Fair food

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Last week I received a press release from the Minnesota State Fair unveiling the new food offerings for 2023. In all, 34 new creations will make their debut at this year’s Great Minnesota Get-together. It didn’t seem that long ago when there were barely 34 choices for food on the entire fairgrounds. Corn dogs, foot longs and mini donuts ruled the day. Oh sure, there were a handful of sit-down places where you could get a beef commercial or steak and eggs; but those were for “old” people. It seemed ludicrous to sit down long enough to eat an actual square meal. There was too much to do. How could these people leisurely sit with their pie and coffee? Daylight was burning! Sweet Martha’s cookies and the French fry factory draw the big crowds now and some of the food offerings are downright quirky. Alligator nuggets seem passe` at today’s State Fair. Remember when deep fried candy bars made their debut? BO-RING! Today’s food vendors are challenged with finding new combinations and exotic ingredients to capture the fair-goer’s interest. I won’t give you all 34 new delicacies, but a handful caught my eye:

By Paul Malchow

These food vendors weren’t born yesterday. A few are smart enough to include bacon as an ingredient i.e. BaconWrapped Waffle Dog. There is also the Donut Delights: Mini donuts wrapped in bacon, on-a-stick, then deep-fried, topped with a layer of peanut butter and drizzled with raspberry dessert sauce. It seems there’s a lot going on there. Also new this year is an effort to lure in the Lutherans: the Crispy Lutefisk Steam Bun. It is described as a steamed lotus bun filled with a blend of cabbage, carrots, cilantro and yum yum sauce, plus Olsen Fish Company lutefisk brined in salt water for 12 hours, covered in sweet hoisin sauce, then baked and topped with sesame seeds. I’ve ventured into lutefisk a time or two (purely out of politeness) and have been told lutefisk is an “acquired taste.” Perhaps the yum-yum sauce is the key.

Dill Pickle Cheese Curd Taco: Fried white cheddar cheese curds, sandwich stacker dill pickles, cream cheese, lettuce and raspberry chipotle sauce in a fried flour tortilla. Just the thing to eat before going on the Man Eater Ride of Death on the midway (or maybe not). Wash it down with a “Kind of a Big Dill” Pickle Lemonade. Lemonade mixed with tangy dill pickling spices and garnished with a crunchy slice of pickle.

Chicken Momo With Tomato Chutney: Blend of ground chicken, cabbage, onion, ginger and other spices steamed in a dough wrapper. Served with tomato chutney. This is a new vendor for the fair this year. The dish is only available Aug. 24-29, so don’t tarry. The momo the merrier.

Al Taco Baba: Traditional hummus, harissa (pronounced hr-ee-suh) barbacoa, corn, queso fresco, chili dust, shatta (hot sauce) (pronounced shat-ta), crema, cilantro and pita puffs. This has to be for the more food-adventurous. “I can’t pronounce what I’m eating, but it’s delicious!” And can you count all of the times you’ve come home with a State Fair bellyache because you ate too much hummus?

Crunchy Balboa: Deep-fried tortilla filled with vegan roast beef, bacon and cheese sauce, plus peppers, onions and a hashbrown patty. Vegan roast beef?

Fruity Cereal Milk Biscuit: A Betty and Earl’s biscuit made with fruity cereal milk and cereal bits, drizzled with icing flavored with fruity cereal, and topped with more cereal bits. To me, fruity cereal milk is what’s left in the bowl after you finish your Fruit Loops. Look for it in your local dairy case…

Pickles pop up quite a bit with the new State Fair delicacies. A fad or a trend? Time will tell. In addition to some of the pickle-pronounced dishes mentioned above, fair goers can also find Miami Mango Pickles: Dill pickles infused with Miami mango punch; Dill Pickle Lemonade Paleta is lemon-flavored, water-based and includes dill pickle slices; and Pickle Fries: Crispy, tangy thin-cut dill pickle fries lightly coated in a cornmeal and seasoned mustard batter (served with a side of chipotle dipping sauce).

When it comes to trying new food at the State Fair, the challenge is two-fold: how does one work in the new stuff while still satisfying the craving for the tried-and-true favorites?; and forking over the money for new food? The dish may sound intriguing, it might even look really good, but is it worth the monetary risk?

Plus, there is a time factor. Unless you’ve got a cast iron stomach, is there any possible way to try 34 new fair foods in one day? The key, of course, is to go to the fair multiple days. The 2023 Minnesota State Fair runs from Aug. 24 through Labor Day, so there is ample glutton time. I might suggest scheduling a day or two of recovery time between visits though.

In this issue of The Land you will find our annual Farmfest preview. Whether you attend annually or planning your first visit, the preview comes in handy to prepare. It features a complete schedule of events and a listing of the many exhibitors displaying their wares.

Food offerings at Farmfest are not nearly as exotic as those at the State Fair, but there is still plenty of variety. I’m pretty sure I’ve hit every food booth one time or another over the years. I like to support the Farm Bureau pork chop stand and the Cattlemen’s