Friday, March 21, 2014

History of Cotton Candy:

The cotton candy machine was invented in the late 1800s by two men from Nashville, Tennessee.  One was William Morrison, a dentist, and the other John C Wharton, a confectioner.  They developed the machine that was debuted at the Paris Exposition in 1900 and the Saint Louis World’s Fair in 1904.  They ended up selling over 68,000 boxes of what was called “fairy floss” and sold for 25 cents per box.

There have been many improvements over the years, but the original concept has remained the same.  Sugar is placed in the head of the cotton candy machine which is located in the middle of the base.  The machine heats the sugar up to 300° which allows the sugar to melt .  While the sugar is melting, the head is spinning at about 3500 rpms, which creates a centrifugal force that shoots the sugar out of the head through a screen causing a flossing effect.  Typically there is a netting that is used on the side of the bowl to catch the floss.  Over the years, flavoring and coloring has been added to the sugar for added fun and taste appeal.  The flavored  is called floss sugar.


Even though the cotton candy machine has only been around for about a hundred years the concept of spun sugar has been around since the 1400s in Italy.  Back then, the delicacy was typically only affordable by the wealthy and elite due to the extensive process in making it.  Now everyone can enjoy the sugary treat with the modernization of the cotton candy machine.


Paragon offers two versions of the cotton candy machine.  The first, Spin Magic 5, has a 5” head and comes with a choice of a metal or plastic bowl.  This unit has a built in voltage meter for perfect cotton candy.  The other machine Paragon offers is the Classic Floss 5 and is a lot like the Spin Magic but without the voltage meter for a more economic version.  Both machines can produce up to 200 cones per hour.
 
Check out all the great cotton candy products Paragon has to offer:



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