I'd never understood the appeal of fried foods here in New Jersey. I mean after all this is not the deep South, we are famous for our diners not our state fairs. We tend to be more health-conscious here than in other states.

The latest fried delicacy out of New Jersey is, ready for this, a Zoagie. And it's exactly what you think it is, a fried hoagie.

Not unexpectedly its origins are in South Jersey. I can't even imagine frying up and already over stuffed sandwich to make it even less healthy, but then again when it comes to fried foods other states have thought of way worse concoctions.

I found a list of some more strange fried trends. Most of these can be found in the Deep South at their state fairs, but if the deep-fried Zoagie trend catches on, who knows? We here in Jersey might be biting into a juicy hot fried stick o' butter real soon.

Fried butter
Gotta be done quick, before it melts, but it's not as bad as it sounds when you realize that it's also topped in a cinnamon batter before it's fried and glazed after.

Fried beer
I know, I know. How did they fry liquid but I guess if you want beer badly enough you'll take it in any form?

Fried Kool-Aid
This one I simply cannot understand. I mean I know it's sweet and they freeze it before they fry it so the syrupy consistency probably makes it really yummy and sweet, but who likes Kool-Aid enough to even consume it unfried?

Fried ice cream cheeseburger
I can understand fried ice cream. I can even understand a fried cheeseburger. But here's a combination that to me is overkill. (The operating syllable there being "KILL").

Fried bubblegum
Now this one is really a curiosity. Do you actually swallow the gum or do you just keep on chewing the gum along with the batter and the fried stuff? The guy who invented this had way too much fried beer beforehand.

Fried jellybeans
Jellybeans are good. I can think of other candies I'd rather fry, but this is one I actually would try.

Fried alligator on a stick
As fried animals go, this is the one I would probably be least likely to fry. But since most foods are improved a lot by slapping a batter on them and frying them, I bet you fried alligator taste a lot like chicken

Fried White Castle burgers
To me this is a win-win. While it's true that some say White Castle burgers will clog your arteries faster than any other fast food, if you're going to get to the cardiologist anyway you might as well enjoy the journey.

Deep-fried sugar cubes
Unless you're a horse, I don't know why you'd be eating cubefuls of sugar. This is another one on this list that I suspect was made up by somebody who just ran out of ideas.

Fried pig ears
Body parts. Just no. That goes for eyes, noses, tongues and testicles too. Frying em up doesn't change that.

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