Who doesn’t love candy? If it is homemade, joy is doubled. Honeycomb candies are special as they are very sweet, and have a different texture. The bubbles trapped up inside the candy give it the look of a honeycomb. This is one of the easiest candies to make. The process of making a honeycomb candy has scope for some learning as well. So let us proceed with the honeycomb candy experiment, and find out how the candy gets its interesting texture.
Materials required
Honey – 2 tablespoons
Water – 2 tablespoons
Sugar – ¾ cups
Baking soda – 1.5 teaspoons
Butter or oil (for greasing)
Large tray
Bowl
Hand blender
Procedure
- Grease the tray well, and keep it ready to transfer the candy ingredients immediately after cooking.
- Add the prescribed measure of honey, sugar and water to the bowl. Mix well using the blender, and transfer the contents to a pan.
- Heat the mixture until it reaches 3000F. At this temperature, sugar will melt completely, and will start bubbling up.
- When this syrup starts to caramelize and change color, it is time to add baking soda.
- Adding baking soda will cause the syrup to bubble up further. Without stirring too much, transfer the syrup to the greased tray.
- Do not spread the candy mixture, or the bubbles will escape. Allow this mixture to cool down.
- Your honeycomb candy is ready. Break it into small pieces or shapes according to your choice.
Tip: The most important part of this experiment is to get the temperature right. You won’t get the proper texture if there are variations in temperature. It will be good to use a cooking thermometer for this.
What we learn
This honeycomb candy experiment was easy as well as yummy. Don’t you wish to know how your candy got its texture? The candy got its spongy look due to some chemical reactions.
Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate is a chemical which undergoes decomposition when heated. It disintegrates into three components, sodium carbonate, water, and carbon dioxide. This process is known as thermal decomposition.
When we add baking soda to the hot sugar syrup, it disintegrates to form carbon dioxide gas. This gas tries to escape from the syrup by forming bubbles. As soon as the bubbles started forming, we transferred it to a tray and allowed it to cool down. Thus, all the air bubbles got trapped inside, and formed the honeycomb structure. If we stir the mixture too much, or spread it too flat over the pan, all the air bubbles will escape. And the candies will look plain.
Did you love experimenting with baking soda and sugar syrup? There is another interesting experiment with baking soda and vinegar. You can try that as well.