Content

• Ingredients
• Steps
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

Learn the old candy recipe here.

Ingredients

• 250 ml water
• 550 grams of sugar (3 cups)
• Food colors (optional)
• Flavors (optional)

Steps

1. 1 Put water on the stove to boil.
2. 2 Tie a thick thread or string around the center of the pencil. The thread should be of such length that when the pencil is placed in the glass, it almost reaches the bottom.
3. 3 Soak the thread in a little water and roll in sugar.
4. 4 Place the pencil on the neck of the glass container (you can use a regular jar) so that the string hangs inside the container and does not reach the bottom a little.
5. 5 When the water boils, remove it from the heat and let it sit for a few minutes.
6. 6 Stir sugar in water, adding it in portions of about 200 g. The sugar should start to collect at the bottom of the pot and at some point stop dissolving even though it is stirring. It will take some time and a good dose of sugar, but not too much.
7. 7 If you plan to add color or flavor, dissolve it in water now.
8. 8 Pour the sugar syrup into a jar. About 2.5 cm should remain from the neck of the vessel to the syrup.
9. 9 Place the pencil on the neck of the container and dip the thread into the solution. Do not allow the thread to touch the bottom or sides of the vessel.
10. 10 Place the vessel in a place where no one will touch it for a while (but do not freeze it). After about a day, you will begin to watch crystals form on the strand.
11. 11 Keep the thread in the solution until crystals of the size you want form or they stop growing.
12. 12 Remove the thread from the vessel and dry.
13. 13 After it dries, wait for the crystals to form completely. Now you can eat the lollipop or leave it as a souvenir.

Tips

• If the string floats on the surface, weight the end with something. Small pieces of commercially available lollipop work best to help your own crystal grow faster.
• It is recommended to cover the glass container with a lid to prevent dust from entering the syrup. If you are using a regular glass, you can cover it with foil.
• It is best to use a thread made from natural materials, cotton or twine. Nylon line or other polymer will not sufficiently stimulate crystal growth.
• To add flavor, you can drip a few drops of lemon or lime juice, or tie a small piece of purchased candy with your favorite flavor to the end of the string.
• Typically a 1: 2 ratio of water to sugar is used. For example, 2 glasses of sugar are used for one glass of water.
• If you want the crystals to grow larger, allow air to pass through the cap (you can place it on two pencils around the edges of the neck).
• If you don't have a suitable glass container, plastic can be used.
• To add color and smell, you need to add food colors and flavors at the same time as sugar.
• If after a day or two you do not see a single crystal, remove the pencil and thread, pour the mixture into a small saucepan (you can use the same one in which you boiled water), bring the mixture to a boil, turn off the heat and try to add more sugar. If the sugar continues to stir, then there was not enough sugar the first time. Cool the mixture and dip the thread into it again. Pour the mixture into a vessel and place the sugar-coated thread in it only when the sugar no longer rolls off it as you move.It should feel like sugar is glued to the thread. Leave the mixture on again for a few days. If you follow all of the above steps, the crystals should start to appear even faster.

Warnings

• Do not shake the vessel or reach into it with your fingers. This interferes with the formation of the crystal structure. Perhaps, this business will not completely spoil, but it will definitely slow down.
• Too much sugar is bad for your teeth and your body in general. Eat no more than one lollipop a day and be sure to drink water afterwards.
• If a child starts making candy, an adult should supervise the process, since it uses boiling water. Be careful not to burn yourself. If you are still small, let the adults deal with the boiling water.

What do you need

• Twine (or fishing line)
• Stick (or pencil)
• Clip
• Vessel (glass or plastic)
• Pan
• Spoon (for stirring)
• Food colors (optional)