The Cotton Candy Thread: Feel Free To Share Your Thoughts

It seems that cotton candy is fairly polarizing as a treat. For some it holds a nostalgic and youthful place in their heart. For others it is nothing more than hot air (pun intended).

I think everyone agrees it is an "empty treat" that is unfriendly to the teeth. But so are lots of sugar-based foods.

I've always found this furry food to be fascinating, both in its origin and in how it is made. It is curious that it was once considered more of a "luxury product" and went for a whopping (at the time) 25 cents a bag at the 1904 World's Fair.

The US even celebrates a National Cotton Candy Day on December 7th (also Pearl Harbor day).

So feel free to share your thoughts. Do you like it? Dislike it? Do you catch yourself buying a bag at a fair or a baseball game? Do you actually have a favorite flavor? Can you actually taste the difference? Have you ever made cotton candy from a high-end machine?

Jeff

[Robin Garr]

I last had cotton candy when I was about 8. Next question?

Hate it!

Molecular Gastronomy Wacko Chefs serve it with fish and eel sauce.

Proof?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08V_ZivuRzA

Frank, have you had pash mak? It is the Persian cotton candy, a little more body and ingredients than carnival cotton candy. I have a fondness for it because it was a New Year treat always when my son was small. And it is not pink or blue.

Frank, have you had pash mak? It is the Persian cotton candy, a little more body and ingredients than carnival cotton candy. I have a fondness for it because it was a New Year treat always when my son was small. And it is not pink or blue.

Except sometimes

http://www.silco.com.hk/images/pariya%2 ... 20rose.jpg

But no, I hadn't heard of a Persian version, thanks!

I remember it with fondness, will buy it for my children occassionally, and will pinch some of theirs when I do, but I do not often eat it. No favorite flavor, but there are detectable differences.

I'm with Robin - haven't had it since I was 8 or 9 years old.

I was always facinated by the looks of it....can't stand the sweetness, nor the texture in my mouth. Humm....don't recall when I last had it, but I think it was as an adult when I introduced our kids to it at the local fair. Still did not like it.

Not a fan. Didn't really like it even when I was a kid. I guess sugar is just too sugary for me.

Always reminded me of eating a highly confected spider web.

[Jenise]

As a kid I loved it, was fascinated with the texture and pretty pastel colors. I would still love the texture, but not the sugar.

Ah, but that furry texture is what is so...distinct about cotton candy.

I know I'm easily amused, but I've always been amazed at how you can eat "cotton" only to have it magically melt into something you can swallow. Now that's magical!

I'd actually rather have a half bag of cotton candy than an apple (or a piece of apple pie). My teeth wouldn't agree but the little kid inside me does...

Jeff

Oh good, I just now see that Jenise echoed some of my thoughts but she beat me to posting them...

Jeff

I remember when I first saw fairy floss (which is what we call cotton candy over here) at the local Agricultural Show. I pestered my mother to get me some and she wouldn't. It probably took about three years of Agricultural Shows and pestering, and she finally gave in and got me some. It was bright pink. I was sure it would be delightful, like eating a sunset cloud. I was sure that angels ate stuff like this in heaven. It was awful. The texture was gritty, and the flavour was a disgusting blend of icky-sweet and horribly bitter. I ate as much as I could - mindful of my mother's disapproval of wasting food - but most of it went in the bin. I learned that day that things aren't always as nice as they look!

Can you eat your own weight in cotton candy?

It takes eight of the standard 2 ounce carnival bags to equal a pound (or so I've read). Doing the Math on my own weight, I'd need to inhale about 1,400 bags of the fluffy stuff! I figure I could happily gobble maybe 20 bags over the course of a year (one every couple weeks), so it would take about 70 years to eat my weight in sugary cotton. God willing, over the course of an expected life span, I should reach the goal.

Of course, eating that much sugar may significantly lessen the lifespan AND increase my weight so let's see...

Yes, this is what I do on weekends...

Jeff

Some other assorted thoughts and questions in regards to cotton candy.

It appears that a standard one ounce serving of the fluffy stuff actually contains less sugar than a regular soft drink. Yet soft drinks get guzzled with carefree abandon while many hesitate at responsibly indulging in an occasional bag of cotton candy.

Is cotton candy even a "food"?

Can a "food" exist if it's just one ingredient?

What other "foods" consist of just a solitary ingredient (which are also as nostalgic and irresitible)

Jeff

I don't mind cotton candy at all. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, though. As a kid, I always wanted a cotton candy machine - maybe for the magic of the transformation and not the treat itself.

Is cotton candy even a "food"?

Can a "food" exist if it's just one ingredient?

What other "foods" consist of just a solitary ingredient (which are also as nostalgic and irresistible)

Jeff

Is steak a food? Is an oyster? A tomato, a peach?

Maybe they aren't as nostalgic, but I'd say they are food...

Is cotton candy even a "food"?

Can a "food" exist if it's just one ingredient?

What other "foods" consist of just a solitary ingredient (which are also as nostalgic and irresistible)

Jeff

Is steak a food? Is an oyster? A tomato, a peach?

Maybe they aren't as nostalgic, but I'd say they are food...

Oh I agree with those as being foods, but is cotton candy? I was actually being sincere with the question of whether cotton candy is really a "food" or not. Or, rather, can sugar by itself even be called a food. A tomato at least contains the seeds and the pulp (and a skin).

Jeff

I don't mind cotton candy at all. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, though. As a kid, I always wanted a cotton candy machine - maybe for the magic of the transformation and not the treat itself.

That's what holds a lot of the magic for me as well. I'm simply amazed that mere sugar can be made into something that feels like "cotton". It's definitely a treat for the young at heart. I like any food that makes you stop and ask, "Wow! How did they make this?"

Jeff