LIFE LIST UPDATE – No. 169: Eat a funnel cake

Saturday's Flomaton, Ala. funnel cake

For one reason or another I made it over 37 years in this world without ever having eaten a “funnel cake,” that is, until this past Saturday when I seized the opportunity to eat one for the first time ever. The chance to eat a funnel cake doesn’t come along everyday, and about the only time that I can remember ever seeing them for sale is when the fair comes to town. Because of its relative rarity and due to the fact that I’ve never tried one, I added “Eat a funnel cake” to my “life list” a while back after seeing it a year or so ago on a list of unusual foods.

Funnel cakes originated in Pennsylvania, and they’re made by pouring batter in a circular pattern into hot cooking oil. This disc of batter is then deep-fried until it’s ready to eat. After it’s removed from the oil, it can be eaten plain or you can add toppings to it. The most common topping is powdered sugar, but you can also add all sorts of other stuff like jam, jelly, fruit, cinnamon, chocolate and syrup.

I got the chance to eat a funnel cake Saturday afternoon at a youth football jamboree in Flomaton, Ala. During a break in the action, the public address announcer invited the crowd to visit the concession stand, where they could find all sorts of refreshments, including funnel cakes. Opportunity was knocking, so first chance I got I got in the long line at the concession stand and bought a funnel cake. Grand total, $3.

Actually, the way it worked was that you paid the person at the concession stand, and they gave you a ticket to take to a table off to the side, where three people were preparing funnel cakes. Keep in mind that it’s late August in Alabama and that funnel cakes are served piping hot, so there was only one person in front of me in line at the funnel cake table. I watched as they poured the batter into what looked like a fish cooker of boiling oil and a few minutes later they served it to me on a white paper plate, complete with a generous serving of confectioners sugar. I’d say it took them three to four minutes to prepare this tasty treat.

I made my way back to the visitors’ side bleachers, sat down and prepared to dig in. I did offer some of the funnel cake to one of my kids, but he turned his nose up at it, so I ate it all myself, washing it down with an ice cold Coke. It was good, and the buttery taste reminded me of a doughnut. Of course, I couldn’t help but wonder about how many calories, cholesterol and saturated fat the funnel cake contained, but I didn’t let that keep me from enjoying the experience.

In the end, how many of you have ever eaten a funnel cake? What did you think about it? What sort of toppings do you like to eat on yours? Let us know in the comments section below.