Product Description

Whip up some old-fashioned fun at your next party with the Carnival-Style Cotton Candy Maker. Designed to look like an antique cart, it spins sugar into delicious cotton candy in minutes. Includes 2 plastic cones, 1 packet of cotton candy mix and instructions for use. Features a convenient countertop design and easy cleanup. Imported. 11Hx12" dia.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1257 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Brand: Bond
• Model: CCM505
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 13.00" h x 13.00" w x 13.00" l, 14.00 pounds

Features

• Ideal for bringing carnival flavor and fun in to the home
• Antique-cart style design looks good on any counter
• Spins sugar into delicious cotton candy in minutes
• Convenient countertop design; easy cleanup
• Includes 2 plastic cones,

Customer Reviews

cotton candy machine....great for home w/ kids
THIS IS A GREAT AT HOME PROJECT THAT YOU CAN INVOlVE YOUR KIDS WITH, HOWEVER, IF YOU'RE PLANNING A PARTY AND NEED TO MAKE COTTON CANDY, THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO GO! IT IS VERY TIME CONSUMING AND SOMEWHAT MESSY. OTHER THAN THAT, YOU AND YOUR KIDS WILL ENJOY THIS! HAVE FUN :)

Makes great cotton candy if you get a good machine
I purchased this model at a local Target store in the kitchen appliance department for $39 + tax after reading all the reviews. Target may be clearing their stock out, but I'm not sure. I figure that I can return the product more easily if it doesn't work.

This machine is not a toy and is capable of producing a full size cone that you see on the outside of the box that the machine comes in. But, I did go through some trials and errors before I got there. I hope my experiences below will help you get that big fluffy cone all of us cotton candy lovers dream about.

Here's my experience with my cotton candy machine...

I followed all the instructions in the manual and warmed the machine up for 10 minutes first. A tiny bit of sugar came shooting out into the air before each scoop melted, even after I was careful in making sure the suger was level and way below the opening where you pour in the sugar. This is normal since the machine hasn't melted the initial sugar before the floss is cranking out. I have a tiny toy cotton candy machine that I purchased years ago which has a clear plastic lid to prevent flying sugar granules from happening in the begining stages of processing, so I'm not sure why Nostagia decided to go without a lid. After all, this is for home use and not for commercial use. In other words, we either have ants running outside our houses who are just waiting to come in and/or we'd prefer not to have sugar granules our kitchen floors (i.e. we can't easily clean up what we can't see).

After about 5 minutes from putting in my first scoop of sugar, a thin layer of floss came out and I started to pick it up and roll the cone from side to side horizontally over the heating element/sugar pan according to the instruction manual. I was only able to roll a paper thin layer. Then, I added a second scoop knowing that cotton candy makers needed a first scoop just to get it started (i.e. before the real action starts). Unfortunately, I got another paper thin layer after all the sugar was exhausted from the sugar pan. Most of the crystalized sugar seemed to cake around the edge of the bowl, which is also normal. At this point, the machine started moving across the countertop. I put a rubber shelf liner underneath the wheels/legs and it held on to my countertop better.

I'm persistent, so I added still a third scoop of sugar. The same thing happened...only able to get a thin layer after all the sugar had been exhausted from the sugar pan. The final result after 45 minutes of having the machine on was a 1/2 inch layer on my cone. That's how much cotton candy I got using the tiny toy cotton candy machine that I had purchased from the toy department years ago.

I read that another reviewer had to make the crevice/opening wider himself to get a lot of floss to come out. After examining the way the sugar pan was welded togther, I decided against doing what he did. Instead, I went back to Target to exchange the machine for another one...especially seeing that reviewers either got a good machine or a bad one. The possibility of the heating element not being hot enough also existed...although I doubt that was the case because the sugar pan was really hot.

I did everything exactly the same with my second machine. More sugar came flying out this time at the beginning prior to collecting the floss due to the larger opening for the floss to come out, but I got a ton of floss from the larger opening. So, I was very happy. I was able to create a head of floss 6 inches wide on a cone with two scoops of sugar. After my third scoop of sugar was completely processed, the head of floss came out to be about 10 inches wide on my cone. It took about 30 minutes to burn through three scoops of sugar. I was grinning from ear to ear.

The second machines still did the following, but I'm still grinning from the nice head of cotton candy I just ate to really care...

1) Machine likes to jump off my kitchen counter (solution: write to Nostalgia that the rubber feets fall off while the machine moves across the counter and the wheels don't grip to anything. In the meantime, put rubber shelf liner/mat underneath the wheels and legs)

2) Sugar pan likes to spit out sugar, which is normal if you don't have a heat resistant clear plastic lid (solution: write to Nostalgia about making a lid or suggesting in the instruction manual the use of maybe using clear ovenware as a lid before collecting floss and after collecting floss. You might also want to check the size of your sugar granules. If the granules are too small, more granules will shoot out.)

3) Some machines have small crevice/openings where the floss comes out, resulting in almost no floss output (solution: write to Nostalgia about putting in adjustable screws to widen or narrow the crevice so users can adjust for floss output. In the meantime, return low floss output machines for another machine and hope the next machine is better. Keep in mind that the more wider the opening for more floss to come out, the more sugar get's spit out from the crevice/opening before floss collection).

9/30/08 Update: Per instruction manual, I tried adding a small pinch of Kool Aid into the scoop of sugar and mixed it well before adding the dry mixture to the sugar pan. The floss that came out tasted much better.

I would only add a pinch of Kool Aid to the sugar granules though. Due to the Kool Aid granules being smaller than the table sugar granules, I had a ton of flying granules into the air as a result (even more so than with my second Nostalgia machine)...again before the sugar was in the floss producing stage. You get less stuff flying in the air if the granules are larger in size.

Again, flying sugar can be avoided by using a inverted oven/heat resistant tupperware and holding it over the plastic bowl in the beginning of the process (not sure how safe this is though. As soon as I see threads of floss coming out, I pull the lid away so that a large dome of floss can form to enable floss collection.

I found it to be critical that I wait for a dome of floss to form before collecting from side to side and horizontally over the heating element. Otherwise, you end up with dense and flat floss (i.e. not a fluffy cone).

Good for a home use only product
i think this machine s fine. I followed the instructions and was able to produce really nice looking cotton candy you just have to have patience. I had no issues getting it to work once you start making cones and the machines heats up well , the sugar really starts going. I had no issues with the candy flying up into the air or heated sugar hitting me. I poured the sugar around the metal spinner and was careful not to get any on the part that spins. if you don't twirl properly the candy will start to move and fly up but you really should be twirling it on a stick or something.Once you get the hang of it , it is quite fun.