Partoftheenjoymentofgoingtoaballgameorfairisgettingtoindulgeinconcessionfood.Gooey,cheesy,meaty,sickeninglysweetconcessionfood. Thesearethefoodsyouknowaren’tgoodforyou,butthey’rejusttoogoodtopassup.Andsinceyouonlygettohavethemduringspecial,concessionstand-relatedeventsitprobablywon’tdotoomuchdamagetoyourgastrointestinalsystem. I’malwayscuriousaboutwherefoodsoriginatedsoIdecidedtolookupsomeinformationaboutthemostpopularconcessionfoodselections.Inmysearch,Ialsocameacrosssomenewandinterestingoptionsthatyoumaysoonseeataconcessionstandnearyou. Thehistoryofconcessionfooddatesbacktothe1400s.That’swhenGermansbeganmakingwhat’snowknownasthehotdog.Thistastymeattreatisastapleofbaseballconcessionstands.Theyaresopopulartodaymanyparkshavespecialhotdogdayswhenfanscangetfranksinbunsforadiscount. Cottoncandywasalsoinventedinthe1400sinItaly,butbackthenitwascreatedbyhand.Finally,in1897,twoTennesseecandymakersinventedamachinethatcouldspinoutlargequantitiesofwhattheycalled“fairyfloss.”MostAmericansdidn’tgettheirfirsttasteofcottoncandyuntilthe1904World’sFairwhenthefairyflossmachinemadeitsdebut. Themovietheaterisanotherplaceyou’llfindconcessionstandfood.TheNationalAssociationofTheaterOwnersestimatesthatmovietheaterownersmake40%oftheirmoneybysellingsnacksforfilmloverstomunchonduringtheshow.ButfoodhistorianAndrewF.Smithnotesthatpopcornwaspopularlongbeforemovieswereimagined.Itbecameaneasysellforindependentvendorswhentheatersbeganopeningin1905. Theaterownersdidn’tstartsellingtheirownconcessionstandfooduntilthe1930s.Popcornwasoneofthebigsalesbecauseitwascheap(anditsmellsreallygood).Candycounterswereconstructedandincludedafewhigh-endoptionslikehandmadebonbons.TheyweresoldalongsidemassproducedcandiessuchasMilkDudsandJujubes. Itwouldn’tbeaconcessionfoodpostwithoutmentioningCrackerJacks.Bothsaltyandsweet,CrackerJackswerecreatedwiththeintentionofgivingpopcornaninterestingtwist.In1893,thecreators,FrederickandLouisRueckheim,mixedpopcornwithmolassesandpeanuts.Theycameupwithasuper-secretsolutiontomakesureeverythingdidn’tglobtogether.Thetreatgotitsnameafteranearlytasterexclaimeditwas“crackerjack.”That’soldschoolslangforawesome.CrackerJacksbecamesopopularitgotamentionintheclassicsong“TakeMeOuttotheBallgame.” ConcessionFoodToday Ifyoufollowfairfoodtrends(everybodydoesright?)thenyoualreadyknowfriedistheenvoguecookingmethod.Manyofthenewest,mostmouth-wateringoptionsarerevealedattheStateFairFoodAwards.Betyoudidn’trealizethatcompetitionexisted. IthappenseveryyearattheTexasStateFair;easilyoneofthebiggesteventsofitskindinthecountry.Lastfallwegotatasteofsomeinventiveconcessionfoodsthatcouldbecommontreatsintheyearstocome.Notsurprisingly,the2015StateFairFoodfinalistsweremainlyfried. TheFriedBeer-BatteredBuffaloisprobablythefinalistwiththebestchanceofcatchingonaroundthecountry.BuffaloiscommonlyconsumedinTexas,buttheleanmeatisrelativelyunknowninmanyareasofthecountry.ChunksofbuffalomeatarerolledincrushedCornNutsbeforebeingdippedinabattermadewithShinerBockbeer.Thewholethingisthendeepfriedtoperfection.
