As the weather gets warmer, it’s hard not to long for days spent outside without coats on in normal circumstances. As our staff as transitioned to remote work, we’ve had the pleasure of seeing each other in our home environments. This includes watching Amanda, our Head of Education and Information Services, dawn a coat so that her daughter can enjoy their backyard while she meets virtually with us.
If we’re being honest, I think we’re all a little jealous of the preschool that Amanda has been running the last few weeks. From baking to bouncy balls made from a kit, it’s all we can do not to enroll in her little school. Amanda and her daughter (4) give the thumbs up on these edible science experiments:
You probably have all the ingredients to make these at your house already, according to Paging Fun Mums all you need is 2-3 cups of sugar, 1 cup of water and food coloring (honestly these would still be delicious without the food coloring). Boil the water in a saucepan and stir in the sugar until the solution is supersaturated. In other words, keep stirring the sugar until it no longer dissolves. For those of you who haven’t been in a lab for a while, be patient. It takes a long time for a solution to become supersaturated. Skimping out on this step will ruin your rock candy. Paging Fun Mums then suggests coating your skewers (this works with string too) in plain sugar before setting them aside in a glass or jar.
“All” you have to do then is wait 2-3 days and your candy is done! Pro tip from Amanda: While the food coloring is fun, it can make it hard to see whether or not the crystals are growing. This mattered more from the parental side, as she wanted to ensure that the experiment would yield good results.
What an awesome way to discuss a little bit of chemistry, it doesn’t help that rock candy tastes good.
This one requires a little more than what the average person has in their pantry, but only because we’re assuming not everyone has a candy mold and gelatin lying around their house. Otherwise, we couldn’t believe how easy it was to make these snacks at home!
Start by combining the gelatins with cold water, then let them sit for about 10 minutes. Microwave the solution and add in the sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves and then pour the solution into your mold (pro tip: spray the mold with cooking spray). Pop the mold in the refrigerator and in about 20 minutes you’ll have your gummies!
Just think of all the flavor possibilities! You can even add some citric acid if you want them sour. Step aside Haribo, you’ve got some homemade competition!
This post was written by Paige Scudder, Research and Education Librarian for the Biomedical Libraries.
