Candy{s} Land: Rock candy Recipe

beginning stages

And you wait and you wait and finally the crystals start to form :)

It realy felt like forever waiting for the crystals to grow.I was like a little kid checking them everyday.

Rock candy is a simple sugar candy that can double as a science experiment.(although I never got to do this cool experiment at school)The process can take up to a week,but it's fun to watch the sugar crystals growing over time.

Ingredients:

· 2 cups water

· 4 cups granulated sugar

· 1/2-1 tsp flavoring extract or oil (optional)

· food coloring (optional)

· glass jar

· skewer or thread

1. Prepare your materials: wash a glass jar thoroughly with hot water to clean it. To make rock candy on a wooden stick, cut a thin skewer until it is slightly taller than your jar. Use clothespins balanced across the top of the jar to clip it into place. This method is illustrated above. Alternately, you can make your rock candy on a string instead. Cut a length of thick cotton thread or kitchen twine a few inches longer than the height of the jar, and tape it to a pencil. Place the pencil across the lip of the jar, and wind it until the thread is hanging about 1 inch from the bottom of the jar. Attach a paper clip to the bottom of the thread to weigh it and ensure it hangs straight down.

Here is one way to clip your skewer in

2.Wet your thread or wooden skewer, and roll it in granulated sugar. This base layer will give the sugar crystals something to “grab” when they start forming. Set the thread or skewer aside to dry while you prepare your sugar syrup.

3.Place the water in a medium-sized pan and bring it to a boil.Begin adding the sugar one cup at a time,stirring after each addition.It will take longer for the sugar to dissolve after each addition.Continue to stir and boil the syrup until all the sugar has been added and is dissolved.Remove pan from heat.

4.If you are using colors or flavorings,add them at this point.if you are adding an extract add 1 tsp but if you are using flavoring oils only add half a tsp.Add 2-3 drops of food coloring and stir to ensure even color.

5.Allow the sugar syrup to cool for about 10 minutes then pour it into the prepared jar.Lower the sugared string or skewer until it hangs about 1 inch from the bottom.

6. Carefully place you jar in a cool place,away from harsh lights,where it can stand undisturbed.Cover the top loosely with plastic wrap or a paper towel.

7. You should start to see sugar crystals forming within 2-4 hours.If you have seen no change after 24 hours try boiling the sugar again and dissolve another cup of sugar into it,then pour it back into the jar and insert the string or skewer again.

8. Allow the rock candy to grow until it is the size you want.Don't let it grow too large,otherwise it might start growing into the sides of your jar.Once it has reached the size you want,remove it and allow it to dry for a few minutes,then enjoy or wrap in plastic wrap to save for later.

And when finished it should look something like this....These are perfect though they look so pretty in all these colors.:)

And this is what mine looked like.I did red coloring because that was all we had ,imagine my surprise when they came out a perfect shade of PINK I love it.