Believe it or not, candy floss was invented by a dentist!
Are you someone who visit fairs just to have candy floss? Well, you aren’t alone! This pink, fluffy delight on a stick, that is nothing more than melted sugar spun into thin threads and collected into a mass, is one of the all-time-favourites of kids (even adults!) worldwide. But if you ever visit a dentist, they would tell you how candy floss is bad for your teeth. After all, it’s made of sugar, that is detrimental to dental health.
Now, the next time this happens, here’s what you can do. Maybe, you can remind your dentist that candy floss was after all the doing of someone from his ilk. Confused? Well, don’t be. Candy floss, the sweet treat you love so much, was invented by a dentist. Amazed at the irony? Come let’s explore it some more.
The work of a dentist and a candy maker
It was 1897. An American dentist named William Morrison met and befriended a Tennessee-based candy maker named John C. Warton, and together they blessed the world with the first ever candy floss, which they called ‘fairy floss’ back then. What they simply did was spinning sugar in a machine having tiny holes while using heating and cooling mechanisms.
In case you are surprised that a dentist was involved in the invention of the melt-in-your-mouth candy floss, don’t blame yourself. After all, candy floss is made from sugar, which is most definitely the arch rival of gums, right? But candy floss is not that bad for your teeth as you may have been made to believe. Why? Because although it contains a fair amount of sugar, 90 per cent of it is air. So, if you really think about it, candy floss is far better in comparison to other candies sold during carnivals, such as funnel cakes and donuts.
The world welcomes candy floss
Even though candy floss (also nicknamed as cotton candy) was born in 1897, it didn’t immediately become popular. In 1904, Morrison and Wharton made a smart move. From local candy shops, they took their creation to the St. Loius World’s Fair, one of the most famous and long-lasting winter carnivals of the US.
There, their sugary treat quickly became a rage among people of all ages. It was pocket-friendly (worth 25 cents per box) and super tasty. And guess what? Within a week, the duo sold more than 68,000 boxes at the fair.
Making of candy floss
The first set of candy floss machines were not that reliable as they often broke down and made loud noise. But in 1949, this problem was fixed by Cincinnati-based machine manufacturers Gold Metal Products, who introduced a spring base to run the machine smoothly.
Okay, so how exactly is candy floss made inside this machine? Well, first and foremost, sugar crystals are put inside a spinning bowl and melted (by exposing them to high temperature) until they completely liquify. Next, the machine starts spinning this sweet liquid by pushing it through mini holes that give it a shape and cool it down. Once cooled, the sugar turns solid again. This is when the maker rotates a stick or a paper cone inside the machine and collects millions of tiny crystallised sugar threads that look like a puffy, pink cloud! Fascinating, isn’t it? Interestingly, the colour comes from food dye, as sugar is naturally white in shade.
Fun fact: USA celebrates National Cotton Candy Day on 7th December every year.