to Reuters.
Granny's Food, a concessionaire based in the San Antonio suburb of Cibolo, brought the new taste sensation north to the Kansas State Fair.
"We're not sure yet if it is just a fad," said Joe Premont, who operates the stand just south of Bison Arena with his wife, Brenda, and their "head chef" Tony Florez.
To make a fried Coke, they add Coca-Cola syrup to funnel cake batter, which is dripped into boiling oil and cooked until the little peanut-shaped bits are golden brown.
The Coke-laden bits of funnel cake are then dropped into a Coca- Cola cup before more Coke syrup is drizzled over them. The whole thing is then topped off with a dusting of powdered sugar.
So how does it taste?
A Wichita couple, Justine Fernandez and Brian Starr, shared one of the $5 cups of fried Coke. They took a couple of bites and then declared it tasted like funnel cake "dunked in warm, flat soda."
But they kept eating and kept smiling at every mouthful.
"I think it's great," Starr finally declared, with agreement from Fernandez, who suggested they follow their fried Coke with a deep- fried candy bar.
While Premont isn't sure fried Coke will be as enduring as its essential ingredient, he thinks another item they are selling has staying power - deep-fried cheesecake.
Fried Coke isn't the only new food at the 2007 Kansas State Fair.
In fact, if you are looking for what might be the antithesis of fried Coke, stop by the Selby Concessions stand on Pride of Kansas Avenue just east of the Oz Building.
That is where for $4 you can buy a stuffed cucumber. This walking-around meal is made by peeling all but one end of a giant cuke and then hollowing it out with an apple corer. Into the hole is stuffed your choice of crab salad, chicken salad or ranch dressing.
Operators of the stand said Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is supposed to drop by to try a stuffed cucumber during her visit to the fair Thursday. Sebelius has launched a Healthy Kansas campaign, one plank of which is to encourage Kansans to eat "a healthy, nutritious diet (including five daily servings of fruits and vegetables)."
New also to this year's fair are meat pies from Kang'a Jack's Aussie Shack, which is on Cottonwood Avenue west of the Midway. The stand is operated by an Australian expatriate and his U.S. partner and features flaky pastry shells stuffed with roast beef, beef and cheese or chicken and vegetables. They sell for $6.
New fair fare also includes roast beef sundaes, which are being sold for $5 at a stand on Bison Boulevard across from the Kansas Lottery building. Made to resemble a sundae, they are built in a bowl into which a scoop of mashed potatoes are dropped and then topped with hot roast beef and gravy. To complete the effect, a little shredded cheese is added and the whole thing is capped by a cherry tomato.
(C) 2007 The Topeka Capital-Journal. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved |
