How to Make Crystal Candy

Crystal candy is a delicious science experiment you can do right in the kitchen. You can make crystal candies wrapped around skewers or string and add the colors and flavors you want!

Table of Contents

Ingredient

2 cups of water
4 cups white granulated sugar
Food coloring (optional)
Flavoring (optional)

Make sugar water solution

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Boil 2 cups of water. Ask an adult for help if you are not allowed to use the stove because boiling water is very dangerous if spilled on you. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Use purified water if possible. Sugar can stick to scale in tap water, creating a hard surface on the surface that prevents the water from evaporating and prevents crystal candy from forming around the thread. ^{[2] X Research Source}
If you don’t have a stove, you can use a microwave. Stir the sugar into the water in a heatproof bowl and microwave for about 2 minutes on high power. Then, stir in the sugar and heat in the microwave for another 2 minutes. Stir the mixture a third time, and the sugar should be completely dissolved in the water by now. ^{[3] X Research Sources}
Be sure to use a pot lifter or gloves to prevent burns when removing the pot from the stove or removing the bowl from the microwave.

Stir 4 cups of sugar into the water, ½ cup at a time. Use a spatula to stir each time the sugar is added until the sugar has dissolved into the water. When the sugar water is saturated, the sugar will take longer to dissolve. It may take about 2 minutes for the sugar to completely dissolve into the water. ^{[4] X Trusted Source Science Buddies Go to Source}

Stir the solution until the water is clear. If the solution is cloudy or the sugar does not continue to dissolve, turn up the heat to bring the water to a strong boil. ^{[5] X Research Source} Hot water will have a higher saturation point than cold water, so raising the heat will help you dissolve the rest of the sugar. ^{[6] X Trusted Source Science Buddies Go to Source}

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Remove the sugar water solution from the heat and let it cool for 15-20 minutes. You cannot leave undissolved sugar in the bottom of the pot. If the jar or glass that you used to make the crystal candy has undissolved sugar, the candy will not cling to the string, but to the undissolved sugar. ^{[7] X Trusted Source Science Buddies Go to Source}

If the sugar still does not dissolve when stirring with hot water, you should filter the solution through a sieve and keep only the water.
The solution you just had is saturated, meaning the water has absorbed more sugar than it can absorb at room temperature. As the solution cools, the saturation point of the water drops to low and cannot hold more sugar. The melted sugar cannot remain liquid and will solidify on the string or skewer you use. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Add color or flavor if you don’t want the monotonous crystal candy. Try to make the candy taste similar to the color – blue with blueberry, red with strawberry, purple with grape for easy identification. You should stir until the flavors and colors are evenly distributed in the mixture. ^{[9] X Research Source}

You only need a few drops of flavoring but should make the mixture dark in color for best results. ^{[10] X Research Source}
Try using powdered drinks like Kop-Aid to give candy flavor and color.
Add a little juice like lemon, orange or other candy flavor.
Try some essences like mint, strawberry, vanilla or banana.

Pour the solution into the beaker or glass jar that you use to make the crystal candy. The cup or jar should be tall and cylindrical in shape made of glass, as the plastic will melt as you pour the hot solution in. Pour the solution up to the top of the cup.

Make sure the cup is clean and free of small dust particles. Sugar can also cling to dust, but you just want the sugar to form and stick to the rope or stick. ^{[11] X Research Source}
Cover the cup with parchment paper so that dust does not stick to the surface of the sugar water solution. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Make crystal candies with thread

Tie one end of the string to the center of the pencil and the other end to a paper clip. The paper clip will be a heavy object that pulls the rope straight down so it doesn’t touch the side of the cup. The rope should be about 2/3 of the height of the cup, you shouldn’t take it too long for the paper clip to touch the bottom of the cup. At this length, crystal candies will form easily. ^{[13] X Research Source} If the string touches the bottom or is too close to the bottom or touches the side of the cup, the crystal candies will be small or unsightly.

Use rope made from natural fibers such as twine or cotton rope. Fishing twine or nylon rope are too smooth and difficult for the line to cling to to form. ^{[14] X Research Source}
You can also use a round piece of metal or a nail to secure the string, or use some crystal candy to help it shape up faster. ^{[15] X Research Source}
The pencil should be long enough to fit neatly over the rim of the cup and not fall off. You can also use a knife, skewer, or ice cream stick. Knives or ice cream sticks may be more stable because they rest on top of the cup and won’t roll.

Dip the string in a glass of sugar water solution, then pull the string out and place on parchment paper to dry. Straighten the rope because the rope will stiffen when the sugar dries. As the water evaporates, you’ll see some crystal sugar clinging to the rope. This is the crystallization germ that helps crystal candy to form faster. ^{[16] X Research Source}

Make sure the rope is completely dry before proceeding to the next step, and be careful not to let the crystal nuclei fall out as you continue to add the rope to the solution. ^{[17] X Research Source}
You can skip this step or speed it up by wetting the rope and rolling it over the white sand (just make sure the string is completely dry before putting it in the cup and the sugar doesn’t fall off). creating crystallization sprouts will make crystal candies form faster and increase the chances of success in making crystal candies. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

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Place the string in the sugar water solution with the pencil over the top of the cup. The rope should be hung straight down and not touching the bottom or sides of the cup. ^{[19] X Trusted Source Science Buddies Go to source} Use tissue to cover solution. You should not cover the mouth of the cup with material such as plastic wrap, as evaporation is an important part of this process.

As the water evaporates, the remaining solution will absorb more and more sugar, and the water has to push the sugar out. The sugar molecules will stick to the string and form crystal candy. ^{[20] X Research Source}
Use masking tape to hold the pencil in place so it doesn’t roll or move while you wait for the candy to freeze. ^{[21] X Trusted Source Science Buddies Go to Source}

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Place the cup in a safe and untouchable place. For large crystals, you should choose a shady place because the water evaporates slowly, giving the crystal candy more time to form. ^{[22] X Research Source}

If you want to shorten the candy forming time and don’t care about the size, leave the cup in a sunny place so that the water evaporates faster. ^{[23] X Research Sources}
The shaking will affect the candy formation. Leave the cup on the floor (where there is no traffic) and away from music and noise from the radio or television. ^{[24] X Research Sources}

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Wait a week for the crystal candy to form. Do not touch or knock on the cup to interfere with the formation of the candy and cause some of the candy to fall out. After a week, you will see a large patch of crystal candy wrapped around the rope. ^{[25] X Research Sources}

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Carefully remove the string from the sugar solution and place on parchment paper to dry. Use scissors to cut off the end of the paper clip on the string.

If crystal candy sticks to the cup, run hot water on the outside of the bottom of the cup. This will reduce the stickiness of the sugar so you can easily pull the string out without damaging the candy. ^{[26] X Research Source}

Make crystal candy with skewers

Wet skewers or ice cream sticks with water and roll over white granulated sugar. The white granulated sugar will crystallize so that the melted sugar can stick to it and form a crystal candy. ^{[27] X Research Source} Crystallization sprouts make crystal candies easier to form and shortens candy making time because the crystallized sugar has a point to stick to.

Let the skewers dry completely before moving on to the next step. If the sugar doesn’t stick to the stick, it will fall into the cup and the sugar will crystallize at the bottom of the cup instead of on the skewer. ^{[28] X Research Sources}

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Hold the skewer in the center of the cup so that it does not touch the sides and bottom of the cup. If the skewer touches the cup, it will prevent candy from forming or the stick will stick to the bottom and sides of the cup. ^{[29] X Research Sources}

Hold the skewers about 2.5cm from the bottom of the cup. ^{[30] X Research Source}

Clip the other end of the skewer with a clothespin and let the clip lie horizontally over the rim of the cup. The skewer should be clamped in the center of the clothespin, as close to the spring as possible. ^{[31] X Research Source} You can use a large clothespin if the mouth of the cup is large.

Your skewers need to be held in place with clamps and still in the center of the cup.
Cover the cup with a paper towel. You can tear a small hole so the skewer can go through the paper.

Advice

This formula is useful for doing comparative science projects or science experiments.
If no candy forms on the string after a day, remove the pencil and string to boil the water again and stir in more sugar. If you have to add sugar, you didn’t add enough sugar when stirring the solution in the first step. Now, you can make candy with a saturated sugar water solution.
Don’t add too little or too much sugar when making as the candy won’t form.
This recipe may take longer than expected so you need to be patient.
When making sugar candies in the microwave, watch carefully so that the sugar water does not boil over.
You should keep the handle of the pot in a direction that is hard for you to touch so as not to spill hot sugar water on your body.

Warning

Do not shuffle or put your hands in the jar/cup. This will interfere with the formation of the crystal candy structure. It doesn’t spoil the process but makes it difficult to form crystal candies.

Things you need

Make sugar water solution

Pot or pan
Wooden spoon

Make crystal candy with string

Ice cream sticks, wooden skewers, knife or pencil
Rope
Paper clips or round metal pieces
Tall, deep cups or jars (do not use plastic materials)

Make crystal candy with sticks

Skewers or ice cream sticks
Clothes peg
Tall, deep cups or jars (do not use plastic materials)

Ingredient

Steps

Make sugar water solution

Make crystal candies with thread

Make crystal candy with skewers

Advice

Warning

Things you need

Make sugar water solution

Make crystal candy with string

Make crystal candy with sticks

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