Cotton Candy

candy · fair food · sugar science

Spun sugar magic. Cotton candy is made by heating sugar until it's liquid, then spinning it super fast through tiny holes so it cools into super-thin strands that look like clouds.

Named after clouds. It's called cotton candy because it looks exactly like fluffy cotton, and it's also known as candy floss or fairy floss in other countries around the world.

Fair food classic. Cotton candy comes in lots of colors because food coloring is mixed into the sugar before it spins, but it's made from just sugar, air, and a little bit of flavoring.

Melts instantly. When you put cotton candy in your mouth, it dissolves right away because it's mostly air, the sugar strands are so thin and delicate that saliva breaks them down almost immediately.