Fried WHAT???

My stomach is threatening spontaneous rebellion upon reading the news of the winner of the Most Creative Big Tex Choice Award at the recent State Fair of Texas. The Dallas Morning News reports:

This year’s winner of the State Fair of Texas’ award for the most creative new food will surely give fairgoers plenty to chew on.

It’s called Fried Bubblegum, but it’s not actually gum. You can’t chew it for very long. And you can’t blow bubbles with it.

. . .

State Rep. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, acknowledged that the Fried Bubblegum wasn’t his “cup of tea.”

“I think the kids are going to go crazy for that one, so I voted for that one,” he said. “I knew that that would be a really big hit.”

The super-sweet small pink marshmallow domes are infused with bubblegum extract and fried in bubblegum batter, creator Justin Martinez said. Then they are topped with blue icing and sprinkled with colorful Chiclets.

“It’s ooey, gooey and sticky,” said judge Kristi Scales, sideline reporter for the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network. “I recommend parents bring some Handi Wipes.”

. . .

The treat was an employee’s idea, Martinez said.

“When we heard bubble gum, we thought you know what, if we can make that work, it could be something special,” he said. “It took months to figure out how to get the flavor of bubblegum without actually having to fry a piece of bubblegum.”

The sticking point: Gum won’t fry.

“It absolutely was a disaster,” Martinez said. “It just sits there and you bite into it and all you’re really eating is oil. The way we do it is a lot better tasting.”

. . .

The hardest part of the job may be the after-effect of all that fried food.

“There’s still no preparation for this much grease and bread in your stomach,” Johnson said. “I’m thinking about next year entering deep fried Pepto-Bismol balls for the competition so people can have those at the end.”

There's more at the link.

Fried Bubblegum, followed by Pepto-Bismol Balls. Doesn't that sound like the ultimate gastronomic nightmare?





Peter