How To Teach Science… With Candy (Part I)
Whether you prefer lollipops or peppermints, cotton candy or caramels, they all share the most simplistic list of ingredients – sugar and water. Scientists (aka – “cooks”) have spent lifetimes learning how to melt, stir, heat, and cool down this syrupy solution to produce all of the candies we know and love today.
Think about it! A simple mixture of sugar and water, with the proper handling, can end up as a thick syrup, a glass-like ball, a stretchy blob. a semi-solid mass…. I could go on and on!
So how can two simple ingredients be converted into such a HUGE variety of candies?
We have learned how to handle this simple solution by controlling the amount of sugar and water, how hot the solution gets, how much it is stirred, and how quickly it cools.
The true art of knowing how all of these factors can be changed to provide the type of candy we want is the topic of these next few posts. But first, let’s look at the four main concepts of science to prepare for today’s discussion:
This week, we are going to look at the basic formation of crystals within the cooking of sugar and water. You should be familiar with how crystals are formed when we looked at the Science of Ice Cream.
Let’s get started…
CONCENTRATE ON THE SUGAR
Since we are only looking at two basic ingredients this week, let’s play around with how much of each we can mix together AND what that does to the creation of our candy.
Below is a simple rule to follow when making candy:
The more water a syrup contains, the softer the candy will be.
First of all, water itself boils at 100 degrees Celsius. However, when you add sugar into the water, the temperature at which water boils INCREASES a little bit. Why?
To put it simply… the sugar gets in the way! The ATOMS within sugar molecules compete with the water molecules as they absorb heat energy from the stove. This means that the water molecules cannot boil as fast because some of the heat energy is DIFFUSING into the sugar molecules. Because of this, you have to add MORE energy into the solution of water and sugar (which raises the temperature) in order for the water molecules to absorb enough energy to break away from each other and escape as a gas.
So what does this have to do with making soft candy?
As you heat up a syrup, it’s temperature will continue to rise because its ATOMS are vibrating around in the container quite a lot. As more water molecules DIFFUSE into the air as water vapor the DENSITY of the sugar molecules remaining in the syrup will increase. Therefore, the remaining syrup becomes more concentrated with sugar.
Another way to say this is…
As the temperature of the syrup increases, its sugar DENSITY increases as well. This causes the candy to become more and more firm as you continue cooking it!
KEEP AN EYE ON THE TEMPERATURE
Cooks can easily prepare a huge variety of candies by simply watching the temperature of the syrup! For example:
- The spreadable, fruity preserves we place on our toast is the result of the syrup reaching a temperature of 102-113 degrees Celsius.
- Fudge needs a temperature between 113-116 degrees.
- Caramels begin to form around 118-121 degrees.
- Marshmallows appear around 121-130 degrees.
- Taffy forms between 132-143 degrees.
- Butterscotch candies and other brittles (think Peanut Brittle) appear around 149-154 degrees.
- And so on…
Do you see a pattern with these candies as the temperature increases?
As the temperature increases, more water evaporates out of the candy and it becomes more firm. Therefore…
The more water a syrup contains, the softer the candy will be!
Naturally, all of this movement of ATOMS follows the LAW OF CONSERVATION beautifully because no ATOMS are being created or destroyed, merely rearranged throughout the environment!
Okay… the firmness of a candy can be easily changed by altering the temperature of the syrup. But how do you change its texture? Stay tuned to next week where you will learn another cool trick that candy makers have learned over the years.
Learn more about chemistry concepts (and many more) in the Classic Science: Series for the Family and be certain to come back every Thursday or subscribe to The Blog of Mr.Q to learn more about how to teach science during breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
How To Teach Science… With Candy (Part I)
Whether you prefer lollipops or peppermints, cotton candy or caramels, they all share the most simplistic list of ingredients – sugar and water. Scientists (aka – “cooks”) have spent lifetimes learning how to melt, stir, heat, and cool down this syrupy solution to produce all of the candies we know and love today.
Think about it! A simple mixture of sugar and water, with the proper handling, can end up as a thick syrup or a glass-like ball or a stretchy blob or a semi-solid mass…. I could go on and on!
So how can two simple ingredients be converted into such a HUGE variety of candies?
We have learned how to handle this simple solution by controlling the amount of sugar and water, how hot the solution gets, how much it is stirred, and how quickly it cools.
The true art of knowing how all of these factors can be changed to provide the type of candy we want is the topic of these next few posts. But first, let’s look at the four main concepts of science to prepare for today’s discussion:
This week, we are going to look at the basic formation of crystals I know that we already studied crystals in our look at the Science of Ice CreamScience of Sugar. within the cooking of sugar and water. and the
However, the science behind the movement of sugar molecules within a heated bath of water is truly amazing! Let’s get started…
CONCENTRATE ON THE SUGAR
Since we are only looking at two basic ingredients this week, let’s play around with how much of each we can mix together AND what that does to the creation of our candy.
Below is a simple rule to follow when making candy:
The more water a syrup contains, the softer the candy will be.
First of all, water itself boils at 100 degrees Celsius. However, when you add sugar into the water, the point at which the water boils INCREASES a little bit. Why?
The ATOMS that make up the sugar molecules absorb heat energy from the water as it is heated on the stove. This means that the water molecules cannot boil as fast because heat energy is DIFFUSING into the sugar molecules along with the water molecules. Because of this transfer of energy, you have to add more energy into the solution of water and sugar (which raises the temperature) in order for the water molecules to absorb enough energy to break away from each other and escape as a gas.
So what does this have to do with making soft candy?
As you heat up a syrup, it’s temperature will continue to rise because its ATOMS are vibrating around in the container quite a lot. As more water molecules DIFFUSE into the air as they boil, the DENSITY of the sugar molecules remaining in the syrup will increase. The remaining syrup becomes more concentrated with sugar.
Another way to say this is…
As the temperature of the syrup increases, its sugar DENSITY increases as well. This causes the candy to become more and more firm as you continue cooking it!
KEEP AN EYE ON THE TEMPERATURE
Cooks can easily prepare a huge variety of candies by simply watching the temperature of the syrup! For example:
· The spreadable, fruity preserves we place on our toast is the result of the syrup reaching a temperature of 102-113 degrees Celsius.
· Fudge needs a temperature between 113-116 degrees.
· Caramels begin to form around 118-121 degrees.
· Marshmallows appear around 121-130 degrees.
· Taffy forms between 132-143 degrees.
· Butterscotch candies and other brittles (think Peanut Brittle) appear around 149-154 degrees.
· And so on…
Do you see a pattern with these candies as the temperature increases?
As the temperature increases, more water evaporates out of the candy and it becomes more firm. Therefore…
The more water a syrup contains, the softer the candy will be!
Naturally, all of this movement of ATOMS follows the LAW OF CONSERVATION beautifully because no ATOMS are being created or destroyed, merely rearranged throughout the environment!
Okay… the firmness of a candy can be easily changed by altering the temperature of the syrup. But how do you change its texture? Stay tuned to next week where you will learn another cool trick that candy makers have learned over the years.
Learn more about chemistry concepts (and many more) in the Classic Science: Series for the Family and be certain to come back every Thursday or subscribe to The Blog of Mr.Q to learn more about how to teach science during breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
