It was a mess-with-your-mind culinary experience--one that I simply had to share.
I know, I know. “Deep Fried” has become a thing now. Everybody’s doing it. Even at the Texas State Fair--where (arguably) the idea of deep frying bizarre things originated--every food vendor outdoes themselves now by deep frying weirder and weirder stuff.
And when I say weird, I really mean it. You can find anything from deep fried cheesecake, deep fried bubble gum, deep fried butter, even deep fried spaghetti and meatballs now. *shudder*
If you don't find deep fried spaghetti and meatballs at least somewhat weird, you're not... normal.
I'm not normal either, but thankfully, all of these extra-weird deep fried items were beyond my ability to eat, for the simple reason that after I'd finished a couple of deep fried Oreos and a deep fried Reese's, I'd blown past "full" and entered a state of existential fullness. I was so full, I literally couldn’t imagine eating anything else… ever.
Speaking of not normal, one quick anecdote about my Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. The instant I bit into it, a woman standing near me started asking me, “Well? Doyoulikeit, doyoulikeit... DOYOULIKEIT? How’s it taste? Does it taste good?”
This went a bit beyond normal Texas friendliness. Either way, I couldn’t answer. I simply couldn't wrap my mind around what I was tasting. It was too ...weird. But I wanted to be polite, so I answered, mouth full, “I… I don’t (mmph) know. (Mmph) I'm just not sure!”
She turned away, disappointed.
But I really wasn’t sure. What I was eating defied description. Intellectually, I understood what it was: a Reese’s covered in a thick, mildly-sweet batter (if you’ve ever been to a state fair and had a funnel cake, the batter was like that). It was right-out-of-the-fryer hot, yet the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup inside was still structurally secure, perfectly warm, and only just starting to melt. And to top it all off there was powdered sugar and a splash of chocolate sauce on everything.
Again, intellectually, I knew what a Reese’s tasted like. And I guess I knew what deep fried batter was going to taste like too. But the combination of the two was an altogether new and different taste sensation. My mind was literally melting as I chewed and tried to process what was happening in my mouth. A couple minutes later, I had decided: I really liked it.
But that lady? She'd already left.
Readers, what’s the weirdest food you’ve ever tried? Share it in the comments!
Some of the details of this story may have been exaggerated. A little.
Deep fried brownies? Pshaw. That's not weird.
...the deep fried stuffed olives looked really good.
Yes, you're reading that correctly: Deep. Fried. Butter.
Admit it, you're curious about this one.
The deep fried Snickers bars were really popular.
People really line up for this stuff!
Cake balls and chicken skin, baby!
This one? Don't even get me started. No way would I try this.
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4 comments:
We had the deep fried Oreos here in Ohio this summer - they were okay, but my sister got her panties all in a wad because the lady in the booth was pulling cookies from a long sleeve and apparently that is *not* how Oreo packages their product! (my sister, champion of the masses, always seeking out injustices, I love her to pieces!). One booth had the butter, too, but even my adventurous palate was uninterested.
Weirdest food I ever ate? That's a tough one. I'll usually try anything once, but still get the heebie-jeebies watching Andrew Zimmern sometimes. Every year my sis comes to Ohio and we visit Jungle Jims in Cincy in search of the exotic - last year it was edible insects and the funkiest French cheeses they offered, this last summer was exotic fruits with the coup de grace as the durian fruit. They had balut in the refrigerated case, but I couldn't talk her into that. Maybe next summer. :)
At any rate, I can't believe you wussed out on the fried bubblegum! No doubt on some level you regret that.
HOW DID YOU MISS THE DEEP-FRIED MARGARITA? DID THEY NOT HAVE IT THIS YEAR??
Also, weirdest food was probably cuy (guinea pig) in Ecuador. Mostly because here they're pets and there they're a delicacy.
Try the deep fried snickers bar next time. But don't try to eat it all by yourself. One or two bites is plenty. But it's delicious - that thin coating of dough with melty chocolate and caramel with peanuts is phenomenal.
I am a more adventurous eater now than I was growing up, but I don't know that I've tried many things most people would think of as "weird."
During a sophomore summer in France, my hostess fed me tripe. That was weird. Icky, too. Oh how she laughed. She made up for it with the Best Fried Potatoes, and real chocolate mousse.
Okra. That's weird. I hate it.
Fried pig's ear. DELICIOUS. At Church & State in downtown L.A.
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