Rock candies are a wonderful invention of science.Rock candy making is not difficult and can be done by anyone. All one needs are the right materials and the knowledge of the correct method.Rock candies are very popular with kids and adults alike. They are available in a variety of shapes and colors. Rock candy is one tasty treat whose recipe you would surely want to know!The Invention Of Rock CandyThe invention of rock candy can be traced back to Iran and India. Rock candy or rock sugar is called by different names in India. For example, in Hindi, rock candy crystals are called ‘mishri’; in Marathi, ‘khadi sakhar’; in Telugu, ‘patika bellam’. Iranians call rock sugar ’nabbat’ in their language.In these countries, there exists a long tradition of preparing rock candy for different purposes. As early as the ninth century AD, Arabs wrote about the procedures used by Indians and Iranians to make sugar crystals. These accounts mention how water mixed with sugar into a high density of sugar solution was made to cool to form crystallized sugar.Composition Of Rock CandyRock candy is made up of millions of sugar crystals. If you want to prepare your stock of rock candies, you will need the items necessary for the preparation of this tasty treat.You will need a small amount of granulated sugar, a glass jar, one big bag of sugar, a container to boil water, a few cups, a wooden stick or a pencil, and a string.At first, you will need to take the string and dip it in clear water. Then the string should be rolled on a bed of granulated sugar and set aside at a dry place.Next, take the container and pour the water into it. After that, you will need to put sugar in. With the cups, measure the amount of water that goes into the container. Remember to put water and sugar in the ratio of one to two.Then you will need to heat the container. The heat from the fire would gradually heat the liquid. Until the sugar solution begins to boil, you need to keep stirring the sugar solution to mix the sugar with the water. The target would be to mix and dissolve the sugar completely with the water. This process needs to be continued until you find boiling water in the container.Then the sugar solution from the container would go inside the glass jar. Then you will have to take the pencil and tie the dry string somewhere in the middle of the same, and then put the string inside the glass jar. Remember to make sure that the string attached to the pencil does not touch the surface of the sugar solution mixture inside the jar. The task of the pencil would be to hold the string in one place. Then you will need to cover the top of the jar with a plastic sheet. Once this process is complete, the jar needs to be carefully set aside in a safe spot.The process of sugar crystal formation would start as soon as the supersaturated solution begins to cool. As the water evaporates, the sugar crystals in the vapor stick to the added sugar on the string and begin forming little crystals on the surface of the suspended string. The sugar that was applied to the string would aid in the formation of larger crystals. An adequate amount of crystals form after five to six days.You can always repeat this process to prepare more rock sugars!Are there any benefits of Rock Candy?Rock candy or rock sugar has been utilized for its medicinal properties in India and China to fight throat infections for centuries. It is mixed with tea and dessert soups in China. Indians use rock candy along with aniseed to produce a mouth freshener.The Chinese pharmaceutical industry supplies rock sugar to opium addicts so that they can depend on the crystals instead during the withdrawal phase.The food processing industry in several countries uses these crystals to add sweetness to vegetable and meat products.Nutritional Values Of Rock CandySince rock candies are essentially crystals of sugar, they are bound to be rich in carbohydrates. Half an ounce of rock candy contains about 50 calories. Rock sugar can be used as a sugar substitute, but it is certainly not the healthiest variant of sugar. So, make sure you do not consume a lot of these sweet and savory items in one go.These days, companies use food coloring during the process of preparing rock candy. Food coloring is used to diversify the range of this sugary treat. Always make sure you read the labels before buying rock candies. Always do this to make sure you know what kind of food coloring the company has used in the product.You, too, can put your preferred color in the rock candies that you make at home. Just remember to put the desired color into the solution mixture while it is being heated.So go ahead and surprise everyone by serving them rock candies the next time you have a party!
Rock candies are a wonderful invention of science.
