Late August is the ideal time for taking one last dip in the lake, lining up for a few more late-night ice cream cones, and trekking out to county and state festivals and fairs. For example, the Illinois State Fair was chock-full of deep-fried foods, concerts from the likes of Alanis Morisette and Maren Morris, and the world-famous “Butter Cow.” The conclusion of the Illinois State Fair didn’t end with whispers, but with yells from the internet, for their beloved butter cow statue was not made entirely of butter, but instead, primarily a mesh cow-shaped cage merely coated with a bit of the spread.
The internet was super displeased.
Basically, several X users felt duped when they saw the internal structure of the butter cow.
X user @vivafalastin said that “discovering the cow isn’t solid butter feels like losing my religion.”
Another user @BenSzalinski shared, “…I feel scammed…”
Of course, the memes poured in on behalf of the butter cow.
Writer Charlotte Clymer said she felt “betrayed.”
However, Clymer did write a remarkable thread about how various state and local fairs have similar statues or sculptors on site. Additionally, she noted that sculptures like this usually use 600 to 800 pounds of butter with the use of the frame, “so a solid butter [heifer] would probably be cowed by the laws of physics.”
I guess it’s fair to say that a cow sculptures tiny legs couldn’t support the full weight of its udders. I don’t know, I didn’t study engineering or agriculture in college.
The history of the Butter Cow
Now, both the Illinois and Iowa state fairs recently took place in August and have famous butter cow sculptures both with internal mesh structures. The internet used these state names interchangeably, but their rage for feeling duped was pure.
The cows across both fairs are sculpted by artist Sarah Pratt and commissioned by the Midwest Dairy Association. Wildly enough, this 800-pound family attraction has been showcased at the fairs since the 1920s. For all of you lactose-intolerant folks, rest assured that no one will make you eat this butter. After all, the butter is reused more than once. According to the Iowa State Fair website: “The Butter Cow starts with a wood, metal, wire, and steel mesh frame and about 600 pounds of low-moisture, pure cream Iowa butter. Once inside the 40-degree cooler, layers of butter are applied until a life-size butter cow emerges — measuring about 5-1/2-ft high and 8-ft long. Each year, much of the butter is recycled and can be reused for up to 10 years.”
Regardless of if you feel duped that the butter cow isn’t all made out of butter, it is definitely a Kerrygold-en piece of art, for sure. If you’re looking for art fully made of food, might I suggest the Indiana State Fair and their cheese sculpture display?