Rock candy or

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

candy, also called rock sugar, or crystal sugar, is a type of

confection Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...

composed of relatively large sugar

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

s. This candy is formed by allowing a

supersaturated In physical chemistry, supersaturation occurs with a solution when the concentration of a solute exceeds the concentration specified by the value of solubility at equilibrium. Most commonly the term is applied to a solution of a solid in a liqu ...

solution of sugar and water to crystallize onto a surface suitable for crystal

nucleation In thermodynamics, nucleation is the first step in the formation of either a new thermodynamic phase or structure via self-assembly or self-organization within a substance or mixture. Nucleation is typically defined to be the process that deter ...

, such as a string, stick, or plain granulated sugar. Heating the water before adding the sugar allows more sugar to dissolve thus producing larger crystals. Crystals form after 6 to 7 days.

Food coloring Food coloring, or color additive, is any dye, pigment, or substance that imparts color when it is added to food or drink. They come in many forms consisting of liquids, powders, gels, and pastes. Food coloring is used in both commercial food ...

may be added to the mixture to produce colored candy.

Nomenclature

Etymologically, "sugar candy" derives from late 13th century English (in reference to "crystallized sugar"), from Old French ''çucre candi'' (meaning "sugar candy"), and ultimately from Arabic ''qandi'', from Persian ''qand'' ("cane sugar"), probably from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

''khanda'' ("piece of sugar)", The sense gradually broadened (especially in the U.S.A.) to mean by the late 19th century "any

having sugar as its basis". In Britain, these are sweets, and "candy" tends to be restricted to sweets made only from boiled sugar and striped in bright colors. The modern American term "rock candy" (referring to brittle large natural sugar crystals) should not be confused with the British term

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

(referring to an amorphous and opaque boiled sugar product, initially hard but then chewy at mouth temperature).

Origins

Islamic writers in the first half of the 9th century described the production of candy sugar, where crystals were grown through cooling supersaturated sugar solutions. One of the famed makers of rock candy in the Muslim east is Hafiz Mustafa in 1864 in Istanbul founded during the reign of Sultan Abdulaziz. According to the production process, rock sugar is divided into two types: single crystal rock sugar and polycrystalline rock sugar.

Cuisine

Rock candy is often dissolved in tea. It is an important part of the

tea culture Tea culture is defined by the way tea is made and consumed, by the way the people interact with tea, and by the aesthetics surrounding tea drinking. Tea plays an important role in some countries. It is commonly consumed at social events, and ...

East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...

, where a lump of rock sugar is placed at the bottom of the cup. Rock candy consumed with tea is also the most common and popular way of drinking tea in Iran, where it is called ''nabat''; the most popular nabat is

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...

. This method of drinking tea can also be found in

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

as ''novvot''. It is a common ingredient in Chinese cooking. In China, it is used to sweeten

chrysanthemum tea Chrysanthemum tea is a flower-based infusion beverage made from the chrysanthemum flowers of the species ''Chrysanthemum morifolium'' or '' Chrysanthemum indicum'', which are most popular throughout East and Southeast Asia. First cultivated in ...

, as well as Cantonese dessert soups and the liquor ''

baijiu ''Baijiu'' (), also known as ''shaojiu'' (/), is a colorless Chinese liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). Each type of baijiu uses its own type of ''qū'' for fermentation to create a distinct and charact ...

''. Many households have rock candy available to marinate meats, add to stir fry, and to prepare food such as yao shan. In less modern times, rock sugar was a luxury only for the wealthy. Rock candy is also regarded as having medicinal properties, and in some Chinese provinces, it is used as a part of

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

In Mexico, it is used during the

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...

to make sugar skulls, often highly decorated. Sugar skulls are given to children so they will not fear death; they are also offered to the dead. In the

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

province of the Netherlands, bits of rock candy are baked in the luxury white bread ''

Fryske Sûkerbôle ''Suikerbrood'' ("Sugar bread"; , french: craquelin) is a yeast-based bread. It is a Frisian luxury version of white bread, with large lumps of sugar mixed in with the dough. It contains a significant amount of sugar, traditionally added as nib ...

''. Rock candy is a common ingredient in

Tamil cuisine Tamil cuisine is a culinary style originating in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and other countries of South Asia like Sri Lanka. Both vegetarian cuisine and non-vegetarian cuisine are popular among the Tamil people and have been s ...

, particularly in the Sri Lankan city of

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

. In the US, rock candy comes in many colors and flavors, and is slightly hard to find, due to it being considered old-fashioned.

Misri

Misri ( ur, , hi, मिश्री, bn, মিছরি, or, ମିଶ୍ରି, Nepali: मिश्री) refers to crystallized sugar lumps, and a type of confectionery mineral, which has its origins in India and Iran, also known as rock sugar elsewhere. It is used in India as a type of candy, or used to sweeten milk or tea. In Hinduism, mishri may be offered to a deity as ''bhog'' and distributed as ''

prasad 200px, Prasad thaal offered to Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad ">Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad">Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad Prasada (, Sanskrit: प्रसाद, ), Prasadam or Prasad is a religious offering in Hinduism. Most o ...

''. The god

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

is said to be fond of ''makkhan'' (butter) and misri. In many devotional songs written in Brajbhoomi in praise of Krishna, the words ''makkhan'' and ''misri'' are often used in combination. In Karnataka people serve mishri along with water to visitors in the Summer season. Among Indian misri dishes are ''mishri-mawa'' (''

kalakand Kalakand is a sweet milk and cheese dessert popular in northern and eastern India. It is made with paneer, full-fat milk, sugar, and cardamom powder that is topped with nuts. This dish is usually served cut into individual servings that are usual ...

''), ''mishri-peda'', which are more commonly eaten in Northern-Western India,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, Delhi, Rajasthan,

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, North coastal of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and many other states and parts of India. The

Ghantewala The Ghantewala Halwai (घंटेवाला हलवाई) in Chandni Chowk in Delhi, established in 1790 CE was one of the oldest halwais (traditional sweet shop) in India. It has catered to Mughal Emperors, Presidents and Prime Minis ...

Halwai of Delhi, who started his career by selling ''Misari mawa'' in 1790 is famous for Misari mawa and sells 40 varieties of sweets made from Misari.

Beverages

Rock and rye is a term used both for alcoholic liqueurs and cocktails using rye whiskey and rock candy, as well as for non-alcoholic beverages made in imitation thereof, such as the "Rock & Rye" flavor of soda pop made by

Faygo Faygo Beverages, Inc., is a soft drink company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. The beverages produced by the company, branded as Faygo or Faygo Pop, are distributed in the Midwestern, Mid-Atlantic, and Central Southern regions of the United ...

References

External links

* An educational exercise in crystal and candy making. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rock Candy Candy Crystals Sugar