Butterhead Basics At The Minnesota State Fair

On opening day of the Minnesota State Fair, the newly crowned Princess Kay of the Milky Way has her likeness carved from a 90 pound block of butter. Each day thereafter, a Princess Kay finalist also has her likeness carved. The butter sculpting booth in the Dairy Building is an exhibit sponsored by Midwest Dairy Association, on behalf of Minnesota's nearly 4,000 dairy farmers. Here are some butterhead basics...

Our daughter Sara was a Princess Kay finalist in 2005.

• The tradition of carving butterheads began in 1965.
• 2013 is artist Linda Christensen's 42nd year of butter carving at the Great Minnesota State Fair.
• The temperature inside the rotating butter booth is 40 degrees.
• It takes 21.8 pounds of whole milk to make a pound of butter.

 

Sara seeing eye-to-eye with her butterhead.

• A complete butter sculpture takes about six hours to complete. Sara's took nearly 7 hours (darn glasses).
• Midwest Dairy Association helps to sponsor butter sculpting at several state fairs in its 10 states, but sculpting in front of fair-goers using a live model is unique to Minnesota.

And yes, each girl gets to take their butterhead home.

 See you at the Fair!