Cotton candy is one of the most popular sweets around the world. In America, it was nicknamed "cotton sweetness" (cotton candy), in England - "magic silk thread" (fairу floss), in Germany - "sugar wool" (Zuckerwolle), in Italy - "sugar yarn" (zucchero filato), in France - "grandfather's beard" (barbe a papa).
Despite legends that sweets like cotton candy were produced in ancient Rome, but were extremely expensive due to the complexity of production, no evidence of this has been found. but it is documented that the date of birth of cotton candy is 1893. It was in this year that William Morrison and John C. Wharton invented the cotton candy machine. This is evidenced by US patent No. 618428, the filing date of the application for which (12/23/1897) is considered the date of the invention of the cotton candy apparatus.
The method of production and the installation itself are simple, almost to the point of genius. The molten sugar heated by a gas burner, located in a rotating container, was forced through a series of small holes or a grid on the periphery of this container due to centrifugal force. Picked up by the air flow from the compressor, thin streams of molten sugar instantly crystallized in the form of thin threads, similar to cotton wool or wool, and were collected by the operator on a wooden or cardboard stick in the form of a ball. The rotation of the sugar container and the air compressor was carried out using a foot drive, similar to the drives of sewing machines.
To familiarize the public with the new product, the inventors chose the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, otherwise known as the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, in the materials of which it was recorded that the Electric Candy Company made $17,164 by selling 68,655 boxes of cotton candy (370 boxes for each day of the show) at a price of 25 cents.
Named Fairy Floss by the inventors and packaged in colorful wooden boxes, the new product was hugely popular despite the high price tag for the time. Suffice it to say that the entrance ticket to this fair, with access to all its attractions, cost 50 cents, and some department stores of that time advertised men's shirts for 25 cents.
Virtually all sources state that the cotton candy sold at the St. Louis World's Fair was made on electric machines, and that Morrison and Wharton are the inventors of the electric machine for its production. But in patent #618428 there is no hint of the use of electricity, neither as heating nor as a drive. The thing is that by 1904 the apparatus had been significantly improved, including electrical heating.
As often happens, the tandem of cotton candy inventors, however, as well as their Electric Candy Company, did not last long. The reason for their break is unknown to me, but Morrison received the next US patent No. 816114 in March 1906 himself. The company was divided, renamed, but existed. Here is an advertisement for products from the Electric Candy Floss Machine Company, Inc. from the middle of the 20th century.
More than a hundred years have passed since the invention of the apparatus for the production of cotton candy. Although the principle of making cotton candy has not changed much, the technique and technology have gone far ahead compared to the first machines. This is not surprising, because. this type of business has gone very far from fair tents, turning into a whole area of \u200b\u200bthe food industry. However, even now, somewhere with a mass gathering of people, you can see a cotton candy seller with his apparatus, surrounded by children and their parents. Someone starts their own business in this way, someone remembers their childhood, and someone just enjoys life.
Cotton candy - a sweet symbol of childhood and carelessness - has a completely non-childish age: more than 600 years. During this time, from a delicacy of aristocrats, she managed to turn into an attribute of folk festivals, become colorful and cheaper many times over.
sweet beard
The names of cotton candy in other languages fully reflect its appearance and “magic” origin: “cotton sweetness” in the USA, “magic silk thread” in England, “sugar wool” in Germany, “sugar yarn” in Italy. In France, it is called "grandfather's beard", and in Israel, India and Greece - "old woman's hair".
For the first time, sugar delicacy gained fame in Italy in the 15th century. Then this pleasure was considered expensive, because sugar was a product for the rich, and it was not easy to create this amazing “yarn” at that time: a special apparatus did not yet exist. Sugar was melted in a saucepan, and thin sugar "threads" were obtained using forks. The process was extremely labor intensive. The finished product, which was considered a full-fledged dessert, was served on a fruit platter. In the 18th century, real works of art began to be made from cotton candy. Easter eggs made of “sugar yarn”, decorated with gold and silver caramel threads, have gained particular popularity.
In 1897, a revolution took place in the world of sweets: William Morrison and John Wharton invented a machine for the production of cotton candy, powered by electricity. According to one version, there were four inventors in total, but only two were remembered. The principle of the miracle device was the same as now: cotton wool was made from melted sugar, which was poured through a sieve onto a cold rotating metal drum. Thin threads in the process of cooking were collected in a lump. When they came up with the idea of adding dyes to sugar syrup, “cotton wool” blossomed: pink was especially popular, as well as blue and yellow. In 1900, Thomas Paton showed a trick with cotton candy in the circus - the audience was delighted, and cotton candy "went to the people" and began to appear more and more often in the circus, at fairs and public festivities.
Air trade
In the 1920s, a brisk trade in the new delicacy began. A large ball of "cotton sweetness" had a low cost: of course, because it needed only 10-15 grams of sugar (2-3 teaspoons) to prepare it. Cotton candy sellers have always been in places of mass festivities and also staged a kind of performance: a man effectively and deftly winding amazing white threads on a stick caused great delight in children.
In the USSR, cotton candy was one of the few treats available. It was sold at train stations, beaches and amusement parks. During perestroika, cotton wool also remained popular due to its cheapness. Today it is the same indispensable attribute of festive festivities as it was many years ago. It can be bought in zoos, circuses and amusement parks. Contrary to popular belief, cotton candy is far from the most harmful delicacy. One serving is the same two teaspoons of sugar that many people put in tea several times a day. The calorie content of a large ball of “cotton wool” is about 30 calories, and therefore even adherents of strict diets can treat themselves to this delicacy. Well, for those to whom buying a ball of cotton candy on a stick seems undignified, but nostalgia still haunts, the enterprising French came up with vodka with the taste of cotton candy. This soft pink drink is called Cotton Candy Liqueur. The bottle and the box from under it are decorated in a doll-pink color.
Cotton candy at home
It is not necessary to go to the fair for cotton candy - it is quite possible to cook it at home. Today there are various machines for the production of cotton candy, by the way, quite miniature. They are not very expensive (the price varies depending on the quality) and come in Russian, Chinese, German and American production. The set with the device, as a rule, includes wooden sticks, on which it is convenient to wind the resulting cotton wool. Such a device is ideal for those who often arrange children's parties, and for someone it can be the first step towards their own business.
But if you do not plan to cook cotton candy often, but you still want to try, there is a recipe that does not require special tools, but requires a lot of patience and a design approach.
Cotton candy (recipe)
Ingredients: sugar, water (proportions 3:1), a drop of vinegar.
Dishes: Three forks, saucepan
Cooking: Pour sugar with water, add vinegar. Stirring constantly, heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves. Then repeat all over again, and so for about 15 minutes, so that the syrup boils out, but does not darken. You should get a homogeneous viscous mass. Two forks should be vertically fixed on the kitchen table at a distance of about twenty centimeters from each other. Dip the third in hot syrup and drive around two forks so that the sweet thread wraps around them. Be careful and don't get burned. When the cotton wool layer is of sufficient volume, you need to wind the resulting ball into a tube. Your favorite treat from childhood is ready!
When the crusaders came to the Middle East, they got hooked on one local drug. The drug was called sugar. Its production from sugarcane juice was mastered in India and Baghdad. Sugar seemed to the invaders from Europe an unprecedented miracle. He was sweeter than honey! And it was cheap! Almost always, these armored men held a white little piece of happiness behind their cheeks.
When the crusaders were driven back to Europe, sugar left with them. It became an integral part of European cuisines, but was expensive because it was imported from the same East. Sugar cane in Europe could not grow even in hot Spain. But when the Spaniards discovered the Canary Islands in the Atlantic, they planted them with sugar cane and began to get "their" sugar. Portugal, establishing colonies on the African coast, also began to cultivate sugar cane in them. After the development of America, sugar made from cane became one of the main colonial goods. Then, from the same sugarcane juice, fermenting it, they learned to make rum. But that is another story. Probably more fun.
However, the culinary history of sugar is also wonderful, and also joyful. Because sugar brings joy and fun. Everyone knows this. That is why the Crusaders “hooked” on it a long time ago. That is why children are terribly fond of sweets.
One of the delicacies from which they literally “burn out” is cotton candy. When I see children at some holiday devouring huge lumps of cotton candy, at first I feel sick: why so much sugar? Then I remember that a large piece of cotton candy is made from just a teaspoon of sugar syrup and a small amount of food coloring, I calm down. The faces of the children sparkling with pleasure inspire joy, and the business acumen of sellers who manage to sell a spoonful of sugar syrup at a price ten times higher is respected.
True, some equipment is required to make a treat. A heated metal cup with small holes in the side wall, mounted on an electric motor shaft. Sugar syrup with dye is poured into a glass, the heater and the electric motor are turned on. Centrifugal force pushes the syrup through small holes, and it solidifies in the form of colored thin threads. These threads are immediately collected on a stick or on a paper tube, and - rejoice, kids!
An apparatus for the production of cotton candy does not cost a penny at all. But the production of cotton candy is advertised on many Russian-language sites as a good small business. Investments are small, and the market is huge and insatiable. Moreover, for their beloved children and at the holiday, parents will always buy such cheap stuff as cotton candy.
The electric cotton candy machine was invented in 1897 by two inventors, a dentist William J. Morrison (1860-1926) and confectioner, candy maker, John C. Wharton. Morrison and Warton lived in Nashville, Tennessee.
Characteristically, one of the inventors of the cotton candy machine was a dentist. As you know, people in this profession usually do not encourage children to consume too much sugar. It should not be assumed that William Morrison counted on an increase in the number of young visitors to his office. It seems that his participation in the invention should be considered the approval of the product. Cotton candy won't harm baby teeth! In fact, how much of this sugar is there!
As expected in America, the invention was patented in 1899. The first tests of this device took place at the World Exhibition of 1900 in Paris. And the peak load of the cotton candy machine was experienced in 1904 during the next World's Fair, which took place in St. Louis. Then 68 thousand boxes of cotton candy were sold at 25 cents per box. It was then that the delicacy began to be called "exhibition silk" ("fairy floss"). By the way, the entrance ticket to the exhibition then cost 50 cents. And the very next year, a machine for making cotton candy was in almost every candy store, and a bag of colored cotton candy cost 5-10 cents.
In the 1940s, a machine was invented that not only made cotton candy, but also packaged it. In 1970, the process was fully automated, and cotton candy began to be bought in ordinary stores, and not just on holidays. Here, of course, the Chinese intervened and came up with many ways to color cotton candy to make the product even more attractive, and most importantly, even cheaper. So on most bags of cotton candy that are sold in stores, you can now find the inscription "Made in China". And who would have doubted!
It is fluffy, bright, airy and delicious. And it is also a favorite delicacy of adults and children. You have already guessed that we are talking about cotton candy. Probably, you are still fascinated by the process of preparing this product. We've all seen it done when we were kids. We all made amazed eyes when a huge air mass swelled from one small sugar lump. But as adults, we still see it as a magic trick. Why does cotton candy have an airy texture and why does it have different shades? Here are some interesting facts from the history of the popular delicacy.
Two main secrets
Despite the fact that the product is almost 100 percent sugar, it has a lot of fans. The reason for this is a whole bunch of unique flavors and a surprisingly delicate texture. If you fill this cotton texture with milk, strawberry, vanilla or grape syrup, you will get a real confectionery miracle at the end. Cotton candy is several times more popular than caramel, chocolates and cookies. Perhaps you will not find a more stellar delicacy in the world. 
First public appearance
The first cotton candy machine was presented at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. Eyewitnesses did not remember other inventions. One of them was so cunning that it immediately attracted attention. A metal drum appeared before people, which rotated very quickly due to centrifugal force. When a slightly melted lump of sugar was placed in the container, the magic began. A simple ingredient turned into thin long threads, which gradually gathered into a ball. Interspersed with the air layer, the sugar stretched and formed many sticky fibers. To give the resulting canvas a shape, the master armed himself with a stick and rolled the threads into a cone. As they say, everything ingenious is simple.
Many names
In different countries of the world, this delicacy is called differently. For example, in Italy it is “sugar yarn”, and in China and Japan it is “old woman's hair”. The French call cotton candy "grandfather's beard", and somewhere it is called "tooth fairy". 
Who invented the cotton candy machine?
Ironically, the inventor of the product was a dentist named William Morrison, who once volunteered to help his pastry chef friend John Wharton.
Medieval confectioners made dessert by hand
Starting from the 15th century, the best European confectioners tried to produce the delicacy by hand. The process was so laborious that only the most noble and wealthy members of society could afford "sugar yarn". Just imagine that each fiber from the sugar melted in the pan was stretched with the help of forks by hand! We can assume that the invention of William Morrison gave way to the product to the masses. 
Bright hit at fairs and carnivals
By tradition, since its inception, the airy delicacy has been sold at mass sporting events, carnivals and fairs. Modern options include bright colors, which are achieved through dyes.
