category: food/groceries: sugar

Spun sugar, spinning sugar

Spun sugar is sugar that is boiled to the hard crack stage and then spun into fine threads. Cotton candy or fairy floss is one type of spun sugar.

How to spin sugar

For the production of spun sugar at home sugar is boiled to the hard crack stage without the addition of acid. When the right sugar stage is reached, the pot should rest for about 2 minutes on a cloth until the bubbles subside. The cloth is important so that the sugar does not cool down too quickly, which gives you more time to work with it.

To spin the sugar you need an open-ended wire whisk or one where all wires were cut to the same length. These wire ends are dipped into the hot sugar, removed and whipped back and forth rhythmically. Thin sugar threads should come off the wires. Once they are cold they can easily be cut with slightly oiled scissors. Spun sugar should be produced shortly before it is needed in a dry room. It is very susceptible to humidity and becomes soft and sticky when exposed to it. Good-quality spun sugar may be kept in airtight containers.

Use of spun sugar

Spun sugar is used for decoration. It may be spun over a baking tray covered with lightly oiled baking paper, an ice cream bombe or a pyramid of profiteroles. Sugar spun over a tray may be cut as wished and used as a decoration for desserts.