How to Make Rock Candy and Other Candies at Home

As soon as people hear about candies made at home, nearly everyone would think of chocolate candy. But, there are many more different types of candy that can be made at home such as lollipops, bonbons, truffles, rock candy and a lot more.

There are a lot of candies that can be created at home and rock candy is the easiest one to make. Just tie a thick cotton thread to a pencil and position it diagonally the lip of a jar. It should be hanging about one inch from the jar's base. Then attach a paper clip to the bottom of the thread to ensure it hangs straight by weighting it. This is also done to get the height of the thread. You must wet the thread and roll it in sugar that is granulated. This layer will give the sugar crystals something to take hold of when they start to figure. Dry the threads by setting it aside while preparing your sugar syrup. Find a recipe and follow its instructions to create the sugar. Just pour it in the jar when it is ready then lower the string that is sugared into it until it hangs about one inch from the base. Use a paper towel to cover up the top of the jar. In 2-4 hours, you should start to observe the formation of sugar crystals. Let the rock candy to grow up until it is a desirable size but not too large or it will start growing into the sides of the jar. Very simple, right? Lollipops is another very simple hard candy recipe to make, it just need a combination of water, corn syrup and granulated sugar.

All you have to do is mix the 3 ½ cups of granulated sugar, 1 cup of water and 1 ½ cups of corn syrup into a saucepan. Heat the ingredients over an average heat until the sugar dissolves. Just keep in mind to stir the mixture as it melts together, and then increase the temperature until the mixture boils. Stop stirring and wait till the candy thermometer reads 300 degrees Fahrenheit. You can then remove the saucepan from the heat. You can add additional food coloring or flavoring at this point, if you want, just mix it carefully. Pour the candy mixture into the candy molds, just keep in mind that you must not touch the candy mixture because it will burn you. If you want, you can add the lollipop sticks and let the molds cool on the counter until the candy is cooled and totally set up. When it is hardened and cool, turn the mold over and carefully pop the candy out of the mold onto wax paper on top of a tower or anything that has a soft surface. Using cellophane, you can then wrap the candies creatively.

Making hard candy come out flawlessly is to make sure that you boil the sugar solution until the thermometer reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit. That is the secret. If it is not boiled to the desired temperature, there is a possibility that the candy will not harden all of the way and you might be left with a gooey mess. Another source of this thing is if you stir the sugar solution for too long after it has reached the best temperature. To avoid this risk, you must have your coloring and flavoring already mixed in a bowl. When you remove the sugar solution from the heat, quickly pour the flavor and color mixture into the pot and stir it until all of the color is the same. Just stir the solution for two to four seconds only.

Even though making candy is a really a fun experience, you should start out with one of the more simple candy recipes if you are still a beginner. Once you have mastered the skill of candy making, you will have the experience and confidence to progress on to more complicated and challenging recipes.