At the Minnesota State Fair, a block of butter was turned into a royal portrait.
Malorie Thorson of Waverly, Minnesota, was crowned the 72nd Princess Kay of the Milky Way. Her first official duty was to sit bundled up in a glass booth while sculptor Gerry Kulzer carved her head out of 41 kilograms of butter.
This tradition has taken place for more than 60 years and celebrates Minnesota’s 1,800 dairy farm families. Fair visitors lined up to watch as Thorson’s face slowly appeared in butter form. Even though it was nearly 27°C outside, Thorson was dressed for winter to stay warm in the 4°C carving booth.
Other states have their own butter traditions. The Iowa State Fair is famous for its life-sized Butter Cow, which has been around for over 100 years. This year, New York’s butter sculpture honored the 125th anniversary of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with a 410-kilogram design.
In Minnesota, all ten dairy princess finalists receive butter busts. After the fair, each gets to take their sculpture home, along with leftover butter scraps. Some families save the sculptures in freezers, while others spread the butter on food like corn on the cob.
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