National Cotton Candy Day – 2012 Update

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By Diane Forrest

On Halloween this year my church hosted a Fall Festival for the community.  It was held at the property soft ball field, and all around the sides there were different booths and activities for the kids.  As you entered the field, around the fence on the left you started at the popcorn machine, then various carnival games, some large blow up balls that you would get inside and walk, some jumping rooms, but near the exit the crowning glory was the cotton candy machine. As I walked near the machine, I noticed the large swirls of pink fluffy stuff being spun on paper cones.  The workers were also being covered with the sweet sticky stuff too!

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Every since I was a young girl I have always been amazed at cotton candy.  How a cup full of sugar could be spun into fluffy colorful clouds and the warm sweet stuff would just melt in my mouth.

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In 1897, a machine was invented to produce cotton candy by a Dentist named William Morrison - I guess he needed to find a way to drum up more business.  His machine was introduced at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.  It was called Fairy Floss, and a box cost 25 cents!  In today's prices that would be 6 dollars.

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Today is National Cotton Candy day.  If you don't have a fair or carnival visiting your town, you can find some in your grocery store or candy store.  It is sold as "fluffy stuff" and made by tootsie roll of Canada LTD.  So today celebrate your childhood and grab a bag, just don’t forget to brush afterwards!

National Candy Corn Day

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By Terry Orr

Talk about your SUGAR HIGH – for generations, kids have been getting that high from these tasty morsels.  They are so small – it is difficult to pass up getting a few sitting in your candy dish.

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According to Punchbowl.com - Did you know that candy corn has been around for more than 100 years and has never changed its look, taste, or design?

George Renninger of the Wunderle Candy Company created candy corn in the 1880s. It was made to mimic a kernel of corn and became instantly popular because of its innovative design. It was one of the first candies to feature three different colors!

For those Chocolate Lovers
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And according to Wikipedia -Candy corn is made primarily from sugar, corn syrup, wax, artificial coloring and binders.[2] A serving of Brach's Candy Corn consists of nineteen pieces, and contains 140 calories and zero grams of fat.  The top branded retailer of candy corn, Brach's, sells enough candy corn each year to circle the earth 4.25 times if the kernels were laid end to end.

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All of my grandchildren, nieces and nephews love Candy Corn – so we keep a good supply on hand, especially around Halloween time.

Cotton Candy

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By Diane Forrest,

The other night as I was waiting in the checkout line in the store I saw a little boy in front of me holding a bright colored bag.  The words Fluffy Stuff were written on the bag along with a picture of a pink fluffy cloud. Immediately my thoughts flew back to my childhood and trips to the amusement park at my grandmother's home.  I remember standing out in the cool night air watching as a man took a long white paper cone and twirl it inside a big round noisy machine.  In seconds strands of pink spun sugar started to appear on the cone, and as it continued to circle the machine the pink cloud began to grow.  When it was finished, I was handed this large cone of pink fluffy stuff that surely must have come straight from heaven.  I put a piece in my mouth and it tasted like a warm sweet piece of air.

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Would you believe that this sweet mass of spun sugar was invented by a dentist?  I am of the opinion he was looking for repeat business.  In 1897 dentist William Morrison and confectioner John C. Wharton introduced cotton candy to a wide audience at the 1904 World's Fair as "Fairy Floss".  At the time the cost of a box was 25 cents, which was quite expensive at that time.    In the 1920's Fairy Floss was renamed as Cotton Candy.  In the 1970s an automatic cotton candy machine was created which made the product and packaged it. This made it easier to produce and available to sell at carnivals, fairs, and stores.  Cotton candy is white, however food coloring is added to color it to pinks, blues, yellows or any other color.

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Today is National Cotton Candy Day.  Why not revisit your childhood and indulge in a bright colored bag full of fluffy stuff.