One of my favorite memories, of all time, involves rock candy. There was nothing like walking from my house to my grandparents’ home to find my grandmother in the kitchen making rock candy for the grandkids.
I was always enthralled by the fact that she could make something so wonderfully good, and I believe she was equally thrilled to share that beautiful clear candy with her granddaughter with the sweet tooth!
To recreate those memories, I found this recipe that could easily compare. This Edible Science, Rock Candy tutorial is a pretty neat activity for time with the kids. They’ll surely love this sugary treat!
You will need wooden skewers (cut in half), water, sugar, clothespins and Mason jars, to get started.
IMAGE SOURCE: HAPPINESS IS HOMEMADE
Heidi from Happiness is Homemade suggests the amount of water and sugar needed depends on how many pieces of rock candy you would like to make and the number of jars you have available. She recommends no more than 2 pieces per jar.
First, in a large saucepan, she put 4 cups of water and 4 cups of sugar. She brought it to a low boil over medium heat, and continue to added sugar one cup at a time until it was completely saturated sugar solution. She then turn off the heat and allowed it 15 minutes to cool.
IMAGE SOURCE: HAPPINESS IS HOMEMADE
She then soaked the sticks in water and rolled them in a coating of sugar to give the new sugar crystals something to seed to. Be sure to let them dry all the way! She carefully poured the sugar solution into the Mason jars. Food coloring or flavoring could be added to rock candy at this time.
IMAGE SOURCE: HAPPINESS IS HOMEMADE
Next, she slowly inserted the sugared skewers into the colorful solution. She also used clothespins to keep the sticks in place. The sticks should not be touching the sides or bottom of the glass or each other! They need room for the new crystals to grow!
IMAGE SOURCE: HAPPINESS IS HOMEMADE
Place them in a warm, sunny spot.
After a week, your treat should be completed. Time-consuming but so so worth it.
IMAGE SOURCE: HAPPINESS IS HOMEMADE
IMAGE SOURCE: HAPPINESS IS HOMEMADE
IMAGE SOURCE: HAPPINESS IS HOMEMADE
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