National Cotton Candy Day celebrates the spun sugar treat that delights candy fans of all ages. On December 7th get your favorite flavor of this sweet delight that dates back to the 1400s.
- 18th Century – During the 18th century, cotton candy (spun sugar) was first recorded in Europe. At that time, it was very expensive and labor-intensive. Generally, the average person could not afford to purchase cotton candy.
- 1897 – Dentist William Morrison and confectioner John C. Wharton, both from Nashville, invented machine-spun cotton candy.
- 1904 – Their invention introduced cotton candy to a wider audience at the 1904 World’s Fair as Fairy Floss. Fairgoers loved it and bought over 68,000 boxes for 25¢ a box.
- 1921 – another dentist by the name of Dr. Josef Lascaux in New Orleans improved the design of the machine and he trademarked the name “Cotton Candy.”
- 1949 – The early machines proved to be unreliable at times. In 1949, Gold Medal Products introduced a more reliable model with a spring base, revolutionizing cotton candy-making.
- 1966 – The world’s biggest cotton candy manufacturer – Tootsie Roll Industries, produces bagged cotton candy called Fluffy Stuff.
- 2009 – The longest cotton candy was created in July 2009 and measured 1,400 m long—about the same length as 13 football fields! It took six hours to make the gigantic treat.
- Cotton Candy is healthier than most desserts.
Cotton candy is only made from two ingredients—air and colored sugar, which means that there is no fat content at all. There is actually much more sugar in a 12 ounce can of soda than an average cone of cotton candy. The way in which cotton candy is created, using force that pulls air into threads, places more air than sugar into the treat. - Originally called spun sugar, cotton candy is still a staple at carnivals, fairs, and the circus. While it may be reminiscent of childhood days, fairy floss also reminds us of fluffy clouds. Since the heated sugar gets spun into thin strands of fine sugar and blown into fat puffs twirled onto paper sticks, it’s a bit like magic.
- Sugar is the only ingredient in cotton candy.
- Cotton Candy is fat free.
- The only advancements to cotton candy over the years have been mass production and equipment upgrades.
- In France cotton candy is known as daddy’s beard, in Australia and Finland, it’s Fairy Floss, in China, you’ll find dragon’s beard, and in the Netherlands, it’s called sugar spider. in Greece, the locals call cotton candy ‘old ladies’ hair’. while in the UK and India, it goes by the name of candyfloss.
- A thread of cotton candy is thinner than a human hair.
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