Our Top Pick
#1 Nostalgia 306 Vintage Countertop Cotton Candy Maker
- Unique extractor head – Allows you to use traditional flossing sugar or your favorite hard candies to make delicious cotton candy
- Simple operation – Warm up the unit, add your flossing sugar, and enjoy your cotton candy in just a few short minutes
- Easy cleaning – Unit disassembles for easy cleaning
And because our kids love eating cotton candy, it’s only natural that we do a review on cotton candy makers. We searched for the bestselling, most compact, and easy to use cotton candy in the market, and we came up with three of the best, which we tried out ourselves.
The Top 3 Cotton Candy Machines in the Market
If you’re looking for a compact, convenient, and cotton candy maker for home use, these are the top 3 we recommend:
1
PROS
- Easy To Use – It’s so simple to operate. All we had to do was turn it on, warm it up for 10 minutes, throw in our hard candy, and in minutes, it started making fluffy and delicious cotton candy.
- Compact and Lightweight – It’s a countertop cotton candy maker, and it’s compact and lightweight. If you have a small kitchen such as a studio, this is perfect for you as it can sit on your countertop, or you can store it in a drawer with ease.
- Unique Extractor – Many cotton candy makers are limited when it comes to what kind of sugar or candy to use. This machine creates cotton candy out of any hard candy – which we love. When the kids are done with their super sweet cotton candy, the adults make their very own sugar-free, fluffy, and delicious cotton candy.
CONS
- Takes Time to Warm Up – It took the machine about 10 minutes to warm up and start making cotton candy. If you’re using this at a party with kids waiting impatiently, then those kids are going to end up feeling quite disappointed.
- Takes Time to Learn – We didn’t immediately create fluffy cotton candy at first. We warmed it up for 5 minutes before adding hard candy, and we only got very little floss. We had to clean the bowl, warm it up again for 10 minutes, put two hard candies, and as it started making floss, we added two more hard candies to make one big fluffy cotton candy on the cone.
First on our list is the popular and bestselling Nostalgia 805 Retro Countertop Cotton Candy Maker. We love how beautiful this machine is, and it has a vintage feel to it that resembles retro cotton candy makers back in the day. It comes in pink, which is so cute and pretty.
It’s compact and lightweight, making it easy to store when we’re no longer using it. It’s so easy to use, too. As you turn it on, heat it for 5 to 10 minutes, and add in your flossing sugar or hard candy. It has a unique extractor that can make floss out of any hard candy, and that is why we bought it in the first place.
We can even use sugar-free hard candy for a healthier treat for our kids. It comes with two reusable cones, a sugar scoop, and an extractor removed for easy cleaning.
The Nostalgia 805 Retro Cotton Candy Maker is a pretty, compact, and easy-to-use machine that creates fluffy and delicious cotton candy in minutes. Though we probably won’t be using this in a kiddie party or for any other occasion, it’s good enough to use at home for our kids.
2
PROS
- Easy to Use – Pour the flossing sugar into the extractor when the machine warms up after 10 minutes, and it will slowly make floss.
- Easy to Clean – The bowl and extractor are removable, making it super easy to clean.
- Compact and Lightweight – At only 10 pounds, it’s such a breeze to move from the kitchen to the living room, porch, and just about anywhere.
- Creates Delicious Cotton Candy – We didn’t have to buy a separate cotton candy kit elsewhere since this machine comes with its very own cotton candy-making kit. You can choose from 3 to 5 flavors, and they’re delicious.
CONS
- Takes Time To Learn – We did not watch the instruction video on using this machine because we were overconfident that we knew how to use it. Dead wrong.
We did the first time slowly spin the candy handle around the machine to “catch” the floss, and we didn’t make a good ball of cotton candy at all. We tried to figure out why and finally watched the video, and lo and behold. You’re not supposed to spin it around the machine.
Hold the candy handle over the extractor and slowly twirl it around in place to create cotton candy. The floss will naturally grab onto the handle with the cotton candy that’s already there.
There’s a slight learning curve to using this machine.
Next on our list is Cotton Candy Express Store CC1000-S Cotton, Candy Maker. It is considered a bestselling, highly-rated, and super simple machine. We chose the option with five sugar packs, which come in orange flavor, pink vanilla, cherry, grape, and blue raspberry. Each jar of flossing sugar comes in an 11-ounce jar, which the company says can make about 22 servings.
We love how compact and lightweight this machine is. It’s only 10 pounds, so we can easily take it out of storage and put it on the countertop or any table in the kitchen. It’s also easy to take apart. Just remove the bowl, the extractor, and that’s it. You can wash them under running water and soap.
It also comes with 50 paper cotton candy cones, which you can use at a kid’s party or for your kids’ personal use at home.
Overall, the Cotton Candy Express Store CC1000-S is a great cotton candy maker machine that’s ready to use out of the box. The flossing sugar that comes with it is delicious and comes in different flavors. It may take some time to understand how to use it, but you and your kids will enjoy delicious, fluffy, and sweet cotton candy once you do.
3
PROS
- Easy to Use – Warm up the machine, pour in your flossing sugar or your hard candy, and in a few minutes, it will start making cotton candy.
- Easy to Clean – The bowl and extractor can be taken apart for easy cleaning.
- Compact and Lightweight – It is the smallest cotton candy maker on our list, and it’s beautiful. It can even be used as decoration on your countertop. At 4.44 pounds, this is the most lightweight machine on our list.
CONS
- Not Ideal for A Party – This cotton candy maker is meant for home use only and not ideal for making large quantities, even for a kiddie party. It is too small for that purpose.
One scoop of sugar is one cone of cotton candy, and it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to make one big cotton candy ball. If you had 10 to 15 kids waiting for their cotton candy, it would take you hours to do so.
And last on our list is the Nostalgia 306 Vintage Countertop Cotton, Candy Maker. You might be wondering why we bought this when we already have the Nostalgia 805 that also comes in pink.
Well, since this review is about the best and the most popular home-use cotton candy makers, this was one of the bestselling and highest-rated machines in the market. But more than that, we also loved how cute it looks. Its design is a vintage cart but in a stunning, compact, and even decorative design. Even when we don’t use it, the machine looks so cute on our countertop.
Aside from how pretty it is, it works like a dream. It works just like the 805 Retro models, but this is a little smaller and a litter lighter. The 805 weighs 5 pounds, while this is about 4.44 pounds, which is so lightweight, making it easy to move around. Despite being lightweight, it also features suctions on the base, so they don’t wobble while in use.
It also comes with two reusable plastic cones and a sugar scoop. It uses the same unique extractor that can make flossing sugar and hard candy floss, which is a feature that we love.
The Nostalgia 306 Vintage Countertop Cart-Style cotton candy maker is compact, pretty, and easy to use. It can make cotton candy from both flossing sugar and hard candy, which makes it versatile, and you’re able to make cotton candy even when you run out of flossing sugar.
The Bottom Line
Whether you opt to buy the Nostalgia 805 or the 306, both machines work the same. There may be minor differences in weight and size, but both can make cotton candy out of flossing sugar and hard candy and are so easy to use.
The Cotton Candy Express CC1000-S machine, on the other hand, arrives ready to use with five included flavors, making it convenient to start making cotton candy right out of the box.
When buying a cotton candy machine, you need to determine what size you want, its yield power, and whether or not you’re planning on using it for your kids at home or a party. If you’re planning on the latter, the machines we reviewed are not for you. More prominent-sized cotton candy makers with more substantial heating elements and a stainless steel bowl might be better features that meet your needs.
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