How Is Cotton Candy Made?

November 20, 2015

Ice Scream Social serves many treats from push carts at events. Cotton candy is always a favorite.
 
Cotton candy is made through the process of caramelization, which happens when sugar melts and the chemical bonds that hold it together break down. The sugar separates into carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The hydrogen and oxygen form water that evaporates, and the carbon begins to burn.
 
Venetian pastry chefs in the 15th century made desserts with spun sugar using this process. This was a precursor to cotton candy.
 
In 1899, John C. Wharton and William J. Morrison patented a machine that made spun sugar. It melted sugar, rotated quickly, and flung the syrup through tiny holes in a funnel with centrifugal force. An outer bowl caught threads as they cooled into what the inventors called “fairy floss.” It didn’t become known as cotton candy until the 1920s.
 
Fairy floss was a hit at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. However, the cotton candy machine often broke down. The design was improved over the years.
 
Today, machines are larger and can make cotton candy in a variety of flavors and colors. Cotton candy can be bought at carnivals or from vending machines and can even be made at home.

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