Every December 11, the World Cotton Candy Daya perfect excuse to remember that few things activate memory like this light, soft and almost impossible to pick up with your hands without ending up sticky. He cotton candy It is a universal symbol of fairs and carnivalsand although today it seems like a simple whim, its creation was a small revolution that combined engineering, spectacle and a good dose of molten sugar.
The childish appearance is deceptive: behind these pink threads hides a piece of machinery that has transformed the way candy is made. And yes, also a story that travels from the aristocratic salons of the 15th century to the great American fairs of the 20th century.
An improbable invention
He origin of cotton candy This goes back much further than we imagine. In the 15th century, spun sugar was already being made, but it was a very expensive process: it was done by hand, it burned your fingers, and only the elite could afford it. It was a fleeting luxury until, in the late 19th century, a dentist – yes, a dentist – decided it had a future.
In 1897, William Morrison and John C. Wharton, confectioner and partner in this adventure, invented the first electric machine capable of melting sugar and ejecting it in filaments through tiny holes. This soft cloud was initially called fairy thread and made its debut at the Universal Exhibition in Saint-Louis in 1904. The success was immediate: more than 68,000 boxes sold, at 25 cents each, at a time when the price already gave an idea of the particularity of the invention.
With this machine, the history of cotton candy It has definitely left the realm of luxury and has become a popular treat. This could finally be done quickly, attractively and without ruining anyone.
Local fairs around the world
The invention worked so well that it quickly crossed borders. In the United States, it has become an emblem of parks and festivals; In France, they renamed it daddy beard; in China, it has become za tang. In Spain, the cotton candyHe arrived at festivals accompanied by the sound of generators and that characteristic smell that mixes hot sugar and cold air.
Its global expansion has a lot to do with the evolution of machines. Early models were flimsy and fragile; Today, machines are reliable, fast and capable of producing giant clouds in minutes. It is not surprising that it remains inseparable from fairs and carnivalswhere the spectacle of watching it being made is almost as important as eating it.
A sweetness that continues to reinvent itself
He World Cotton Candy Day It also serves as a reminder that this classic isn’t stuck in the past. Currently it appears in branded desserts, in ice cream parlors, in cocktails and even in restaurants that use it as ephemeral decoration. The principle remains the same – sugar, temperature and air – but the uses are increasingly imaginative.
Its ability to awaken something childish explains its permanence: no matter what fashions come and go, it will always be easy to recognize the gesture of a child by looking at how the pink cloud rotates on the metal drum.
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