Every good parent desires to see their children happy. So, after a busy semester, you take a trip to the park where your kids can interact with nature and play all kinds of games. Among them includes bouncing castle, following the leader, swinging among many games. In the evening, they need to wrap up all that joy with cotton candy. Does that mean your kids will not eat another candy until the next outdoor activity? Far be it. You can still make cotton candy at home, so long as you have the right ingredients and tools. This is a step-by-step guide on How To Make Cotton Candy at Home With a Blender.
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Why should you consider making cotton candy in a blender at home? Maybe you have never been keen on the nutritional benefits of candy. In your mind, it’s just a snack for keeping kids busy. But do you know, research by the Harvard school of public health revealed that eating candy can help you live longer?
The busy life can stress you up, but your mental health improves when you chew that gum. When you eat chocolate, the chances of getting cardiovascular diseases reduce. Again, they also help your body to create new blood vessels. All these benefits indicate that candy is not only good for kids but also for adults. But remember taking anything in excess can be poisonous, mainly due to high sugar levels in candy. So, how can you make this family treat at home?
Table of Contents
How to make cotton candy in a blender At Home?
There are different methods of making cotton candy blender recipes at home. You can do a hand-pulled cotton candy or even a hand-spun cotton candy. Alternatively, you can use a candy machine or even improvise using the blender motor to make your cotton candy. The only difference is that when making the cotton candy using the machine, you will save time, and the working station will not be messy like when using your hands. Again when you improvise one using the blender motor, you have to be careful since it can be dangerous. In these articles, you will learn two main ways of making cotton candy. They include
1. Making Hand-Spun Cotton Candy
Gone are the days when you couldn’t make cotton candy without a candy machine. You can save the cost of the candy machine and use this simple method to make cotton candy.
Requirements
- Sugar-4 cups
- Corn syrup-1 cup
- Water-1 cup
- Salt-1/4 tsp
- Raspberry, vanilla or even almond extract –help in flavoring-1 tsp
- Food colour-2 drops
- Candy spay
When gathering the ingredients, also get a candy thermometer and parchment paper. How will you spin your candy? A standard whisk can help.
Steps
1. Prepare Your Working Station
As indicated earlier, the hand-spun method can be messier. You don’t want to ruin your table with some hot sticky sugar. So clear everything on the counter and lay some newspapers. On top, place a parchment paper. It’s a nice surface to spin your candy.
2. Mix The Ingredients
Grab a heavy-bottomed pot and pour the four cups of sugar, syrup, and water, one cup each, and salt. Place your pot on the stovetop. Set the temperature at medium-high. Stir as the mixture heats. Once the sugar melts, check if the mixture is ready with a candy thermometer. If the temperature is at 320, then it’s ready. Since you don’t want the temperature to go higher, pour the mixture into a large heat-safe bowl.
3. Spin You Candy
If you let the sugar rest for long, it will start thickening. So, immediately after transferring, drizzle the sugar strand using the tines of your whisk. A back and forth motion across your parchment paper will help make a sizable candy nest using the candy straps. Kids enjoy taking candy that is in a Popsicle stick. So, spin the candy stands around it and give the treat to the kids.
Do you discard the mixture if it thickens before you finish forming cotton candy? No, use a microwave to restore it in its favorable texture.
Also read: Does Cheesecake Need to Be Refrigerated?
2. DIY Candy Machine
You don’t have a candy machine, and you feel like innovating one? Well, it’s possible. Below are the tools you will require.
Requirements
- A tin can
- A drill
- Heat source
- Motor
- Bucket/bowl
- Sugar
Steps
You are wondering if you can use the blender to make the cotton candy. The answer is no if the blender is in its original state. But you can make good use of the blender motor to make your candy. Here is the process;
1. Safety First
This method can be tricky if it’s your first time. Grab some sturdy gloves to protect your fingers from getting burned. Ensure that the bowl/bucket you are using is heat-safe. You don’t want it to melt on your hands.
2. Drill The Tin Can
When selecting a drill, ensure that it has small drill bits. Use it to form small holes around the can. Remember, when your sugar melts, the motor’s force will make the sugar strands pass through the holes.
3. Attach To The Motor
Drill a hole underneath the tin can and attach it to the blender motor. You don’t want your candy to fall all over the place. So take a heat-safe bowl and place it around your tin can. At the side, cut a sizable hole to allow the heat source to pass through it.
Also read: Do Lunchables Need to Be Refrigerated?
4. Make Your Candy
Use the same ingredients that you used in your hand-spun method. Pour the mixture into your tin can. Insert the propane torch through the hole in the bowl and heat the can. Power on your motor and, use a Popsicle stick to spin your cotton candy. Alternatively, you can let it make a lump. Once you are through, call your family to enjoy.
Be careful when improvising the candy machine since you can quickly burn yourself.
FAQ’s
What Sugar Do You Use For Cotton Candy?
Two types of sugar are usually used to make cotton candy. Firstly, it is floss sugar that is extracted from sugar cane and it is precisely used for candy machines as the size of this kind of sugar can go with industrial machines. On the other hand, normal granulated is only to make homemade cotton candy where smaller machines can take care of smaller grains of this type of sugar. Besides, the normal sugar is inexpensive and also easily available to allow you to make this sweet treat anywhere, anytime.
How Much Sugar Is In A Bag Of Cotton Candy?
As sugar is the main ingredient of this sweet confectionery, you have to know how much sugar requires making a bag of cotton candy. Well, in this case, to make a cone or a bag of cotton candy requires only 1 tbsp of sugar and I know it would be enough to make perfect cotton candy in your kitchen.
How Do You Make Cotton Candy With Hard Candy?
Hard candies like lollipops, candy canes, etc. can be used to make cotton candy. But those must be without coating and filling. Here you have to crush the hard candy and then you go to turn on the machine allow it to heat up for at least 5 minutes and then add the crushed candy into the machine only to watch them making a web in a few seconds.
How Do You Make Flavored Cotton Candy Sugar?
If you go to a stall you can easily find cotton candies with different flavors and colors. Now the question is how they can manage to make those varieties? The answer would be in one word- Simply. Either you can add gel color with different flavors or you can use floss sugar that comes with 20 types of flavors such as grape, banana, peach, orange, etc.
How Do You Make Candy Floss?
There is not too much difference between cotton candy and candy floss. In fact, both are the same confectionary except candy floss has a more smooth texture than cotton candy as it is precisely made with floss sugar that provides necessary smoothness to the candy floss. Therefore, the way of preparation is almost the same in both cases.
What Two Ingredients Is Candy Floss Made Of?
Usually, candy floss contains only two ingredients, sugar, and food coloring. Sugar is the main thing that melts and then spins out as webs through the tiny holes of the machine. Food coloring is only to add different colors and flavors as well to this unique sweet treat.
Is Cotton Candy Bad For Health?
In today’s world if you go with the doctors, then eating cotton candy frequently is not good for your health, especially for your children. Because a standard-s cotton candy contains 30 grams of sugar and it is enough for an older person to avoid this thing as consuming sugar is not going too well for us.
Can Vegans Have Cotton Candy?
You can offer cotton candy to a vegan as apart from sugar the other ingredient is the coloring that mostly comes from plants such as beetroot. But in some cases, crushed insects are also used for this purpose. So it would be better to follow the label or to contact with the manufacturer.
Conclusion
Candy not only makes the climaxing of a cerebration better but also contains nutritional benefits. Fortunately, you don’t have to buy this delicacy since you can still make it at home. You can either use a hand-spun, hand-pulled, a candy machine or even improvise one using a blender motor. If the sugar thickens when using the hand-spun method, you can reheat it using a microwave.
Also read: Do Pickles Have to Be Refrigerated? Can Pickles Go Bad?