How Does 800 lbs Of Butter Become A Beautiful New York Work Of Art?

Besides making your cholesterol shoot through the roof, 800 pounds of butter can also become a masterpiece of a sculpture and that masterpiece is underway at the New York State Fair.

And yes, you are right: 800 pounds is a heck of a lot of butter. Probably even too much butter for celebrity chef Paula Dean. But for butter artists at the Great New York State Fair, all that butter is a blank canvas.  The American Dairy Association Northeast says sculptors Jim Victor and Marie Pelton are already hard at work on their 53rd American Dairy Association Northeast Butter Sculpture at the fairgrounds in Syracuse and it will be ready for viewing when the fair kicks off on August 20th. This new sculpture will end up being one of the most popular attractions at the fair.

Now maybe you are thinking you would stare at all that butter, thinking it should be used for its intended purpose in your favorite cookies or melted on top of a medium-rare New York strip steak. Have no fear: the Dairy Association says this is scrap butter was damaged and not up to snuff for anyone to eat (Your cholesterol level will thank you). Plus, the butter used will end up being recycled and turned into renewable energy. I highly doubt if we ate all this butter it would lead to any energy of any kind.

So what will the sculpture will be this year? That is a surprise and will remain a mystery until the American Dairy Association reveals this year's masterpiece on their Facebook page on August 19th, the day before the fair kicks off. But to give you an idea of how impressive and lifelike this year's work of art will be, check out sculptures from years past!