Finding the best things to eat at the Minnesota State Fair each year can be an overwhelming task with all of the options available. While there are plenty of "best State Fair foods" lists from foodies and organizations, a food scientist is developing her own State Fair Food app.
While the mobile app won't be available for this year's State Fair, she launched a website with the list in 2022, which has been updatedThe site, MN Fair Foodie Guide, has this year's must-have State Fair food items, along with lists going back to 2016 and tips for eating at the fair.
Allison Hohn, who created the site and is working on the app, is executive director of Naturally Minnesota, an initiative that aims to support Minnesota's food and agriculture ecosystemShe grew up in St. Paul and loves going to the State Fair and trying new foods. In 2012, Hohn went to the fair with some colleagues and started developing her own list of the 50 best foods and where to find them.
Hohn worked at Land O' Lakes Inc. for nearly a decade as a food scientist and after that as a scientist at Target Corp. in its food and beverage division. She uses the skills she developed to curate a list of must-try foods. Hohn determines a food's worthiness by examining its taste, texture, aroma, flavor and appearance.
The list became a passion project, growing and becoming more refined. She started the project using an Excel spreadsheet, emailing it to friends, family and colleagues every year. In 2018, she connected with the founder of Cloudburst SBC, Zack Steven, who also shares a love of the State Fair.
Cloudburst helps startups build apps and helps nontechnical entrepreneurs learn how to integrate and use tech. Steven's company built a web-mobile version of the application of the list that went live in 2022.
This year, Fountane Inc., a technology company based in Mankato, is helping build out an application. Fountane's program, FuelED by Fountane, is hosting a competition with teams to build out the best version of the application. Fountane will pick the best version of the app's buildout and the winner will receive a cash prize. That version of the application will be available for the 2025 State Fair.
Hohn said the new application will be more interactive, giving users the ability to upload pictures of food they get at the fair, as well as rate their foods and build their own favorite list.
This year's State Fair features 33 new foods and six new vendors. Hohn said some new-to-the-fair foods she's excited to try are:
- Deep-fried ranch dressing, served by LuLu's Public House, located at West End Market, south of Schilling Amphitheater. The item features ranch-dressing filling made with ranch seasoning, buttermilk and cream cheese in a panko shell, deep-fried and dusted with ranch powder. It's served with a side of hot honey sauce crafted with Cry Baby Craig's hot sauce.
- Chile Mango Whip, served by Tasti Whip, located on the northwest corner of Dan Patch Avenue and Underwood Street. Mango Dole Soft Serve is gluten-free and vegan. It is served in a cup rimmed and topped with chamoy and Tajín, and it's garnished with a tamarind candy straw.
- Wrangler Waffle Burger, served by Nordic Waffles, located at West End Market, south section. It's described as a fresh all-beef patty and signature Whataburger Patty Melt Sauce layered with American cheese and served in a caramelized onion-infused Nordic Waffle.
Hohn scores foods using a Pronto Pup scale — one Pronto Pup being the lowest score and five Pronto Pups the highest score and likely to stay on the list. Each year, items that score low are removed from the list and alternated with new releases. The list also includes the year the foods were released at the fair and where they are located on the fairgrounds.
For Hohn, her favorite food with the No. 1 spot on the list is the Super Stick from Spaghetti Eddies.
"It's a skewer with pepperoni and cheese alternated and dipped in batter and deep fried served with a marina sauce," Hohn said. "It’s everything you want in a fair food."
