RE:cipe

So, this is a project that we've been working on for awhile. About 6 weeks to be exact. The first recipe said to use 4 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar. Thankfully, I read enough reviews of that recipe before I wasted my time even though reading those reviews practically took me a week! The second recipe said to use 2 cups of hot water and 4 cups of sugar and then let the sticks sit in the solution for two weeks. So, my patient boys waited. And nothing. I was pretty sure it didn't work because the sugar had not completely dissolved into the solution and had settled to the bottom of the jar. So, back to the drawing board. We used the same recipe, but this time, boiled the water first so that the sugar completely dissolved. We put the sticks in and loosely covered them. And then, my patient boys waited some more. And nothing...again! So, we waited an extra week just in case. And nothing. SIGH. Back to Google. I found a comment that said if nothing has happened after 24 hours, that the solution needs to be re-boiled and to add one more cup of sugar to it. Too bad I hadn't read that, oh, say three weeks ago! In any case though, I tried that. And we waited. This time we saw some definite progress right away. HOORAY! After only one week this time, we finally had our rock candy! In fact, the blue/green variety progressed so quickly, it mostly just created a geode in the jar, which was also cool!

Here is the final recipe we ended up using: 3 parts sugar 1 part water food coloring bamboo skewers Boil water. Lower heat and stir in sugar slowly. Continue stirring until COMPLETELY dissolved! :) Pour into mason jar and stir in food coloring. Let cool. Meanwhile, dip bamboo skewers (we used 2 per pint jar) into solution and roll in sugar. This "seeds" the skewer giving the solution something to grab onto to crystalize. Let solution cool completely in jar before placing skewers in jar. Lightly cover with foil or cheesecloth. Allow skewers to sit undisturbed in a place out of direct sunlight. So, after all that work, my boys were SO EXCITED to try their rock candy! I sent them outside with the sticks and after about 3 full minutes, they came back inside. My youngest son said, "Mommy, I don't "wike" dis. It's too sweet!" Gotta love it! After all that work, the candy is too sweet! That was actually music to my ears, knowing how much sugar went into this! Regardless, it was a cool science experiment and a good patience builder!