New Deep-Fried Bubblegum Turned Heads at the Iowa State Fair

Each year, prior to the Minnesota State Fair, Iowa State Fair, and I'm sure all state fairs across the country, a list of the new foods is released. Some sound delicious, others are definitely quirky. And I'd say this one particular new food that was at the Iowa State Fair was under the 'quirky' category.

(FYI, I'll have all of the new foods for the Minnesota State Fair at the bottom of this post.)

ALSO READ: All 63 New Adult Beverages at the 2024 Minnesota State Fair

Iowa State Fair 2024

The Iowa State Fair wrapped up its 2024 season on Sunday, August 18th.

As usual, there were plenty of tasty foods to be had and if you're like me you may have scoped out a new food to try at the fair this year.

And maybe that new food was the deep-fried bubblegum.

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It's not a wad of gum mashed up and deep-fried, don't worry. But it is meant to remind you of and taste like gum, which I'm not so sure about. You're taught as a kid to not swallow gum. So to then eat something that tastes like gum... I feel like it'd throw me off.

But this new food turned heads and it definitely looks like a big wad of gum.

Iowa State Fair's Deep-Fried Bubblegum

The stand where this was sold was called Bubbly Bar and Bistro. They were a new stand this year and it looks like a really cool spot. They had live music, giant games (like giant chess), fun cocktails, and also creative food concoctions including the deep-fried bubblegum.

The Des Moines Register writes that the deep-fried bubblegum was made with "a vanilla marshmallow in the [center], flavored with bubblegum, and then deep fried in a funnel cake coating."

It's very creative! Will I try it? Probably not.