Cotton Candy . Candy very popular throughout the world formed by a series of fine sugar threads tangled around a stick or cone. It is prepared using a special machine and is normally sold at fairs and other festive events. The signature color of the treat is pink, although a mix of pink, purple, and blue is also popular.
Summary
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- 1 General
- 2 Historical overview
- 3 Manufacturing
- 4 Sources
General
Cotton candy machine
In countries such as Argentina , Uruguay or Chile, it is normal to find street vendors who sell the candy in the squares or on summer holidays on the streets. To the touch , cotton candy is soft and very similar to cotton (hence its name), when dry, however it dissolves easily in the mouth and leaves the hands and face sticky on contact. It does not have a characteristic aroma, however, it is normal that the machines used to manufacture it have a strong smell of caramel or cooked sugar. Many people consider this candy, in conjunction with applesCaramelized, it is part of the genuine experience of visiting a fair. It is also a very popular sweet in circus shows.
Since most of the cotton candy is air, the servings are usually very large, usually larger than an adult’s head, making it huge for children. Despite the general belief that this candy can cause tooth decay since it is essentially sugar, it is important to note that it has less than a typical 350 cubic millimeter can of soda, that is, an amount close to one teaspoon.
Historical review
The base of what is known as cotton candy was born around 1400 in Italy , where cooks used to heat sugar until it became liquid and then, with a fork or a similar utensil, they formed long flexible threads that they later tangled and used as decoration of other desserts based on chocolate or cream. However, this type of preparation was very time consuming and too expensive, so it never became popular.
It was not until the last years of the 1890s that candy makers William Morrison and John C. Wharton created a machine capable of automatically forming fine threads with liquid sugar, passing liquid sugar mixed with dyes through a weaving to form the strands. The invention was first presented at the World ‘s Fair in France 1900 under the name Fairy Floss ( Seda of fairies ), and then at the World ‘s Fair in Saint Louis, United States of 1904at a value of 25 cents a portion (an excessive price for the time, but that did not prevent it from becoming a success). Later, the candy stores began to buy the machines, offering the product for a lower price and with the name of sugar spun .
However, the machines were becoming fragile, so the product had not yet become the massive success it is today. By 1940 , another company, Gold Metal Products , created another model based on the same principle, making machines more robust and made of stronger and less prone metal parts. In this way, the candy was consolidated among the people by lowering the final price for the consumer. The operation of this machine is the same as that of current machines.
Manufacturing
Cotton Candy Manufacturing
The sugar mixed with food coloring is placed in the center of the machine where a small bowl is placed, which has attached a device to rotate it at high speed and a heat source to melt the contents. Then, through centrifugal force, the liquid is filtered through a series of small holes on the sides. When the sugar comes into contact with the air, it solidifies, forming fine cotton-like visible threads that are piled up in a larger container placed around the central body of the machine. The machine operator then joins them with a stick, a cone, or sometimes by hand.
