All's 'Fair' on 'Fry - Day'

This last weekend marked the beginning of summer. What better way to kick it off with some fair-inspired food. Out yet another cookout this weekend, I decided to try doing deep fried candy bars, a staple at any American fair midway these days. I did some research, and found a couple of recipes. The difference is just the ingredients and consistencies of the batters. Apparently the deep fried candy bar has it's origins in Scotland, where the UK Mars Bar (sweeter version of the American Milky Way) is battered and fried. I found a recipe that turned out a consistency very similar to fried bars that I've had in fairs back in Indiana, and a recipe that is supposedly more like the Scottish version. The Fair is more doughy whereas the Scottish is a bit crispier. So here's the concoctions for both:








'Fair' Style
Wet ingredients:

• 1 cup of milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tblsp of vegetable oil

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt

Add dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then whisk in dry into wet ingredients and chill.










'Scottish' Style

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of corn starch
• 1 pinch of baking soda
• Milk or Beer (Beer gives a lighter taste)

Add flour, corn starch and baking soda together. Then add milk or beer until ingredients have a thin cream consistency - was at least a cup. Then chill until ready to use.


Other ingredients besides your batter is a chocolate bar and oil for frying. Mars brand chocolate bars are the best since they have a good structure to hold up in the frying process. A bit of Washingtonian history, Mars Incorporated was founded in 1911 in Tacoma, WA by Frank and Ethel Mars. Chill the candy bar in the fridge before frying(at least an hour to be safe) - no need to freeze as the bar may still be cold or solid after frying, you want the bar nice and gooey in the center. I also cut the bars in half, since a whole deep fried bar is quite substantial. Heat some oil (about 3 inches high) in a pan or pot to at least 350 degrees F. Coat bar in batter and place into oil. Remove from oil once batter has turned golden and place on a towel to remove excess grease. You don't have to wait too long to dig in. Garnish with a little confectioner's sugar and it goes great with some ice cream. I also tried battering an Oreo (straight out of the package) and it worked out great!








Eric brought dough for doughnuts, so I tried wrapping a chocolate bar or Oreo in the dough and then frying until dough turned golden - very tasty! Also coating with confectioner's sugar or cinnamon sugar adds some more flavor to the doughnut. I believe he used Food Network's Alton Brown doughnut recipe from Good Eats.