subject: Ever Wondered How To Make Rock Candy At Home? [print this page] Ever Wondered How To Make Rock Candy At Home?
The truth is: Rock candies ROCK!
Moreover, they are extremely easy to make. Just follow me.
Get a clean jar, along with a cotton thread. Tie the thread to a pencil. Put it across the edge of the jar. Ideally, the thread hangs an inch above the base of the jar. Also add a tiny paper clip right to the base of the thread. This is to ensure that the thread weighs down only a little and stays hanging straight. This helps you to understand the height of the thread. Make the thread a little wet and start rolling in the granulated sugar.
The base of the layer will this way let the sugar crystals to easily "grab" something as the crystals start to form. Be sure to keep the thread set onto the sides. This is to dry it as you prepare the sweet sugar syrup. Pick any recipe you want.
Implement it on the sugar. Wait till it's done. Then pour it inside the jar. Now dip the sugared string into it. Make sure it remains one inch above the base. Cover the top of the jar. Use a normal paper towel here. You're likely to see those sugar crystals forming in a matter of 2-4 hours. It's best to let the rock candy grow naturally till it reaches an ideal size. But don't allow it to overgrow, touching the sides of the jar sides. Simple, isn't it?
There's another simple, yet efficient recipe to deal with hard candy types as lollipops. You can prepare it with simple ingredients like water, clean granulated sugar and some corn syrup. Mix 3 and a half cups of granulated sugar with 1 and a half cups of corn syrup and 1 cup of water. Heat this mixture on average heat and let the sugar dissolve. Stir the mixture. Let all the ingredients melt together. Increase the heat up to boiling temperature. Boil it without stirring until your thermometer reads 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Take the pan away from the heat source. Add some flavor and food color, as it's a great thing to do for making the candy look appealing. Be careful about mixing it up carefully. Pour some of the candy mixture into a candy mold. Do not touch your candy mixture it's too hot! You might get burnt.
Add some lollipop sticks to allow the candy molds cool down on the counter. For the best results, the candies should be entirely set and cooled down. As the candy cools down, it'll also harden naturally. Turn over the mold and softly pop the candies off the mold and on plain wax paper. Any other soft surface (e.g. a towel) would do. Then wrap up your candies in cellophane. Following a few secrets makes your life easier. Boil the sugar to 300 F.
Inadequately hardened candies can end up being really sticky and more often than not, these "bad" candies are the reason for the mess that is around you. The biggest mistake committed by first-time candy makers is stirring the sugar solution for too long. Make sure you avoid this kind of risk, by flavoring or coloring the mixture in a little bowl. In other words, when you take your sugar solution off the heat, carefully pour some flavor as well as color mixture in the pot swiftly and keep stirring till the color becomes even. Don't stir that solution for more than 4 seconds.
