Rock Candy Recipe - How to Make Rock Candy

Sandra Boynton summed it all up when she said that, ‘Research tells us that fourteen out of any ten individuals like chocolates’.

Rock candy is a confectionary that is made of large sugar crystals. It is made at homes during the Christmas season and also during birthdays. It is usually made by letting a supersaturated solution of sugar and water to crystallize on a string or a mold for crystal nucleation. Water has to be heated before sugar is added as more sugar will dissolve in hot water which will help produce larger crystals. The entire process takes almost a week and color can also be added to the mixture to produce colored candy.

How To Make Rock Candy

Tools
Some of the tools required to make rock candy are:

• Glass jars to store the candy.
• A few pieces of clean cotton string.
• Popsicle sticks, skewers or wooden pencils.
• A medium sized metal saucepan.
• Wooden stirring spoon.
• Measuring cups.
• Candy thermometer.

Ingredients
The ingredients required to make rock candy are:

• Water – 1 cup
• Granulated Sugar – 2 cups
• Liquid food coloring (optional)
• Flavor for candy (optional)

Directions
Following are the detailed steps to make rock candy:

• Wash all the tools thoroughly with warm water and soap.
• Tie one hand of the string on the wooden skewer or the pencil and suspend the free end of the string into the jar ensuring that the end does not touch the bottom of the jar.
• Place 1 cup of water in the saucepan and heat till the water boils. Then, add 2 cups of sugar and stir till all the sugar dissolves. Continue to heat and stir the mixture till the temperature reaches 240 degrees. (You can also add a little corn syrup for additional flavoring)
• Dip the free end of the string in the sugar solution and let it dry for sometime.
• Remove the pan from the stove and add the food color you desire. The more the quantity of the food color you add, the darker the candy will turn out to be. Turn on your creative skills here.
• Now, pour the mixture into the jar with the string inside it.
• Although the crystals will start forming in a few hours, leave the jar aside for a couple of days. This will help provide large chunks of candy.
• On the day that you require the candy, remove it from the jar by pulling the string and break it into small pieces
• To make multi flavored or multi colored candies, fill the jar initially only half way through. A couple of days later, fill the remaining jar with a different color or flavor.
• To make lollies instead of candy pieces, replace the string with a wooden Popsicle stick. Ensure that you dip the stick in the sugar solution and let it dry for sometime before pouring the remaining mixture in the jar.

How To Make Microwave Rock Candy

Well, this was the traditional way of making rock candies. But with the advent of electronics we can make rock cadies in less than an hour with the help of a microwave. To make rock candies using a microwave:

• A good heavy glass bowl that is microwave resistant is required. Mix the corn syrup with sugar and place it in the sugar bowl. Cover the sugar bowl with a plastic wrap tightly.
• Microwave the glass bowl on the high for about three minutes.
• Take the bowl out of microwave and replace the plastic wrap with a new one. Microwave the bowl for another 3 minutes.
• Repeat this process one more time.
• Remove the bowl from microwave and color and flavor as required.
• Grease a jelly pan very carefully and pour the mixture from the glass bowl into the pan.
• Place the pan in a cool place to harden.
• The candy can be broken into small chunks and stored in an airtight container.

I hope that the recipes provided above have been helpful. Kids love candies in general and rock candies come with their own set of colors and elegance, which endears the children to them even more. You can make rock candies very easily for their birthdays as a favor or over the weekends.

Sometimes I wonder about the origin of rock candies. Did someone accidentally leave sugar solution in a jar and forget about it for a week? Well, I would love to find out as to who discovered rock candies but till then I will keep visiting my dentist regularly and will enjoy cinnamon flavored rock candies.