February 17, 2025
Step 1. Prepare your items. Setup the machine. Pour the sugar floss into a large bowl to make scooping easier. Open your plastic storage bags. Twist ties apart. You don’t want these small details to cause you any trouble once you start spinning. Preparation is key, just like when cooking.
Step 2. Install the machine and assemble it. Turn the machine on and let it heat up for about 3-4 minutes. The floss will be more fluffy if you heat it enough. Sugar will not come out immediately if you add it too early.
Step 3. Hold the paper cone in one hand and scoop the floss sugar with the measuring spoon. Then, place the paper cone a few inches over the spinning element. Pour the sugar in the spinning element, then set aside the measuring scoop and immediately start spinning the cone. The outer rim of commercial machines has a net that you can pick up and twirl with your cone. With this machine style, the floss is spun onto the paper cone when it exits the spinning element.
Step 4. If you see the floss no longer coming out, you can either give it to someone who will eat the floss or gently slide it off the spinning center and stuff it in a bag. Allow air to stay in the bag if you’re using bags. Twist the tie as tight as possible to hold the air in. Do not squish it! Make the next one and so on until you have made all you need.
Step 5. Switch off the machine. It’s so easy to clean up. It takes a few moments for the sugar to cool. You can then break off the sugar from the bowl’s side and eat it. It tastes like rock candy. I then unclamp and empty the contents of the bowl into the garbage. The bubble hood, metal bowl and a little clean water are all you need to wash them. After that, dry the items with a dishtowel. The spinning center element is not affected. After everything has cooled and been cleaned, you can place it back into the boxes.
Cotton Candy Tips and Tricks
TIP 1. First, I recommend spinning outside. It’s happened to me that spinning inside has set off my smoke detector. It’s not because it gets too hot. Instead, the little fluffy pieces that float in the air set off the alarm. Weather will also be a major factor. It won’t work as well if it is very humid. Cotton candy and moisture are not friends. You need to dry cotton candy if you want it big and fluffy. Find a garage and wait for a rainy afternoon. If you must spin it indoors (I’ve done this a couple of times), use a bubble hood and open some windows to contain the floating parts.
TIP 2. When I make large batches in advance of an event (like the 145 I spun for the Kindergarten last year), I spin 50 at a go and store them into large plastic bins. It’s okay to make them up to a week in advance. Just don’t move them around too much. The poufs will shrink as they lose air the more you bang them around.
TIP 3. Enjoy the variety! My favorites are banana and green apple! There are a variety of flavors and they all taste great! While still holding the banana, I add a cherry scoop to the machine. Then I spin the banana over top. You can add as many flavors as desired. Layering flavors (spinning the first flavor onto the cone, then adding the second) is better than mixing the floss sugars together. Mixing the floss sugars will not give you the same flavors.
TIP 4. Tell guests that if they want to return to the line to get more cotton candy, to keep their paper cone. This way, you won’t have to buy 100 cones if there are only 25 guests.
TIP 5. I stuck the felt circles on the bottom of the bubble hood to make it easier to slide over wood floors. It fit snugly over my machine, and it is much quieter when I use it. It bangs against the cotton candy machine in NZ rim without them.
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