How Spudnuts are made at the Saskatoon Ex

The Saskatoon Ex is a foodies’ paradise. Around every corner is a different or unique treat to try.

Some featured favourites are the Doukhobor Bread, Frozen Rootbeer, Poutine, Beaver Tails and Spudnuts.

Prairieland’s food and beverage manager, Sharon Odnokon, walked through the Spudnut Kitchen with 650 CKOM to show us how their famous treat is made.

“It is a patented spiced potato yeast, that is patented to Prairieland Park. We own the rights to it, no one else in the world can purchase it from the supplier,” said Odnokon.

The famous Spudnut shape is handmade by staff during the Exhibition. (Payton Zillich/650CKOM)

The local provincial council of Scouts Canada has been operating Spudnuts since the 90s.

In 2004, the treat was purchased by Prairieland, this is why the treat can only be found at the Saskatoon Ex. Spudnuts being so rare, leave people flocking to their stand during the one-week carnival to get their hands on as many as they can.

“It’s a special spiced yeast, and you can only get it six days of the year… a lot of people, they gear up for it and we have people when they come into the doors (of the ex) they came straight up to the Spudnut booth,” said Odnokon.

Cooled Spudnuts get dipped in either a Chocolate or Vanilla glaze. (Payton Zillich/650CKOM)

Odnokon said staff begin prepping the dough at 5 a.m. by mixing the dough and placing it into large tubs to let it rise. After the dough has risen it gets taken to the prep room.

“They’re hand-making every one of them to make sure (they are perfect). They have to really stretch them out, and then they place twelve of them on a board… then they go out to the deep fryers.”

The dough rings then take a quick bath in the deep fryer until they are golden brown. Once they have fully cooked, they are cooled on racks and moved to the glaze dipping station.

The glazed Spudnuts get moved to the front of the stand to get sold. (Payton Zillich/650CKOM)

“We let them cool enough so we can put them into a vanilla glaze. With the chocolate we have to let them completely cool, otherwise the chocolate will just drip off of them…We find that the majority of people go for the vanilla,” said Odnokon.

Over the course of the Exhibition, thousands of Spudnuts are made.

“We have done up to 40 batches and there are 250 Spudnuts in a batch,” said Odnokon. That is 10,000 Spudnuts! “On an average day, we probably sell around 6,500 Spudnuts,” she shared.

Spudnuts are sold across from the Grandstand at the Saskatoon Ex. (Payton Zillich/650CKOM)

Odnokon said since the treat is only available once a year, people get very serious about getting their hands on this famous treat.

“One of my coworkers, his wife said to him yesterday ‘If you don’t bring Spudnuts home, you’re sleeping on the couch’… You miss them, it’s an addiction.”

With files from Brittany Caffet.