How to Make Cotton Candy at Home Without a Machine? 6 Easy Steps

Cotton candy can be made without a machine! Can you imagine?

Don’t worry; I won’t keep it a secret. I am going to share it with you. Trust me; it’s so simple that you will start to make a lot of it. And the most crucial point is that you just don’t have to worry about the cotton candy machine.

You can easily make them in your kitchen. You won’t believe me I guess it’s so delicious! So let’s not delay. Stay with me till the end and my homespun candy recipe.

So the question stands, How to make cotton candy at home without a machine?

how-to-make-cotton-candy-at-home-without-a-machine

To make your homespun candy, you need to follow three steps. Heat it, liquefy it and spun it. See, it’s elementary as I told you. But remember one thing this process is a bit time consuming than the machine. You can’t afford a large group of people, but you will make your kids happy with your kitchen made cotton candy for sure.

If you have the right tools in your kitchen just no need to worry. Jump over it and make your hand made-cotton candy.

How to Make Cotton Candy at Home Without a Machine?

Let me talk about the ingredients first.

Ingredients

  • Sugar—————- 4 cup
  • Corn Syrup———- 1 cup
  • Water—————– 1 cup
  • Salt ——————- ¼ tea spoon
  • Flavourings (like; Vanilla, raspberry, almond or other extracts) —1 tsp
  • Food colourings——— 2 drops
  • Cooking spray or vegetable oil
  • Candy thermometer
  • Parchment paper
  • Large saucepan
  • Pastry brush
  • Lollipop stick
  • Heat safe bowl

It’s time for digging up. Stay with me and follow the steps. So let’s start.

Step One: Prepare your workstation

So get your kitchen ready for your cotton candy adventure. Make space on your kitchen table as you are going to need a lot of space. Wrap up some space with parchment paper as per its length. You can use some newspaper under the parchment paper and in-floor to avoid messes.

Mix sugar, salt, water and corn syrup in a large saucepan. Mix it well as it is your base ingredients for cotton candy.

Step Two: Check the heat

After mixing all the ingredients, you must put the saucepan on the burner and stir it in medium-high heat until all the ingredients get melted.  Use your candy thermometer to keep the temperature at 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Some sugar crystal will cling with the saucepan wall. Use your pastry brush to wipe them send it back to the melted mixture.

Step Three: Pour the mixture into a heat-safe bowl

Pour the melted sugar into a heatproof shallow container. This will keep your sugar away from continuous cooking and burning.

Step Four: Add flavorings and food Colour

Time to add some flavour and colour as per your cravings. You can choose it of any taste and colour that would be an excellent treat for your heart and stomach.

Step Five: Spinning time

Time to use the parchment paper lining on your table. Dip the tines of your whisk into the melted sugar, hold the whisk over parchment paper and drizzle the sugar strands back and forth. Spin it until it gets a nest of spun sugar. The strand will be a bit thicker than the machine cotton candy. Now you can eat your hand-made floss or wrap it around the lollipop stick.

Step Six: Serve it

You can serve the cotton candy by wrapping it up around a stick; you can keep them in the bowl, ice cream cup, or even you can make your hand sweet with it. Serve quickly; otherwise, it may turn to its crystallized form. Keep the rest of them in an airtight container.

Related Article: how to work a cotton candy machine

Will Cotton Candy Last Overnight?

Truly speaking, cotton candy doesn’t expire within two years as the main ingredient is sugar. In open-air, it can last ten to twenty minutes. It depends on how much you can keep it away from air and moisture.

The thickness of sealing of the packaging, humidity, room temperature affect the durability of cotton candy. So you must be very careful if you want your floss to last a long time.

Will Cotton Candy Melt in the Fridge?

Cotton candy will not melt in the fridge, but it will gain moisture. Rapid moisture gain can cause damage to the texture of the cotton candy. But, there is an interesting trick to avoid moisture gain or texture rupture.

Simply, put the cotton candies in an air-tight PP bag, and store it in the fridge.

Without any worries, you can enjoy delicious bites later.

How to Make Hand-Pulled Cotton Candy?

You can make cotton candy with your hand also. Just follow my direction. Trust me; you will enjoy it:

  • Combine all the ingredients into a large saucepan and stir them well to make a good mixture
  • Boil the mixture until the temperature becomes 268-degree Fahrenheit on the candy thermometer. Then allow the melted ingredients to cool and reach 212-degree Fahrenheit.
  • Pour the mixture into a greased plastic container and let it come to room temperature.
  • Then line up baking sheets and spray some corn starch over them.
  • Let the mixture put on it and prepare a hole into the mix by your thumb and forefinger,
  • Give some pressure for enlarging the circle and keep the thickness uniform around the rope.
  • Twist the rope into eight and bring two halves together. Stretch the rope into double-length and make eight shapes again. Continue the process until you get super-thin strands.
  • You can repeat the pulling process 10-14 times to get your desired floss.

See how easy it is. Now you can make and meet up your cravings whenever you want.

What are other names for cotton candy?

Cotton candy has many names. You can call it as per your choice, or you can also give it a beautiful name. LOL! Let me get you introduced to other terms.

  • Candyfloss
  • Eye candy
  • Sugar spun
  • Fairy floss
  • Sugar cotton wool

Is cotton candy bad for your health?

Cotton candy has no fat, no preservatives, nor any sodium. The main surprise is cotton candy was invented by a dentist, and for this reason, it is less sweet than other candies. Cotton candy contains 115 per serving which is less than consuming a carbonated drink.

Conclusion

Now you have a complete grasp of making cotton candy at home without a machine, preservation techniques, and related matters. I hope it will help you to enjoy cotton candies as per your desire.

But this process is tedious. If you want to buy cotton candy-making machines, don’t forget to check my used and reviewed best cotton candy makers.