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Thread: Cotton Candy Machine

  1. #11
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    Do not waste your money on the cheap machines, we did and it worked for a little while but wasted a lot of product and money and time, we went through two machines before we smartened up and bought the gold medal machine 3077 which is designed for maple cotton candy .

  2. #12
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    So far we have only gave it away on Maple Weekend, so haven't got into selling it as a product yet!!

    Quote Originally Posted by SeanD View Post
    Thanks. I saw how popular it was and how easy it was to make at the Big E. Then right after that, it seemed like everyone was asking me if I had it. I was thinking about making it in advance and putting it in bags. I have some Scouts coming out to visit and thought it would be a nice thing to give them.

    How do you price your cotton candy?

    Sean
    3x10 Dallalre, oil fired, Stainless steel.
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  3. #13
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    Thanks for all the feedback. My big investment this year is going to be a maple candy machine, so I was hoping to avoid a second big investment on something I'm just experimenting with. It's encouraging to hear the break even for cotton candy is so quick, though. Maybe I can pull it off.

    I'm interested in your pricing. Do you weigh the cotton candy or is there a general puffed up size you aim for like at the carnival?

    Sean
    Woodville Maples
    www.woodvillemaples.com
    www.facebook.com/woodvillemaples
    Around 300 taps on tubing, 25+ on buckets if I put them out
    Mix of natural and mechanical vac, S3 Controller from Mountain Maple
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    Keeping the day job until I can start living the dream.

  4. #14
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    We sell it at a buck an ounce and package in 1, 2 and 4 ounce bags.

    Our mix is 4 ounces cane sugar to 1 ounce maple sugar.

    In a 5 ounce mix we spend 62 cents (50 cents for maple sugar + 12 cents for 4 ounces cane) + packaging…call it a buck, and we yield about 4 ounces of cotton for a net profit of $3 per 5 ounce mix.

    We sell $25~$30 worth per market/show.

    We package in the smaller amounts because everyone, including the kids, have a buck in their pocket. Those that risk a buck to see if they like it usually come back for a bigger bag. We’ve had folks stop by every week for the $1 bag because it is just the right size for them.
    42.67N 84.02W


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  5. #15
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    Tweegs, I have been following this thread with interest, considering taking the plunge myself . What type of syrup do you use, I am assuming only the darker grades for stronger flavoring? Also, from your post I am reading you do not do up the cotton candy on the sticks like the summer fairs? Your bags that you describe, how do you purchase them? One ounce size sounds pretty small, but then again cotton candy doesn't weigh anything, so what would the dimensions roughly be?
    Thanks for your help,Bruce
    7th generation maple producer in sugarhouse built in 1892
    2x World Champion Maple Syrup Producer
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  6. #16
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    Howell, mi
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce L View Post
    Tweegs, I have been following this thread with interest, considering taking the plunge myself . What type of syrup do you use, I am assuming only the darker grades for stronger flavoring? Also, from your post I am reading you do not do up the cotton candy on the sticks like the summer fairs? Your bags that you describe, how do you purchase them? One ounce size sounds pretty small, but then again cotton candy doesn't weigh anything, so what would the dimensions roughly be?
    Thanks for your help,Bruce
    You need to use maple sugar, not syrup. The sugar needs to be made from syrup with low invert sugar, usually light, but not always. Like I said, we buy our sugar because we don’t have a mixer that would survive the process…yet.

    We get our bags from US plastics and use a 9X12 bag for the small stuff, they also sell a 4 ounce cotton candy bag. We use the same bag for both the 1 and 2 ounce, but have to mark them as to size, a day in the weather and they’ll look the same. We have a plastic ring to keep the bag open when we fill it, but I don’t remember from where it came.

    We use a wooden spoon handle to roll the candy on, and then transfer to the bag. Try not to smoosh it going in, leave the bag looking as full as possible.

    Moisture is the enemy. We wipe the spoon handle with a dry paper towel between rounds and make the candy indoors with the AC running at a good clip to reduce the humidity level.

    Edit in: I should mention that we add just under 1.25 ounces of mix to the head at a time. When that spins off we’re left with about 1 ounce of candy. This way we can tell how much we put in each bag.
    Last edited by Tweegs; 01-26-2014 at 02:19 PM.
    42.67N 84.02W


    350 taps- 300 on vacuum, 50 buckets
    JD gator 625i Sap hauler w/65 gal tank
    Leader 2X6 drop flue

    Homemade auto draw-off
    Homemade preheater
    Homebrew RO, 2- xle-4040's
    LaPierre double vertical releaser
    Kinney KC-8 vacuum pump

    12X24 shack
    Lots of chickens and a few cats.

  7. #17
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    May 2006
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    Williamsburg, MA
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    we use A dark.we sift our sugar, saving the smaller grain for cotton candy. seems to melt better than larger grains. We never use a stick. Just grab a circle of candy with two hands, fold in half, fold again and put in bag. Three handfulls fill a bag. Use gloves.
    Paul & Serena
    Sugaring for over 50 years.
    4000+ taps on vacuum
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    www.paulssugarhouse.com

  8. #18
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    Nov 2010
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    Barnet, VT
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    You don't have to use light for cotton candy. I prefer good flavor B. Since you are limited on how much maple you can use this gives more maple flavor and more importantly more color.
    William
    950 taps
    3 X 12 Thor pans on a Brian Arch
    CDL 600 expandable

  9. #19
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    Nov 2012
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    sherburne ny
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    Quote Originally Posted by gmcooper View Post
    SeanD to
    We have a Gold Medal XA15 cotton candy machine that has an 1800 watt element and it is barely enough. we just bought the unit made for Maple cotton candy to help keep up. We rented a candy machine locally years ago and it barely worked at 5 to 1 sugar to maple sugar. I think we gummed it up after about 5 batches. Renter the next year had a policy they would not rent it for maple cotton candy after that year.
    You can give one of those units a try but I would not expect much from them.
    Which one do you like better? recommend? Any difference in the cotton candy between the two?

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tweegs View Post
    We went with an entry level commercial machine made by Vortex. I think it has a 1000W head. The unit, with stand and bubble, set us back around $500. We’ve had no problems with it.

    We bought the unit end of June last year, and by the time the farmer’s market season closed in Oct, we had made enough in sales to pay for it. And this from a small, low volume, single market.

    Our market (maybe the State) had rules for making candy on the premises, so many in fact, that we just make the cotton at home night before the market and take it with us.

    The cotton won’t last more than a day or two, so if you don’t sell it all you’re stuck with it, but the cost to produce is so small we could afford to give it to the other vendors if we didn’t sell out (would rather give away a dime than leave a dollar on the table).

    When you consider our profit was based on having to buy the maple sugar, you can’t go wrong selling cotton, but get enough of a machine to handle your volume. Leave the $50 unit to the birthday party crowd.
    Tweegs,

    Thanks for all the advice on the machine. We followed your lead and went with the Vortex - without the stand, though. We made our first cotton candy tonight following your advice. It was a big hit with the kids and it was easy to do.

    The cotton candy itself came out great, but some of the sugar flew to the side of the bowl right away. I scraped it up between batches and reused it. Is that normal or am I not preheating it long enough?

    Thanks,
    Sean
    Woodville Maples
    www.woodvillemaples.com
    www.facebook.com/woodvillemaples
    Around 300 taps on tubing, 25+ on buckets if I put them out
    Mix of natural and mechanical vac, S3 Controller from Mountain Maple
    2x6 W.F. Mason with Phaneuf pans
    Deer Run 250 RO
    Ford F350
    6+ hives of bees (if they make it through the winters)
    Keeping the day job until I can start living the dream.

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