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Cotton candy, a popular treat at fairs and carnivals, has been enjoyed for over a century. Its origins are unclear, but it is believed to have been invented by Tennessee candy makers in 1897. Cotton candy is made of sugar and can come in various flavors and colors. It must be kept dry to avoid dissolving.
It’s hard to imagine circuses, carnivals, and fairs without the ubiquitous pink cotton candy clouds called cotton candy. When cotton candy made its debut around the turn of the 20th century, it became something of an overnight sensation, growing in popularity right from the start. Since then, young and old all over the world have enjoyed the fluffy pink packaging.
A predecessor of cotton candy existed as early as the 14th century. Skilled cooks would bring the sugar to its melting point, then sprinkle fine strands of it onto greased loaves. When hardened, this cotton candy formed a delicate network, which would be served as an elegant dessert or used as part of a more elaborate dessert. Cotton candy Easter eggs made using this technique were especially popular in Europe.
The origins of cotton candy as we know it today are somewhat ambiguous, with four individuals credited with its development. In 1897, Tennessee candy makers William Morrison and John C. Wharton invented a machine that turned melted sugar into thin filaments. Their machine used centrifugal force to throw molten sugar through a screen. The cotton candy was then lightly twisted around a paper cone. Morrison and Wharton showed their confection on a grand scale at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. They called their creation “Fairy Floss” and sold it for twenty-five cents a box. While this wasn’t a small sum at the time, people were apparently willing to pay for the sugary novelty. Morrison and Wharton sold over 68,000 boxes at the fair.
In 1900 Thomas Patton received a separate patent for his way of making cotton candy, which used a gas-powered spinning disk to stream melted sugar through a fork. A fourth man, a dentist named Lascaux from Louisiana, also receives some credit for inventing and distributing the sugary snack from his practice, though he never held a patent or trademark. Presumably, the benefits he enjoyed were largely related to an increase in the dental business.
In its most basic state, cotton candy is deceptively simple. It has only one essential ingredient – sugar – although colors and flavors are usually added. Traditionally, cotton candy was pink and tasted like sugar. Modern tastes have brought flavor innovations such as tart apple, lime, blue raspberry, banana, bubblegum, and even “pie batter.” With flavor variations come expected color variations, and it’s not uncommon to see vendors with bags and cones of cotton candy in blues, purples, yellows, and greens.
In 1920, Fairy Floss was given the name “cotton candy”. While this is what it’s more commonly known as in the US, in Britain it’s called cotton candy, and Australians have retained the term “dental floss.”
Cotton candy needs to be kept perfectly dry, it can’t tolerate moisture at all. Upon contact with any source of moisture, it will immediately begin to dissolve into a sticky mass of liquefied sugar. Though made mostly of sugar, a good-sized cone of the fluffy stuff contains less sugar than a can of regular soda and has about 100 calories.
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