Description

Homemade Rock Candy is a fun and easy DIY sugar crystal treat that allows you to create colorful, flavored candy crystals right at home. Using simple ingredients like sugar and water, this recipe guides you through making a supersaturated sugar solution and growing beautiful rock candy crystals on skewers or strings over several days. Perfect for a fun science experiment or sweet snack, you can customize your rock candy with different flavors and colors to suit your taste.

Ingredients

Scale

Main Ingredients

3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon flavoring (optional, such as vanilla, almond, or fruit extracts)
Food coloring (optional, for colored crystals)

Equipment

Wooden skewers or cotton strings
Clothes pins (to hold skewers in place)

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Instructions

Make the Sugar Syrup: In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar completely dissolves and the syrup comes to a boil.
Simmer the Syrup: Once boiling, reduce heat to low and continue stirring for another 3-5 minutes to ensure all sugar is dissolved. Take care to prevent the syrup from burning.
Cool the Syrup Slightly: Remove the saucepan from heat and let the syrup cool for about 5 minutes to avoid cooking off flavorings and to prevent boiling your extract.
Add Color: If you want colored crystals, add a few drops of food coloring now, stirring until evenly mixed.
Add Flavor: Mix in your chosen extract (vanilla, almond, fruit, etc.) at this stage for flavor customization.
Prepare Jars: Pour the syrup into clean glass jars or glasses, ensuring the container is deep enough for your skewer or string to hang freely without touching the sides or bottom.
Set Up Crystal Growth: Dip your wooden skewer or cotton string into the syrup to coat it fully. Suspend it in the jar using a clothes pin to hold it in place, making sure it doesn’t touch sides or bottom.
Grow the Crystals: Place the jar in a cool, undisturbed spot. Allow the sugar crystals to form over 3-7 days, depending on room temperature and desired crystal size.
Harvest and Dry: When crystals have reached the preferred size, remove the rock candy from the jar and let it dry before serving or storing.

Notes

Use distilled water for the purest crystal growth.
Ensure the skewer or string is clean and dry before dipping to encourage crystal formation.
Be patient; crystal growth can vary depending on environmental factors like humidity and temperature.
Avoid disturbing the jars while crystals are growing to prevent irregular shapes.
Skewers can be lightly coated with sugar beforehand to help crystals initiate growth.
Store finished rock candy in airtight containers to keep them dry and crisp.