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Cotton candy (US English), candy floss (British English), or fairy floss (Australian English) is a form of spun sugar that is produced in a special machine and sold at fairs and other jovial events. Many people consider eating it, along with candy apples, part of the quintessential experience of a visit to a fairground. It is also a popular snack at circus shows. The most popular color of cotton candy is pink, and it is also popular in a trio of pink, purple and blue. Eating cotton candy is only part of the attraction, however - watching it being made often fascinates children and adults alike. It is sweet and sticky, and though it feels like wool to the touch it readily melts in the mouth. It does not have much of an aroma although the machine itself has a cooked sugar smell when in operation. Cotton candy is soft when dry, but when it mingles with saliva it becomes sticky.
Modern times
Cotton candy was fantastically successful in 1904 and is still very popular at fairs today. Modern machines work in much the same way as the original. The centre part of the machine consists of a small bowl into which sugar is poured and food coloring added. Heaters near the rim melt the sugar and it is spun out through a myriad of tiny holes where it solidifies in the air and is caught in a large metal ring.The operator twirls a stick or a cone (or the more experienced ones use their hands) around the rim of the large catching bowl and picks up the candy. Because cotton candy consists of mostly air portions, servings are large. A typical cotton candy cone will be a little bigger than an adults head, and they look enormous to a child. However, although they are bad for the teeth as are all sugary snacks, they are not particularly high in food energy because they contain a fairly small amount of sugar. A typical cotton candy contains less sugar than a can of most (non-diet) soft drinks. This serving usually amounts to one teaspoon of sugar.
References
- "Spun Heaven," Bruce Feiler, Gourmet, February 2000
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"Cotton candy"