News-Record.com

My story will focus on some of the local folks who enter cows, goats and other critters in the fair.

At the fairgrounds this morning, workers were busy constructing the midway and getting things set for a Friday launch. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and the others setting up the fair seemed fairly optimistic about a smooth start this year, despite the Friday the 13th start date.

The Department of Labor is scheduled to give an update on Thursday regarding how many of the midway rides are up and running.

Now, one of the big attractions at the state fair is food. Yes, you can go see the pre-processed version moo or oink, but you can also sample a strange array of things that you really only run into at a state fair.

And if you know anything at all about state fairs, it's that they are famous for frying things. So this year, new to the fair, joining the ranks of Twinkies and Snickers, is ...

...Coca-Cola. Yes, the soft drink. Yes, you can fry it, sort of.

Greg Seamster, who was whipping up swirls of new dough concoction for curious reporters Tuesday, explained the process. The batter is made with the dry ingredients that typically go into fried dough, but instead of mixing them with water, they are mixed with the soft drink.

"We first heard of this from the Texas state fair," said Seamster, as he added a few shakes of powdered sugar, a couple heavy squirts of cola syrup, followed by whip cream and a cherry.

One might ask, "How does it taste?"

This is one man's opinion, but I don’t like it. If you get a fork-full of the dough without the syrup, there is a faint background flavor of cola. The dough seems a bit thicker and chewier than typical fried dough. The real flavor comes from the syrup, which was a little too sweet for me.

Not that my taste is all that reliable, since I’m a sucker for the giant turkey legs.

More coming in Friday’s paper.