Cotton candy is the most amazing form of caramelization ever invented by man. ~ Jose Andres
I don’t remember the first time I tasted the sweet, delicate flavor that defines cotton candy. I don’t even know what made me start thinking about it last week, but I’m glad I did. Learning new things about old pleasures can be quite entertaining, and this is a sweet topic. Couldn’t resist. And away we go.
How long has cotton candy been around?
Prepare yourself for a shocker. According to the Tennessee State Museum, cotton candy was invented in 1897 by a dentist. A DENTIST! How ironic. And how sweet is it that the dentist was from my home state of Tennessee. Here’s how it came about.
The dentist, William Morrison, had a friend, John C. Wharton, who was a confectioner. They were both inventors and collaborated to create what they called fairy floss. As an aside, Dr. Morrison must have had an incredible mind, as he had other inventions as well. According to the National Library of Medicine, “He developed a process for extracting oils from cotton seed, and converting them into a lard substitute. Likewise, he devised a chemical process to purify the public drinking water for Nashville.” Not too shabby. I am quite happy that he took a break from improving public health and stooped to work on a sweet treat for the masses.
I won’t lie. That sounds perfectly awful, but I won’t apologize for my opinion. Let’s see how they did it.
WHAT'S THE PROCESS of making cotton candy or fairy floss or whatever you call it?
According to the Tennessee State Museum, it started with a big, revolving metal bowl. You have probably seen these at a concession stand. If not, what’s wrong with you? Anyway, the bowl heated the sugar as it spun and produced wispy strands of sweet air. Those strands were then wound around a cardboard tube and sold for exorbitant amounts. The price at the World’s Fair in 1904 was only $.25, paltry by today’s standards. However, the price to get into the fair was $ .50, so it was never a bargain, comparatively speaking.
As I already mentioned, the inventors called their creation candy floss. Another gentleman, another dentist, no less, by the name of Joseph Lascaux, invented a machine in 1921 that was similar to the one Morrison and Wharton patented. He was from Louisiana and the fluffy concoction reminded him of bolls of cotton. His name as well as his machine design stuck.
SHOULD YOU REALLY BE BUYING spun sugar?
Whether you want to consume this delicious snack depends on how much you want to deprive yourself. It’s so full of air, it’s only 130 calories for a wad the size of a 32 oz. tea tumbler. Cotton candy may even have fewer calories than your favorite caffeine, depending on where you go for your sweet tea. Or Bundt cake or waffle with a fruit compote.
Of course, you shouldn’t eat cotton candy with any regularity. It’s sugar and air. It has minimal nutritional value. That said, there are also quite popular vegetables and fruits that we shouldn’t eat to excess, either. For example, per My Recipes:
- Iceberg lettuce. It’s just crunchy and low in calories. It doesn’t do much for you.
- Eggplant. This is a fruit (who knew?) that could be good for you, but once it’s fried or used as the primary ingredient in Eggplant Parmesan, game over. It absorbs all the bad stuff.
- Fruit juice. It’s delicious, but it is stripped of the fiber that makes it healthy. Well, healthier.
- Corn. That breaks my heart. Sadly, it’s a great tool for converting carbs to sugar. If you’re going to eat corn, pop it. At least that way, it’s whole grain.
- Potatoes. Not bad until you mess them up by preparing them like I do. When I mash them, I remove the skin, and as the skins go, so go many of the nutrients. Fried – same skinless situation, but worse. I love mine baked, too, but I do so love to add butter and sour cream.
Sorry for making this post so sad. Back to cotton candy.
Sweet parting words
My food preferences lean toward the savory, but eating a handful of cotton candy takes me back many decades to a time when I hadn’t heard of calories. My hometown had (and still does) an annual strawberry festival, and the carnival was always in town those weeks, at least when I lived there. That meant we also enjoyed corndogs and cotton candy, and not necessarily in that order.
Those were some sweet memories, no pun intended. Some would consider cotton candy an inherently unhealthy food. Perhaps it is, but it was part of my childhood, though consumed infrequently. When I think of it, I remember good times. I’m thinking there may not be enough pleasant memory generators, and I’ll be the last person on earth who will judge someone for allowing a child an occasional splurge.
You?
Liked the piece but never liked cotton candy. I do find it funny that a dentist invented a pure sugar treat and a baptist preacher invented bourbon. My best memories from my youth are riding my motorscooter and being the fastest checker, knowing all the prices at the grocery store. I knew the prices because I was the guy who stocked the shelves and stamped the prices on the can. Dad would tell people that I could play a Jewish piano, his slightly politically incorrect term for a cash register.
The dentist was just creating future clients. I love cotton candy when it’s fresh, at fairs. The sad packaged lumps they sell at special events just don’t have the same appeal.
I think they may still call it fairy floss in England.
You could be on to something with the dentist’s motivation. I don’t think I’ve eaten the “canned” version, but can’t imagine it would be as tasty as right out of the spinning bowl. 😉 As to fairy floss – yes, they do still call it that in England, according to my dear Cornwall friend.