Pink, Purple, Blue, Green and Yummy!

I went shopping with two of my cousins today, and on the way out of the mall; we passed a shop selling cotton candy. Yummy…i’ve always liked cotton candy. Anyway, we decided to get some. While leisurely allowing the feathery substance to melt in our mouths, we verbalized some of the unanswered questions we had regarding cotton candy. Those unanswered questions have now been answered:

It is unclear who the first person to invent cotton candy was. Four people, Thomas Patton, Josef Delarose Lascaux, John C. Wharton, and William Morrison, have all been named as the inventors of the candy.

Wharton and Morrison received a patent for the cotton candy machine in 1899. They invented a device that heated sugar in a spinning bowl that had tiny holes in it. It formed a treat that they originally called "Fairy Floss". The term "cotton candy" began to be used for this treat in about 1920. In the United Kingdom, it is called "candy floss". After the two candy makers from Tennessee received the patent, Wharton and Morrison took the invention to the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.

Patton received a separate patent in 1900 for his process of making cotton candy. He was experimenting with caramelizing sugar and forming threads using a fork. Patton used a gas-fired rotating plate to spin the cotton candy threads. He introduced the candy at Ringley Bros. Circus and it became popular with children.

Around the same time, a Louisiana dentist, Lascaux, introduced cotton candy at his dental practice though he never received a patent or trademark for the confection.

The early machines proved to be unreliable at times. Some simply broke and others would make loud rattling sounds. In 1949, Gold Medal Products introduced a more reliable model with a spring base. This helped to revolutionize cotton candy making.

Cotton candy is one of those amazing foods that makes no sense until you know the secret. There is no way to produce cotton candy without special equipment, but if you have the equipment, it is incredibly easy!

Cotton candy is made from 100% sugar. The sugar is first melted to a liquid. The cotton candy machine spins the liquid sugar and forces the liquid through tiny holes. When the sugar pass through the tiny holes it is shaped and cooled and becomes a solid again. The center of the cotton candy machine soon becomes filled with tasty sugar threads, which are collected and served on a stick or a cone.

If you mix water with cotton candy it instantly dissolves, and you can see that it's nothing but a tablespoon or two of sugar filling the entire bag. It's amazing how much you can charge for sugar, air and a little coloring!

Note: If you’re wondering what to get me for my birthday, a cotton candy maker is an idea. :P