If you love sweetness, you probably already have a soft spot for rock candy. It’s sweet. It’s sparkly. It’s fun to eat. And it’s easy to make at home where you can choose the flavor & color of your candy.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
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Note: Wait Time for big crystals is 3-7 days
Ingredients:
- 4 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- Food coloring (optional)
- 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp flavoring oil or extract (optional)
- Clean glass jar
- String, cut into 6-inch lengths
- Pencil
Preparation:
In a medium saucepan, heat 2 cups of the sugar and the water. Do not boil! Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. If you like, gradually add a few drops of the food coloring of your choice and/or 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of flavoring oil or extract. Add the additional sugar, stirring continuously until all the sugar is dissolved.
Pour the solution into a clean glass jar and tie the pieces of string to the pencil and suspend them across the mouth of the jar so that the ends hang into the sugar water.
Crystals suitable to eat will form in an hour and continue for several days to a week. Pieces can be broken off and eaten after the first hour. (But, try to hold out for big crystals!)
Although you may see quick results in small measure, the larger rock candy crystals you’re accustomed to seeing in the candy store will take roughly 3-7 days to form. Have fun!!!
Yield: 12 ounces
This recipe is tweaked from a Recipe found at About.com here.
Can I use wooden sticks instead of string?
Hi Jenny- Great question! Yes, you can use wooden sticks instead of string. If you give it a try, please share with us how it went! You can even post a photo of your rock candy on our Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/Smarties
Can I use plastic sticks ?
thanks alot ! this helped me do my science projects!!!!!!!!!!
This rock candy is so yummy thanks a lot!!!!