Oh, the joys of cotton candy. Permit me to profess the many ways in which I love you.
Cotton candy has always had an inherently comforting and childlike quality to it. This has been true for as long as I can remember. Perhaps the mindless self-indulgence of pure sugar is what brings out the child in all of us at some point in our lives. Or, maybe it’s the vibrant colours and fruity flavours that bring us back to the days when we were carefree little devils, running amok and getting into all sorts of mischief thanks to the sugar high that was caused by our cotton candy consumption.
This morning, while I was reading about cotton candy, I came across some interesting facts, including the following:
- In the year 1897, cotton candy was first introduced. William Morrison and John C. Wharton were the individuals responsible for its development.
- In addition to being a lawyer and author, William Morrison worked as a dentist. That was one of the more surprising facts; was it some sort of plot to attract new customers? We have our doubts; we believe the motivation behind it was probably more about having a good time.
- When cotton candy was first introduced in 1897, it was given the nickname “Fair Floss” due to the perception that it was light and delicate, similar to the characteristics of a fair lady.
- The phrase “cotton candy” was not used in actuality until somewhere around the year 1920.
- Cotton candy is the kind of candy that is the easiest to make because all you need is sugar to make it. However, despite the ease of preparation required by the ingredients, making cotton candy at home is an EXTREMELY challenging endeavour.
- Despite what you may believe, eating cotton candy is not as harmful to your health as you might think. This is because the strands of cotton candy contain a significant amount of air space due to the manufacturing process.
- Cotton candy made its first appearance at the World Fair in 1904, where it was priced at 25 cents for each box. The fair made a substantial profit off of the candy and was able to sell over 68,000 boxes of it.
- A quarter of a cent might not seem like much, but at that particular moment in time, it was roughly equivalent to six dollars. It doesn’t sound very different from the gourmet candies of today!
- The seventh of December is designated as Cotton Candy Day.
- Around 1972, cotton candy began to be produced on a large scale, which made it possible for it to be sold in retail stores.
Image courtesy of Cotton Candy Concessions, located at http://www.cottoncandyconcessions.com/.