Fried Bubblegum Wins 'Most Creative' At Texas State Fair (VIDEO)

In Texas, it's go big or go home.

And just when you thought state fairs had explored the entire spectrum of fried foods, fried bubblegum makes an appearance and takes the cake.

The fluffy, pink deep-fried concoction claimed the top prize for "most creative" dish at the State Fair of Texas' Big Tex Choice Awards on Monday.

But fried bubblegum isn't exactly what you'd expect it to be: It's a marshmallow that's been dipped into pink batter, fried and topped with blue icing and some Chiclets (for good measure, of course).

"What we do is, we infuse the marshmallow with bubblegum extract, and that's where it gets the flavor," creator Justin Martinez told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.

The judges announced the winners of the best in Texas fare on Sept. 6. The fair is set to kick off Sept. 30.

The chewy creation wasn't the only food to grab the judges' attention, though.

Buffalo chicken in a flapjack, won the prize for best-tasting food. The dish features chicken strips coated in batter, jalapeno breadcrumbs and is then deep-fried, according to The Associated Press.

Some fairgoers-to-be don't think fried bubblegum sounds very appealing, nevertheless appetizing.

An informal poll conducted by the Dallas Morning News revealed that readers thought fried bubblegum sounded the least tasty from a list of foods, including fried autumn pie, deep-fried pineapple upside-down cake and deep-fried Texas salsa. The buffalo chicken in a flapjack seemed slightly more appealing to readers, according to the poll results.

Fried bubblegum joins the ranks of odd-sounding -- and probably not-so-healthy -- fair fare. On the list: fried butter, fried Kool-Aid, fudge-covered scorpions and deep-fried pig ears.

Learn how fried bubblegum is made by watching the report by NBC Dallas-Fort Worth below.

WATCH:

Comments

[Don Giovanni]

02:01 AM on 09/09/2011

Battered and Deep-Fried Lutefisk for the Minnesota State Fair.

[Don Giovanni]

01:42 AM on 09/09/2011

Battered and Deep-Fried Cotton Candy. Oh the ideas keep comin'!

[Don Giovanni]

01:40 AM on 09/09/2011

Deep-Fried Gefilte Fish.

[Don Giovanni]

01:35 AM on 09/09/2011

Deep-Fried Poutine-on-a-Stick.

[Don Giovanni]

01:23 AM on 09/09/2011

How about a nice steaming plate of fried mayonnaise?

[GGSS2020]

11:14 PM on 09/08/2011

Hmmm what'll they think of next?

[KennebunkportIndependent]

03:58 PM on 09/08/2011

With all these extreme fried foods at county and state fairs, I am waiting for a mohel to come up with a recipe little friend 'ring'.

[oberlinkay91]

03:16 PM on 09/07/2011

Couldn't help but notice all the people ripping on fried foods. So here's my input. We all make our own choices. If you want to stay healthy; stay away from or eat very little fried food. If you want to enjoy trying everything; go for it. No one's forcing us to eat it. We are mostly all capable human beings and can make our choices: Healthy or not.

[invmartyc]

02:40 PM on 09/07/2011

This fried this and fried that fad is getting out of hand! Deep frying is bad for your health! So what are they doing is frying everything imaginable in fat! Why don't they just cut out the middleman and sell a good old steaming cup of hot lard! Fried lard in a cup!

No stealing my idea!

[KennebunkportIndependent]

03:59 PM on 09/08/2011

Fried butter is pretty close.  It even has salt.

[Eric Graff]

02:11 PM on 09/07/2011

Fried dog s*it would taste good, fried ANYTHING tastes good! If I could find it I would LOVE to try fried butter YUMMY!

[michaelb006]

01:53 PM on 09/07/2011

Why?

[Michael Majdanski]

12:53 PM on 09/07/2011

i think if texas fell off the map this country would be just a better place, overall.

[sutt202]

12:26 PM on 09/07/2011

Say this real fast "Double Bubble, bubble gum". Now say "Toy Boat" real fast 3 times.

[vamborools714]

11:56 AM on 09/07/2011

i heard the wisconsin state fair had deep fried beer.

[spring64127]

11:38 AM on 09/07/2011

This is one of the most craziest next to fried pickles or okra. I'm a senior and from the old school and would never fry these foods, I'm also a professional cook and what really takes the cake is fried snickers candy bar, WHAT CRAP. Don't we have anything better to do than to mess up food (lol), Lord help us.

[salgal877]

12:28 PM on 09/07/2011

How about fried butter ?! Oprah had some, I think at the Texas fair.
YUCK