Cotton candy
Spinning cotton candy at a fair | |
| Alternative names | Candy floss (candyfloss), fairy floss |
|---|---|
| Type | Confectionery |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Created by | Unknown |
| Main ingredients | Sugar, food coloring |
Cotton candy, also known as candy floss (candyfloss) and fairy floss, is a spun sugar confection that resembles cotton. It is made by heating and liquefying sugar, and spinning it centrifugally through minute holes, causing it to rapidly cool and re-solidify into fine strands. It usually contains small amounts of food flavoring and it naturally bears the color of the sugar it is made of which is often altered with food coloring.
It is often sold at fairs, circuses, carnivals, and festivals, served in a plastic bag, on a stick, or on a paper cone.
It is made and sold globally, as candy floss in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa, as fairy floss in Australia, as barbe à papa 'daddy's beard' in France, as شعر البنات 'girl's hair' in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, as غزل البنات "girl's yarn" in Egypt. Similar confections include Korean kkul-tarae and Iranian pashmak.