Emily Schubert - deep-fried what on a stick?

Deep-fried everything, on a stick. What the Minnesota state fair is known for, the food vendors. Every direction people look there is scented steam rising up from the food trucks and buildings.

Ice cold, fresh lemonade stands in each window begging to quench the hot day, or the fried onion you just ate. Each and every way you turn there are piles of food waiting to be eaten and enjoyed. The apples from the university, or the cider popsicles they have to cool the heat of the day.

The main food building is home to the “fair food” the classic deep-fried everything. Deep fried cookie dough is my personal favorite. Three frozen balls of dough coated in funnel cake batter and dropped in the deep fryer, coming out a light golden brown, and dusted with confectioner’s sugar. Served on a stick in a gourmet piece of tin foil, piping hot, with a cool center.

Roasted corn is an excellent second choice, roasted on the Corn Hut’s grill in the

Photo by: Bruce Bisping, Star Tribune

skins, as soon as the steam begins to come out of the husk they are whipped off and sent through a rapid assembly line. They are shucked, dipped in melted butter, and passed out to the waiting crowds of people. Right next to the receiving line there are salt and peppershakers to add a touch of flavor. Visitors walk away from the Corn Hut with melted butter and the juice of the corn rolling down their fingers, a piping hot experience well worth the walk down the road.

If you choose to walk a little further down, the foot long corn dogs are rotating on hot plates. Ready to be plucked up and consumed by any and all who enjoy the deep-fried hot dogs. Covered in mustard and ketchup salty and sweet, the perfect combination and guilty pleasure.

One of the best places to indulge is the Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar. The ultimate freshly baked, soft, chewy, and warm chocolate chip cookies. People stand in lines for half an hour just to get a cone of cookies, however, many are dedicated and get a half gallon bucket piled high with the freshly baked cookies. The Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar is famous across the fair and the state for the secret family recipe.

In the end, there are so many choices for the foods at the fair. But all of them are important and bring people together. Cuisines from cultures across the globe with a twist are present at the fair. Bringing people together to taste, eat, and experience different foods.

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