Deep-fried Mars bar

Adeep-fried Mars bar(also known as abattered Mars bar) is aMars-brand chocolate barcovered inbatterthen deep fried in oil. The dish originated at achip shopin Scotland as a novelty item. Since variousmass mediabegan reporting on the practice in the mid-1990s – often as a critical commentary on how unhealthy theScottish dietwas– the popularity of the dish has spread.
The dish is prepared using standard commercial Mars bars. The chocolate bar is typically chilled before battering, to prevent it from excessively melting as it is fried.It is coated in flour batter of the type commonly used fordeep-fryingfish, sausages, and other similar foods, then immersed in boiling fat or oil, until the batter is cooked.
The origins of the deep-fried Mars bar are disputed. John Davie claimed to have invented it in 1992 in The Haven Chip Bar (now The Carron)inStonehaven, nearAberdeenon Scotland's northeast coast.It received rapidly escalating media attention afterAberdeen Evening Expresswriter Alastair Dalton reported on 23 August 1995, "HOT chocolate has become this summer's sizzler in Stonehaven chip shop. Mars Bars, deep-fried in batter, are being snapped up by sweet-toothed teenagers. The craze started when the school holidays began and has quickly taken hold says Ingram Mowatt (41), owner of The Haven, Allardice Terrace. "The article included a quote from a Mars spokesperson, who said this was the most unusual way they had come across of enjoying a Mars bar. The following day the story was picked up and run in theDaily Recordin an article titled "Mars supper, please".
Scottish broadsheetsThe HeraldandThe Scotsmanran the story the following day, and the UK broadsheets the day after, each adding their own cultural slant. On the fifth day,Keith Chegwinperformed taste tests onThe Big BreakfastTV programme and the story was covered by theBBC World Service.
Other chip shops have disputed Carron's claim.Tom Cummings, the former owner of Duncan Street Chip Shop inBanff, stated that he had sold fried Mars bars in the 1980s, and he had copied the recipe from the since defunct Dodie's Chip Shop inBuckieon theMoray Firthcoast.
After the food was mentioned in 2004 byJay LenoonNBC'sTonight Showin the United States,The Lancetcommissioned theUniversity of Dundeeto validate the association between Scotland and the deep-fried Mars bar.It undertook a telephone questionnaire survey of 627fish and chip shopsin Scotland, 62% of which responded, and found:
In 2012, the originating Carron Fish Bar estimated sales of 100–150 deep-fried Mars bars per week, but 70% were sold to visitors who have heard of its reputation.
In 2000, Scottish chef Ross Kendall included the bars on the menu ofLe Chipperrestaurant in Paris.
The deep-fried Mars bar has also given rise to the frying of otherconfections, for example,Reiver'sFish Bar inDunsannually advertises an Easter special of deep-friedCreme Egg. Deep-friedSnickershave also been reported; it is popular atstate fairsand similar events.In her 1999 book and television seriesNigella Bites,Nigella Lawsonincludes a recipe for a deep-friedBountybar.Deep-friedMorobars are also sold in New Zealand, where the brand is popular.
Since theDaily Recorddescribed it as "Scotland's craziest takeaway" in August 1995,the deep-fried Mars bar has become a symbol for ill health,obesityand high-fat diets.The original article was quickly followed up by other UK publications, with the food portrayed to speak eloquently about Scotland's and the wider UK's poor diet, and resultant levels of obesity.
In 2012, the Haven sought an application for the protected geographical indication under theEU's Protected Food Name Scheme. However, Mars wrote to the fish bar asking it to make plain that deep-frying of the bars was "not authorised or endorsed" by Mars, and an agreed disclaimer statement was put up in both the shop and in its menu.
In a 2012 interview,Glasgowrestaurateur John Quigley felt that Scotland had been trying to "shake off" its unhealthy image for 20 years, since the media coverage of the deep-fried Mars bar.
In the 2002video gameGrand Theft Auto: Vice City, thecheat codeDEEPFRIEDMARSBARmakes theplayer characterobese; the game's developerRockstar Northis based inEdinburgh.