Information AboutCotton Candy |
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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. It is difficult to eat Cotton Candy without making a mess! HISTORY Spun sugar has been a culinary staple for many years. It was popular in Italy in the Fifteenth Century but making it involves dipping a Fork in molten sugar, pulling the fork out and allowing the sugar thread to solidify. The fork is rapidly moved back and forth above an Oiled upside down bowl and the resultant mass of sugar threads is removed from the bowl and squashed up into a ball before putting on a plate with other Dessert s such as Ice Cream . {Link without Title} This form of spun sugar is popular in restaurants and at dinner parties but is too labour intensive to be used in situations where whole crowds of people are potential customers. A candyfloss machine is thus imperative to selling the product commercially. One machine was invented by two read: :"To all whom it may concern; Be it known that we, William Morrison and John C. Wharton, citizens of the United States, residing at Nashville, in the County Of Davidson and State of Tennessee , have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Candy-Machines, of which the following is a specification. Our invention relates to improvements in candy-making, or, as commonly called, "candy-machines," in which a revoluble or rotating pan or vessel containing candy or melted sugar causes the said candy or melted sugar to form into masses of thread-like or Silk -like filaments by the Centrifugal Force due to the rotation of the vessel. The object of our invention is to obtain an edible product consisting of the said filaments of melted and "spun" sugar or candy." ::— U.S. Patent #618,428 January 31 , 1899 . Application filed December 23 , 1897 . They first used the machine in public at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair . They called the product "fairy floss" and sold portions of it in cardboard boxes for 25 cents per serving. This was very expensive at the time; the price was half the admission cost of the fair itself. Nevertheless, they sold 68,655 boxes. The term "cotton candy" was not used to describe the spun sugar for at least another fifteen years, while the term "fairy floss" continues to be used in many parts of the world. Some sources, including ''The Dictionary of American Food and Drink'', report that a different inventor, Thomas Patton, invented the machine in 1900 at the Ringling Brothers And Barnum And Bailey Circus . However this appears to be an error as Ringling Brothers didn't buy Barnum & Bailey until 1907 and they didn't tour as a single circus until 1919 . {Link without Title} {Link without Title} 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 brave ones use their hands) around the rim of the large catching bowl and picks up the candy. Because candy floss consists of mostly air portions, servings are large. A typical candy floss 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 Snack s, they are not particularly high in Food Energy because they contain a fairly small amount of sugar. A typical candy floss contains less sugar than a can of most (non-diet) soft drinks.This serving usually amounts to 1 tsp of sugar. TECHNIQUE Many techniques exist when it comes to gathering cotton candy. One of the most popular and effective involves letting the machine run until it forms a cotton candy "halo" around the motor along the edges of the ring. When the halo reaches a good size or falls to the bottom of the ring under its own weight the operator should then scoop it out with the cone. The next part requires a bit of practice and involves a mid air twirl which either brings/partially bring the cotton candy around the cone. The operator can then use a gloved hand (Sanitary reasons) to gently form the candy around the cone. Once the candy is around the cone the operator then should place the cone back in the machine, rolling around the edges while twirling it in same direction. To achieve the best formation the cone should be started off low in the ring and gradually pulled up as it grows. This creates a large, elongated formation which is very appealing. REFERENCES
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