8th Favorite Thing About the 2009 State Fair of Texas: Getting Schooled (Part II: Cotton Candy)

Yesterday, The Professors of Fun enlightened us with a lesson on the BEST rides and games available this year at the Fair. As I mentioned, this was not the only information they generously imparted to me during our morning together.

Given my extensive research, I had (perhaps arrogantly) assumed that I knew all there is to know about the best food products offered for sale at the State Fair of Texas. And I thought I had covered just about all of them in my Countdown. Boy, was I mistaken! The Professors of Fun made me realize that I’d forgotten one very iconic treat — something you’d expect to find at any Fair, carnival, or circus. Something that is so sweet, delicious, light, and fluffy that eating it really is like putting a sugary cloud in your mouth and letting it slowly dissolve.

That treat is Cotton Candy:

And oh-my-goodness, the Professors know how to get rid of the stuff in a hurry.

In addition to its status as both a classic and a staple of any sort of carnie-anchored event, Cotton Candy also wins extra points for being a “fun food” (I think this applies best when the cotton candy is provided on a stick, rather than in a bag — a technicality), for its portability (you can truly eat it anywhere, at any time), and for its ability to retain its shape and consistency over time. I could be wrong about this, but it seems possible to me that those bags of Cotton Candy could be stored away for weeks on end with absolutely NO effect on the structural (or gustatory) integrity of the food product. Now THAT’S saying something. Most Fair foods lose their taste appeal as soon as they’re no longer warm (in less than 10 minutes). Cotton Candy, on the other hand, has staying power.

And the Professors were quite adamant about making sure I understood and got the full effect of the Cottony sweetness:

Obviously, I’m lucky. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to benefit from the wisdom of such experience. Many thanks to Carly, Courtney, Camille, Charlotte, Rebecca, and Talle.

You Professors run a truly top-notch Fair School.

Thanks, too, to Emily & Phillip and Yanela & Randy.

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~ by nf1014 on October 2, 2009.