How to Make Sugar Crystals on a Stick

You would think that this is easy, and it is, if you don’t overcook it. I have a tendency to want to create suckers (you should see my extensive sucker mold collection), instead of sugar crystals.  So here is how I finally was able to come up with sugar crystals on a stick.  This is way fun and a way to learn patience, especially for the young people who are learning how to make their own sugar crystals.  So here we go to make Sugar Crystals on a stick.

Supplies:
1 cup water
2 ½ cups sugar
Food coloring
Flavor oil ($2 a bottle)
Sauce pan
Tall narrow glass jar (mine used to have hot pickles veggies in it)
Clothes pin
Short skewers (about 6 inches)
Rubber scraper

First wet the bamboo skewer and then coat it with sugar.  These will be the seed crystals for the growing of the bigger sugar crystals.  Let it dry while you make the sugar syrup.

Place the water in the sauce pan.  Turn the burner heat to medium.

Add the sugar a little at a time, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved, before adding any more. Then add a little more and keep stirring.   

Once all the sugar is gone, it will be boililng, take the pan off the heat.  The syrup will be a little thick, but that is what we want, the water is now saturated (as full as it can be of sugar).

Add some food coloring.  I used the cake decorating paste I have from past projects.  If you need to use regular food coloring, add a lot, like 40 drops to make good color in the crystals.
Then add ½ tsp. of oil flavoring.  Flavoring with alcohol burns off to quickly and doesn’t leave much flavor behind, you may use it but it won’t have a lot of flavor.  Stir until the color and flavor is well blended.

Pour the syrup into the bottle.  Let it cool to room temperature. This will take an hour or so. If you don’t wait until it is cool, and you put your skewer in, the sugar on it will dissolve, then there are no seeds form crystals and so no crystals will grow (been there done that).
Clip the clothes pin on the end of the skewer and put the sugar covered end into the syrup.  Put the bottle with the skewer in a light place where it will not be disturbed.  I put mine on a window sill.  Wait on whole week, seven days, or 168 hours.  You may look at it but don’t disturb it.  During the week some of the water will evaporate.  This process keep the syrup saturated and so will help in the creating of the large sugar crystals on the stick.

7 days later, pull the skewer from the bottle and it will be covered with yummy crystals.  Let it dry and it’s done.  You could put another sugar covered skewer into the jar and wait another week for another crystal covered stick.  Or maybe I should of put 2 sticks in at the same time.  Cool.  My 12 year old grandson asked, “Is it eatable?”  I gave him the left over crystals that formed in a cup without a stick.  He liked it.  Enjoy!