Hostess’ Twinkie, a cylinder of yellow sponge cake filled with vanilla cream, has become part of the pop culture lexicon. A popular way to enjoy Twinkies is to deep-fry them, and while you might think that deep-fried Twinkies were invented at a state fair, that's not the case.

In the early 2000s, Christopher Sell, owner of a restaurant called the Chip Shop, started deep-frying everything from Oreos to pickles, including Twinkies, at his restaurant. Deep-fried Twinkies became popular and were picked up by food vendors at state fairs all over the country, and the treat became the fair food staple we see today.

Because of the continued growing popularity, Hostess decided to sell deep-fried Twinkies in the freezer section of grocery stores. While regular Twinkies can be found in many different flavors, some of which are seasonal releases, the deep-fried versions come only in classic vanilla and chocolate.