A Stick on a Stick (County Fair Edition)

I guess you know when you’re from the Northwest when you have a visceral reaction to the latest from the deep-fried set in the flyover states. Pickles (not bad), Twinkies (interesting), Snickers (a bit of a waste of a fine candy).

Based on that, you might ask: “What are they deep-frying this year?”.

Butter.

You heard it right .. it is served drizzled in cinnamon and / or honey, and is making the rounds at the county fair circuits. Eater.com posts “A Deep-Fried Stick of Butter (On a Stick) at the Iowa State Fair” .. which sounds mildly redundant: deep-fried stick on a stick? Please.

Surprisingly, this is actually nothing new: the delicacy debuted at the State Fair of Texas back in 2009 (link to NPR). Not to miss out on the 2009 craze, the mainstream MSNBC posted “Move over, Twinkies, Deep-Fried Butter is here”.

For the calorie crowd .. a stick of butter has 810 calories. 1/3 of a cup of pancake batter is about 150 calories. Add in the oil used to fry it, and I’m guessing it’s conservatively a 1,000-calorie treat.

About Michael Coates
I am a pragmatic evangelist. The products, services and solutions I write about fulfill real-world expectations and use cases. I stay up-to-date on real products I use and review, and share my thoughts here. I apply the same lens when designing an architecture, product or when writing papers. I am always looking for ways that technology can create or enhance a business opportunity .. not just technology for technology's sake. My CV says: Seasoned technology executive, leveraging years of experience with enterprise and integration architectural patterns, executed with healthy doses of business acumen and pragmatism. That's me. My web site says: Technology innovations provide a myriad of opportunities for businesses. That said, having the "latest and greatest" for its own sake isn't always a recipe for success. Business successes gained through exploiting innovation relies on analysis of how the new features will enhance your business followed by effective implementation. Goals vary far and wide: streamlining operations, improving customer experience, extending brand, and many more. In all cases, you must identify and collect the metrics you can apply to measure your success. Analysis must be holistic and balanced: business and operational needs must be considered when capitalizing on a new technology asset or opportunity.

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