Somewhere between the Ferris wheel and the prize hogs, the American fair has become the place where dinner goes to lose its mind. Two exhibits star this season, and both arrive with a side of "wait, what?"
First, meet the Dill Devil. According to the Florida State Fair, it is a whole dill pickle, halved and hollowed out, then piped full of creamy deviled-egg filling and finished with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes — a pickle impersonating a deviled egg, which is either inspired or completely unhinged.
Then there is fried Kool-Aid. Yes, the powder from your childhood. The drink mix is stirred into batter, dropped in the fryer, and dusted with powdered sugar until it emerges as a small, sweet, alarmingly red fritter. By most accounts it tastes like a hug from 1985 that wandered too close to a deep fryer.
These two have plenty of company. Recent fairs have served burgers that use fried deviled eggs as the bun, whole Cuban sandwiches rolled up and deep-fried, and cotton candy wrapped around ice cream like a burrito. For the truly brave, chocolate-dipped pickles and candy-coated insects turn up on a stick.
Somewhere along the midway, "Can we fry this?" stopped being a question and became a dare.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
