This experiment for how to grow crystals, yields some yummy sugar rock candy.
This is a frugal fun kitchen experiment for the lazy days of summer. You can do more than one jar of it then watch it grow for several days before "harvesting" the sweet treat. Mason jars work well here but you can use washed out tomato sauce jars as well.
How to Make Sugar Rock Candy
You will need:
A Jar
Cotton String
A Pencil or Chopstick
Paperclip
A Paper Plate
2 cups Sugar
1 cup water
Food Coloring (Optional)
Pour the 1 cup of water in a small pan, add food coloring at this point if you want, then bring the water to a boil.
While the water is boiling tie the string around the pencil then measure it against the jar. Tie the paper clip to the bottom of the string so it rests against the bottom of the jar with no slack in the string.
Once the water has boiled stir in the 2 cups of sugar then remove from the heat. Let it cool a bit.
Pour the sugar water mixture carefully into the jar, then suspend the string in the water.
Pour about 1/4 cup of sugar onto the paper plate. Take the string out of the water and lay it in the sugar. Coat the string with sugar from the plate. This will give the forming crystals a start point.
Put the string back in the jar and let sit. You will see the crystals start to form. The longer the string sits in the water the more crystals will form. Three days to a week usually gets you nice results.
Pull the string out of the water and let dry on a paper towel before enjoying your sugar rock candy.
