Candy
Creations
What
do I need? - Glass jar or drinking glass
- Piece of cotton string
- Pencil
or stick
- Paper clip
- 1 cup of water
- 2 cups of sugar
- Additional
sugar
- Food colouring (optional)
- Flavouring (optional)
- With the help of an adult bring the water to the boil (add
food colouring or flavouring if desired). Slowly add two cups of sugar, stirring
until it is completely dissolved. For bigger crystals, boil the sugar-water solution
again and dissolve as much additional sugar as you can.
- Tie a short piece
of cotton string to the middle of the pencil or stick.
- Attach a paper
clip to the end of the string as a weight.
- Moisten the string with water
and rub a bit of sugar on it. This will help the crystals start growing.
- Place
the pencil or stick across the top of the glass or jar with the string hanging
down inside. Make sure the paper clip doesn’t touch the bottom!
- Pour
the cooled sugar-water solution into the prepared glass or jar. Resist the urge
to move or touch it!! You should start to see crystals growing in a few days.
- When
you stop seeing any more crystals form, it is time to get your mouth watering
and remove the rock candy from the jar. Cut the paper clip from the bottom of
your cotton string and enjoy!
As the water evaporates into the air, the solution becomes
more and more saturated until the remaining amount of water can’t hold all
the sugar in it anymore. The sugar will then begin to precipitate and form crystals
on the string. The rock candy crystals grow molecule by molecule. Your finished
candy will be made of about a quadrillion (1, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000) molecules
attached to the string.
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