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A favorite of sweet-tooths and science teachers alike, old-fashioned rock candy is fun and easy to make while illustrating the joys of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Rock candy is really just crystallized sugar, a result of a supersaturated mixure of sugar and water slowly cooling until the sugar molecules "stick" together. We decided to leave the specifics up to the experts, however, and searched Yahoo! for "rock candy" recipes (using the quotation marks). Sweet success -- we found an abundance of recipes, ranging from super simple to a bit
more complicated. One of our better finds was an article that compared different recipes and provided feedback. Though the recipes vary slightly, they all agree on one thing -- your basic ingredients are sugar, water, and a heap of patience -- it can take up to a week to get good results. We also picked up some handy tips on our journey: - For bigger crystals, use very clean glassware and distilled or deionized water.
- Add a little extract such as root beer or vanilla, for a better taste.
- High humidity can cause the candy to turn out sticky. Turn your air conditioning or fan on for best results.
Some other uses for rock candy include a gourmet stirrer for iced tea or coffee and, coupled with a measure of whiskey, a folk remedy for that nasty cough. So, whether you are craving sweets or simply fascinated by entropy decrease, grab some sugar and water and watch those crystals grow.
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