What is the history of Cotton Candy?

Several places claim the origin of Cotton Candy, with some sources tracing it to a form of spun sugar found in Europe in the 19th century. Others suggest versions of spun sugar originated in Italy as early as the 15th century. At that time, spun sugar was an expensive, labor-intensive endeavor and was not generally available to the average person. Chefs would whisk melted sugar into thin strands with a fork, using them to decorate cakes and pastries.

Machine-spun Cotton Candy was invented in 1897 by dentist William Morrison and confectioner John C. Wharton, and first introduced to a wide audience at the 1904 World's Fair as "Fairy Floss" with great success, selling 68,655 boxes at 25¢ (equivalent to $7.11 in 2019) per box. On September 6, 1905, Albert D. Robinson of Lynn, Massachusetts submitted his patent for an Electric Candy-Spinning Machine. The patent was for a combination of an electronic starter and a motor-driven rotatable bowl that maintained heating efficiently. By May 1907 he transferred the rights to the General Electric Company of New York. His patent still remains today as the basic Cotton Candy machine.

Joseph Lascaux, a dentist from New Orleans, Louisiana, invented a similar Cotton Candy machine in 1921. In fact, the Lascaux patent named the sweet confection "Cotton Candy" and the "Fairy Floss" name faded away, although it retains this name in Australia. In the 1970s, an automatic Cotton Candy machine was created which made the product and packaged it. This made it easier to produce and available to sell at carnivals, fairs, and stores in the 1970s and on.

Typical machines used to make Cotton Candy include a spinning head enclosing a small "sugar reserve" bowl into which a charge of granulated, Cotton Candy sugar is poured. Heaters near the rim of the head melt the sugar, which is squeezed out through tiny holes by centrifugal force.

The molten sugar solidifies in the air and is caught in a larger bowl that totally surrounds the spinning head. Left to operate for a period, the cotton-like product builds up on the inside walls of the larger bowl, at which point machine operators twirl a stick or cone around the rim of the large catching bowl, gathering the sugar strands into portions which are served on stick or cone, or in plastic bags.

Cotton candy is actually healthier than most desserts. Cotton candy is only made from two main ingredients—air and 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.

All over the world, there are different versions of the Cotton Candy that we are familiar with within the United States, and they are known by some very unique names. We sometimes refer to our Cotton Candy as Floss! In France cotton candy is known as “Daddy’s Beard”, in Australia, it’s “Fairy Floss”, in China, you’ll find “Dragon’s Beard,” and in the Netherlands, it’s called “Sugar Spider.”

Yes, there is! Decemer 7th is National Cotton Candy Day. It’s not clear where or how this day was established in the United States, and you may not have even known of its existence.