Does anyone know how to make rock candy?!
Does anyone know how to make rock candy?
Answers:
Make Rock Candy
For centuries people have been attracted to the sweet taste of sugar. Sugar from sugar cane, grown in areas with tropical climates, has been used since at least 300 A.D. In Michigan, Native American peoples made the first sugar―maple sugar from the sap of maple trees. In the 1700s a German chemist discovered sugar in beets. Farmers in the thumb area of Michigan began growing sugar beets in 1896. Michigan's "thumb" became the home to sugar companies such as Pioneer Sugar and Monitor Sugar in the early 20th century.
Whether produced from maple trees, sugar cane or sugar beets, sugar is one of the main ingredients in candy. Rock candy is crystallized sugar that's fun to eat. Here's a recipe for making Rock Candy at home.
You can add mint and other flavors to your candy. Learn more about mint by reading Mint in Michigan.
You will need:
An adult to help you
You will need to boil water and sugar together on a stove and pour it into a glass jar to do this project. If spilled, this mixture can cause VERY BAD BURNS. Be careful!
These utensils
Measuring cup and spoon
Large heavy metal sauce pan
Long wooden stirring spoon
Clean glass jar (a tall, sturdy one such as a pint or quart canning jar, mayonnaise jar or pickle jar)
Piece of cotton string (clean!)
Popsicle stick, pencil, or skewer
Paper clip
Thick pot holders
Candy thermometer
These ingredients
1 cup water
2 cups of granulated sugar
A few drops of your favorite candy flavoring such as peppermint, cherry or lemon, more drops = stronger flavor (optional)
A few drops of food coloring, more drops = darker color (optional)
Directions
Tie one end of the piece of string around the middle of the stick or pencil. Cut the string, if necessary, so that it is a little shorter than your jar.
Moisten the string with a little water and roll it in the sugar. Put the paper clip on the end of the string to help it hang straight down. Lay the stick over the top of the glass jar so that the string hangs down inside the jar. The end of the string should not touch the bottom of the jar.
Cook the candy mixture. (Here's where you need an adult to help!)
Put the cup of water into the sauce pan and heat until it boils.
Add 2 cups of sugar to the boiling water while stirring. Keep stirring until the sugar dissolves. (If you have a candy thermometer the temperature of the sugar water should reach 240 degrees Fahrenheit.)
Remove pan from heat. If you want to add flavoring or color, stir it in now.
Pour the hot mixture into the jar.
Let the sugar water sit for a few days where no one will bother it. The crystals will begin to form along the string in a few hours. Let them grow for 3 to 10 days (or more). There are two things that will make the largest crystals:
Making a thick sugar water mixture (Be sure you put in the whole 2 cups of sugar, or even a little more.)
Letting them grow for more days
When you're ready to eat the rock candy, take the candy-covered string out of the jar. Break the pieces apart and enjoy. Store left-over candy in a covered container. (Some adults like to flavor tea or coffee by putting a piece of rock candy in the cup. Maybe you shouldn't use purple coloring if you want to share your candy with them!)
Remember to brush your teeth!
Source(s):
http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160...
Wait till it gets old. Then it'll ge hard. just playin
There are several website on how to do this.
? 4 cups sugar
? 2 cups water
? a small saucepan
? a wooden spoon
? a candy thermometer
? a small, clean glass jar
? a measuring cup
? cotton string
? a weight to hang on the string (such as a screw or galvanized washer)
? waxed paper
? a pencil (to suspend the string in the jar)
What Do I Do? Did You Know?
Rock candy is one of the oldest and purest forms of candy. It was originally used by pharmacists to make medicines for many kinds of illnesses.
1. Heat the water in the saucepan over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil.
2. Completely dissolve the sugar in the boiling water, stirring continuously with the wooden spoon until the solution grows clear and it reaches a rolling boil.
3. Remove the solution from the heat, and then carefully pour it into the jar. Cover the jar with a small piece of waxed paper.
4. Tie the weight to one end of the string, and then tie the other end to the middle of the pencil. The string should be about two-thirds as long as the jar is deep. Dip the string into the sugar solution, remove it, lay it on a piece of waxed paper, straighten it out, and let it dry for a few days.
? Why does the string need to be soaked and then dried?
5. Gently suspend the prepared string in the solution and let sit at room temperature, undisturbed, for several days. You can check each day to see how much your crystals have grown. It’s tempting, but don’t touch the jar until the experiment is finished―it usually takes about seven days.
? What makes the crystals grow?
6. At the end of the week, the crystals on your string should be clearly defined, with sharp right angles and smooth faces of various sizes. In the field of crystallography, these are called monoclinic crystals. Their shape is determined by the way the individual sugar molecules fit together, which is similar to the way the shape of a pile of oranges is determined by the shape of the individual oranges and the way they stack together.
What Else Can I Try? .
? Try adding food coloring or flavoring to your sugar syrup before making the rock candy.
Share & Discuss
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Rock Candy:
30 min 5 min prep
2-3 cups
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
4-5 drops food coloring (any color)
1/4-1 teaspoon flavoring oil (any flavor)
1. In a medium-size heavy saucepan combine sugar, water, light corn syrup and salt, and Stir until sugar dissolves.
2. Cover pan and bring to a rolling boil.
3. Remove lid and insert a candy thermomater and cook until temperature reaches 250 degrees F.
4. Add food coloring, stirring with metal spoon until thoroughly mixed.
5. Continue cooking until the temperature reaches hard crack, or 300 degrees F.
6. Remove pan from heat and let it cool about 3 minutes, then add flavoring oil, and mix it very well.
7. Cover the pan and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
8. Pour the candy into greased molds (for lollypops) or a marble slab or into a greased shallow pan.
9. As soon as it is cool enough to handle, cut into squares with scissors or roll into balls or shapes.
10. Or, another option is to let the candy cool completely, then break the candy into bite-sized pieces with a cleaned hammer or the blunt end of a butter knife.
we used to make this in school along time ago I think you put sugar a good amount too and water in a jar hang a peice of string down thru the water and sugar little by little the sugar will start to form crystals around the string..I think you have to be patient so we did this as a class project then.