Personally I was skeptical about the Nostalgia Electrics cotton candy machine because I order an ice machine by the same brand, and a little after 6 months to a year of having it the machine stopped working. I had to send it back and request a new ice machine to be shipped out to me.

The cotton candy machine does say on the box I can use hard candy to make cotton candy, but I feel as if that is a little too risky and I do not want to tear up my machine. Therefore, I went out and purchased cotton candy sugar to use specifically for my machine. I am not sure if the cotton candy sugar be found in a lot of retailers offline, but I was able to find mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond. The rest of the cotton candy sugar I purchased came from Amazon.

The machine comes in three parts: the base which is the main part of the cotton candy machine and it shaped like a pink carriage with two clear grippers to keep the machine from moving around on surfaces, and an eye in the center that heats up when powered which creates the cotton candy. Then there is a white bowl that is attached to the base and the other clear bowl to capture the spun cotton candy.

In order for the cotton candy machine to work properly it must be powered on for at least a few minutes so the eye can properly heat up and spin the sugar. I usually power it on as normal and then I power it off quickly, pour in the cotton candy sugar, and then turn it on again.

I must admit that when I first started using the machine I was a complete novice at gathering cotton candy. The directions said to hold the cotton candy sticks on a diagonal, but I realized that technique did not work for me and it caused my cotton candy to melt in some places on the stick because it was too close to the eye.

With a lot of practice and trial and error, I learned that the best method that worked for me was to hold the cotton candy stick parallel to the machine and let the cotton candy catch on, and then just spin the cotton candy until there is no more sugar in the eye. I think once I got the hang of the proper technique of gathering cotton candy the machine became a lot more enjoyable.

Cleaning the two bowls is easy, I just let the bowls soak in hot water to melt the buildup of hard cotton candy inside, and then I wash it from there. Cleaning the base is another store. Since I cannot put it in the sink to wash, I just grab a dish cloth and put it in warm, soapy water and proceed to wipe down the base as best as I can without damaging the eye. Assembly of the machine is easy as well as disassembling it.