Cotton candy, also known as candy floss (candyfloss) and fairy floss, is a spun sugar confection that resembles cotton. It usually contains small amounts of flavoring or food coloring.
How to Make Cotton Candy
Before we get into history, let’s answer the question you are all wondering: how do you make cotton candy? Cotton candy is only made from two ingredients: air and colored sugar. The process to make it is simple. First, you add flavored sugar to the center of the cotton candy machine. Then the center, which spins, begins to heat up to 300 degrees and melts the sugar. When the center begins to spin, the melted sugar is pushed through a screen that breaks the pieces up into the flossy threads we recognize today as cotton candy.
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History of Cotton Candy
The origins of cotton candy trace back centuries, all the way to Renaissance Italy. Back then, chefs melted and spun sugar manually. The process included them pulling the candy into thin strands using forks and draping it over broom handles. These hand-spun candies were not only labor-intensive but also expensive.
However, the cotton candy we know and love today didn’t make its debut till the 19th century. Who introduced this sugary treat? Believe it or not, a dentist named Dr. William Morrison created cotton candy.
In 1897, Dr. Morrison teamed up with candy maker, John C. Wharton, and invented a machine that heated sugar in a spinning bowl, which had several tiny holes in it. The sugar in the hot, spinning bowl caramelized and made its way through the holes turning the melted sugar into light strands. They called this sugary treat “Fairy Floss”.
In 1904, the two inventors introduced their machine and fun snack at the St. Louis World’s Fair and sold 68,000 boxes over 6 months for 25¢ each ($6.75 in today’s money). The treat was so popular, a candy store purchased the electric machine and started selling the fairy floss just a year later.
In 1949, Gold Medal Products created the first factory-made cotton candy machine. This helped cotton candy production become what it is today!
How Cotton Candy Is Made | Unwrapped | Food Network
FAQ
What is cotton candy also known as?
What do Americans call cotton candy?
What do British people called cotton candy?
What is a synonym for cotton candy?
What is cotton candy?
Internationally known by names such as “fairy floss” or “candy floss,” cotton candy may be the simplest of desserts as it is, essentially, just spun sugar rolled into a fluffy cloud, sometimes served on a stick. However, the history, making, and variations of cotton candy make it a unique and classic treat.
When did Cotton Candy get its name?
The sugar treat was referred to as spun sugar or fairy floss until the early 1920s, when the new name of “cotton candy” started to become the more popular term due to its similar appearance to cotton. Cotton Candy Science Since the invention of modern day cotton candy, very little has changed with regards to the floss machine.
Is cotton candy a crystalline candy?
Cotton candy, like caramel and toffee, is thus called a noncrystalline candy. Fairy floss was a huge success at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. It was scooped out and served in a wooden box for 25 cents — half the admission price to the fair itself — and the entrepreneurs earned more than $17,000 over the exposition’s six-month run.
Why is cotton candy called Fairy Floss?
The airy, melt-in-your-mouth confection we know as cotton candy had its beginnings under a more whimsical moniker: “Fairy Floss.” This charming name reflected the magical, ethereal quality of the sweet treat as if it were spun from the very threads of fantasy.