#1: Cotton Candy is an art form in Asia
It’s always a treat to see cotton candy being spun, but in China and Japan, street vendors have taken it to a new level, crafting enormous, simply mesmerizing works of art from cotton candy. In recent times, the floral-inspired pieces have become immensely popular thanks to the Internet.
These gigantic forms are usually larger than your head, they often incorporate four or more colors, and they require quick, precise, handiwork. The sugar is spun into a stick, rather than on paper cones like westerners use. While the cotton candy is still warm enough to be pliable, it is shaped with a number of different instruments such as toothpicks and tongs to refine and define the shape. The finished product is denser than American cotton candy.
#2: Hair is thicker than cotton candy
An average human hair is generally .00394 inches or 0.1millimeters thick. This is also roughly the thickness of a piece of paper. While that already sounds incredibly thin, can you believe that a single strand of cotton candy is even thinner than that?! What is perhaps even more curious is that when cotton candy is spun, the sugar can create up to a 4-mile long string of sugar!
#3: Cotton Candy is now helping scientists create artificial blood vessels.
Science can be pretty sweet! An assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University discovered that a cotton candy machine forms threads that are roughly the same size as capillaries, or very small blood vessels, so it could be used to produce structures in other materials. His research team developed a method of creating capillaries that can be used to bring nutrients and oxygen to artificial organs. Read here to learn more about this novel approach to science.
#4: Cotton Candy comes in many different versions around the world.
For example, in Iran you’ll find pashmak, which consists of sugar and sesame, in Bhutan, there’s ngathrek golop lhakpa, which is spun sugar with butter tea and chili pepper, in China, you’ll see dragon’s beard candy that’s made with sugar, peanuts or pistachios, and coconut, creating a horsehair-like texture, and in Turkey, there’s Pişmaniye, spun sugar blended with buttered flour.
#5: Cotton Candy hasn’t changed since its discovery.
Though the basic design of the cotton candy machine hasn’t changed much over time, it continues to evolve with technology. Automatic machines have allowed for mass production, larger models can hold 3 pounds of sugar, different flavors and colors of sugar can be added during each run, temperature and voltage can be set and monitored digitally, and the rotating bowl can spin thousands of revolutions per minute.
Wish you could make some homemade cotton candy on your very own? Hawaiian Shaved Ice is thrilled to provide you with everything you need—easy to use machines, floss sugar, and accessories. If you have any questions about any of our products, or need some cotton candy making assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us at customercare@hawaiianshavedice.com.
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