Funneling the tastes of the fair

Young Chang

Top three reasons why funnel cakes belong at fairs:

They’re big.

They’re impressive.

They’re sweet.

Mike Davis, owner of the Funnel Cakes trailer at the Orange County

Fair, supported his opinion by citing gargantuan cinnamon rolls that

look almost too big to begin to eat.

People look for mutant-sized things when they come to fairs, Davis

continued. Which explains why funnel cakes, in all their huge and

fried and topping-ed glory, have become mainstays at fairs

everywhere.

Davis’ version first arrived at the Orange County Fair in 1981. He

has two trailers today -- one near Kiddie Land and one closer to the

front of the fair -- and his staff churns out 1,000 to 1,5000 cakes

on an average weekday and 2,000 cakes on a Saturday or Sunday.

The most popular is No. 5, the strawberries-with-whipped-cream

one, said manager Martin Peres, who worked the register and topped

the cakes Friday.

The choices are powdered sugar, cinnamon and powered sugar,

chocolate chips with whipped cream, strawberries with whipped cream

and something called The Works, which allows for a different topping

on each half.

They’re made in huge fryers inside a well air-conditioned trailer.

Miguel Aguirre scoops some batter from a large pail into a funnel,

with one finger blocking the narrow end of the cone. He unblocks that

opening once the funnel gets to the fryer and spirals the batter into

a circular pan with no bottom, in a sizzling pool of oil. The batter

floats to the top and retains its randomly curly-cued shape. The

frying happens for about 90 seconds, 45 seconds per side.

The higher the heat, the less oil the dough will absorb, Peres

said.

When they’re busy in the afternoon, Aguirre and Peres will cook as

many as eight funnel cakes at a time, four in each fryer. If it’s a

weekend and it’s night, they’ll use the two other fryers to the right

and make 16 at a time. A third employee in the back will constantly

mix more batter, which is water added to a secret powder mix. Each

bucket of batter lasts about 15 minutes.

“A lot of people love these,” Peres said.

The strawberry topping is made each morning with 10 to 12 trays of

fresh strawberries, which Peres mixes with sugar.

The sweetened apple topping comes from a bakery supplier. The

powdered sugar, cinnamon and chocolate chips are just sprinkled on,

and people can, if they wish, get a funnel cake plain.

“I don’t know if I believe them, but some say ‘we came to the fair

just to get a funnel cake,’” Davis said.

The funnel cake, a traditionally Amish treat, is also loved by its

makers.

“I eat one everyday,” Peres said.