Cotton candy

Cotton candy (U.S., India, Canada), candy floss (UK, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, India, South Africa, Canada), or tooth floss (South Africa), and Fairy Floss (Australia) is a form of spun sugar. According to the New York Times, the confection "is almost 99.999 percent sugar, with dashes of flavoring and food coloring."

Made by heating sugar and spinning the liquified sugar out through tiny holes where it re-solidifies in minutely thin strands of "sugar glass," the final cotton candy contains mostly air; with a typical serving weighing approximately 1 ounce or 30 grams.

Often served at fairs, circuses, carnivals, and Japanese festivals, cotton candy is sold on paper batons, large toothpicks or in plastic bags.Food coloring can be used to change the natural white color, and numerous flavorings are available to change the taste.

Similar confections include the Persian Pashmak, and the Turkish Pişmaniye, although the latter is made with flour and water in addition to sugar.

History

Spun Sugar

Spun Sugar (foaled January 28, 2002 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred mare racehorse. She is sired by multiple grade one stakes winner Awesome Again, who was United States Horse of the Year. He in turn was sired by another leading American sire in Deputy Minister. She was out of the mare Irish Cherry.

Spun Sugar raced 13 times and won or placed in nine races, seven of them stakes races. She is probably best known for her wins in the Grade II $200,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes on May 20, 2005, and the grade one Apple Blossom Handicap.

Three-year-old season

As a three-year-old in 2005, Stronach Stable's Spun Sugar won the $250,000 Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes as she beat a field of six three-year-old rivals at Pimlico Race Course. At that time, Spun Sugar was three for four lifetime. The win marked her first added-money stakes score, after winning a maiden and an allowance race prior to that start. The Black-Eyed Susan Stakes is considered by many to be the de facto second leg of the "Filly Triple Crown." The Todd Pletcher trainee was sent to post as the favorite at odds of 1.20-1 odds at "Old-Hilltop" and won under jockey John Velazquez. She won going away by 3 3/4 lengths in 1:53 for the 1 1/8 mile distance over a sloppy track. R Lady Joy, a 5-1 shot, took second, while 7.50-1 shot Pleasant Chimes was another three lengths back in third. Spun Sugar paid $4.40 to win as the favorite.