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[Guest guest]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A new fast food is making its debut at U.S.

fairs this fall -- fried Coke. Abel Gonzales, 36, a computer analyst

from Dallas, tried about 15 different varieties before coming up with

his perfect recipe -- a batter mix made with Coca-Cola syrup, a

drizzle of strawberry syrup, and some strawberries.

 

Balls of the batter are then deep-fried, ending up like ping-pong

ball sized doughnuts which are then served in a cup, topped with Coca-

Cola syrup, whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and a cherry on the top.

 

" It tastes great, " said Sue Gooding, a spokeswoman for the State Fair

of Texas where Gonzales' fried Coke made its debut this fall. " It was

a huge success. "

 

Gonzales ran two stands at the State Fair of Texas and sold up to

35,000 fried Cokes over 24 days for $4.50 each -- and won a prize for

coming up with " most creative " new fair food.

 

Now other fairs in North Carolina and Arizona are following the

trend, and other people are trying to emulate Gonzales' recipe.

 

Gonzales gave no indication of the calories in his creation and said

he would not patent it.

 

" The best I can hope for is that it's the original and hopefully the

best fried Coke out there, " he said.

 

But Gonzales said the success of his fried Coke had inspired him.

Next year's fair-goers can look forward to fried Sprite or -- for

those watching their weight -- fried diet Coke.

 

" We are trying to cut a lot of the sugar out of it. It has less

calories but it's still very, very sweet, " he said.

 

Ray Crockett, a spokesman for Coca-Cola Co., said: " We're constantly

amazed at the creative ways folks find to enjoy their Coke and make

it part of celebrations like fairs and festivals. This is one is

definitely different! "