When you're standing under the roasting sun at a state fair, nothing may be so welcome as a cool refreshment.

How about somewhere in the neighborhood of -300 degrees Fahrenheit, 332 degrees below the freezing point of water?

A dessert called Dragon's Breath, new this year to State Fair Meadowlands, delivers billowy, subzero chill to the usual roster of deep-fried foods, meats-on-a-stick and frozen treats at the fair, which runs from June 21 though July 8 outside MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

But why is this particular fair food named for a dragon?

Just a bite or two of Dragon's Breath sends little puffs of vapor out of the eater's mouth and nose. (Sorry, "Game of Thrones" fans, this ice dragon does not, in fact, breathe blue fire.)

The chilly smoke is owed to the liquid nitrogen used in the dessert. To make Dragon's Breath, pieces of multicolored, oversized cereal -- think enlarged corn puffs, often flavored like Froot Loops -- are soaked in liquid nitrogen. The nitrogen, which exists in a liquid form between -346 and -320 degrees Fahrenheit, is drained from the cereal and the little puffs are served. When the remaining nitrogen in the cereal hits the air, it turns into gas. As a customer bites into the already-smoking pieces, the ensuing surge of warmth triggers the "dragon's breath" effect.

While using liquid nitrogen in food and drinks is nothing new, Dragon's Breath has been kicking around at fairs in the United States for just the last few years. The snack originated in Japan, says Evi Siskos, co-owner of the Dragon Breath World stand coming to the fair.

"Now the buzz is really starting to happen," she says, pointing to ice cream made with liquid nitrogen and the nitrogen-infused Nitro Brew coffee served at Starbucks.

The fair stand uses sweet and salty cereal, flavors that Siskos describes as cheesy, fruity and berry.

"Anything that is a cookie or is porous can be infused with the liquid nitrogen," Siskos says.

But after a 14-year-old girl reportedly burned her hand while eating Dragon's Breath at the Pensacola Interstate Fair in 2017, and another child there suffered second degree burns on the roof of the mouth (despite reportedly following the vendor's instructions), the fair decided to not allow the food stand back this year.

According to reports from WEAR-TV, The Pensacola News Journal and Today, the cold nitrogen has the potential to either burn the skin or mouth, asphyxiate a customer if inhaled -- due to the displacement of oxygen by nitrogen -- or damage the eyes if splashed.

Siskos and co-owner Al Yariv, both 29, are based in Elmwood Park and have sold Dragon's Breath at local mall kiosks for the last six months (operating under the name AO Toys, because they have also sold toys).

Despite various accounts of burns from the "dragon" within, they're adamant about the safety of the smoky food. They do, however, post instructions for eating the Dragon's Breath and equip customers with bamboo sticks to grab its cereal pieces -- "the same way you would grab sushi," Siskos says -- as well as advise them to eat one puff at a time and blow on each piece first. (Parents of young children are advised to make sure their kids do the same.)

"Kids love it and parents do, too," Siskos says. "It's a very fun dessert." It's also tailor-made for social media, with some customers seemingly buying in on the trend just to document their "dragon" moments for Instagram.

Siskos grew up going to the Meadowlands fair and thinks those who haven't already experienced the snack will have fun getting a taste of the trend.

"It's a place where you make memories," she says. "We thought, 'What better place to bring our product to than the Meadowlands state fair?'"

In a video featured on the Dragon Breath World website (see clip above), a man demonstrates the proclaimed safety of liquid nitrogen by splashing a small cup on his face. But that's not a free pass to douse yourself in the stuff.

"You can't dip your hand in a tub full of liquid nitrogen," Yariv says, adding that staff take care to drain leftover liquid nitrogen from the cereal pieces before serving.

Would-be dragon breathers can mitigate exposure to the nitrogen's extreme cold the same way they would with a hot drink.

"You have to handle it with caution," Yariv says. In fact, the stand uses coffee-style sleeves on the Dragon's Breath cups.

Also new to the fair: Rolled ice cream

Not willing to breathe frosty fury, but still want a frozen dessert?

Another addition to the food lineup at State Fair Meadowlands this year is CubZero.

The name of a Pokemon with icy fangs, it's also a rolled ice cream shop on the Ocean City Boardwalk.

What is rolled ice cream? Also called stir-fried ice cream (not to be confused with fried ice cream), it's a style of ice cream that started as a street food in Thailand and became popular over the last several years in the U.S.

To make it, a creamy base is poured onto a hard surface chilled to 20 degrees below zero, creating an instant freeze. Ingredients, such as fruit, are chopped into the mix -- similar to the process at Cold Stone Creamery -- which is then stretched out and smoothed before being scraped again into several "rolls" that are served in an ice cream cup. It usually takes a total of two minutes to prepare the dessert.

Tony Budd opened CubZero in Ocean City last year and had been selling the rolled ice cream at street fairs and other events.

"Once we go it going, it was very easy and people love it," says Budd, 50, of New York. "It was like an internet sensation the past two years."

In a city accustomed to the frozen custard at Kohr Bros., the new style has gone over well with vacationers, he says.

"We have lines out the doors," Budd says. The most popular flavor at CubZero is cookies and cream, which uses Oreos, followed by strawberry shortcake, which uses fresh strawberries and vanilla wafers. Another seasonally appropriate flavor on offer at the fair will be red, white and blue, made with strawberries, bananas and blueberries.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.