Sneak a Peak at the Fair's Fried Bubblegum

Fried bubblegum, fried salsa among finalists at this year's Big Tex Choice Awards

In 2010, it was all about the fried beer. The year before that, it was fried butter. Could this year be bubblegum pink?

Justin Martinez is going pink inside the Centennial Building at Fair Park.

"It almost has that blowup effect where it looks like someone is blowing a bubble," he said while pulling out a pink ball from his fryer.

It's actually a marshmallow.

"What we do is, we infuse the marshmallow with bubblegum extract, and that's where it gets the flavor," Martinez said.

After that, it's dipped into some pink batter and then the fryer.

"And then with a little bit of blue icing on top and then those Chiclets, it gives it a nice appeal," Martinez said.

He said he is hoping his Fried Bubblegum will win top honors at this year's Big Tex Choice Awards.

On Monday, judges will had out awards for the best tasting food and the most creative.

Besides Martinez's Fried Bubblegum, the seven other finalists are Buffalo Chicken in a Flapjack, Deep Fried Pineapple Upside Down Cake, El Bananarito, Fried Autumn Pie, Hans' Kraut Ball, Walking Taco and Deep Fried Texas Salsa.

"Just think about -- if you were to have some nice warm salsa with the cheese in the middle and a crunchy crust on the outside and you get to dip it in some sauce. That's what you get," said Isaac Rousso, creator of the deep-fried salsa.

The state fair runs Sept. 30 through Oct. 23.

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