Lollipops, Gummies, Marshmallows: How Different Candies Are Made by Washington Post, Adapted by Newsela Staff on 10.23.18 Word Count 522 Level 720L

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Lollipops, gummies, marshmallows: How different candies are made By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 10.23.18 Word Count 522 Level 720L

Lollipops from Dylan's Candy Bar are displayed at J.C. Penney in New York City. Photo: Mark Lennihan, AP

You are probably going to get lots of candy this Halloween. Think about all the forms it can come in. Some will be smooth and chewy, such as caramel. There will be some gummy animals in the mix, along with a rainbow of lollipops. All of these desserts are made with the same main ingredient: sugar. So how can candy take on so many different forms? It is all about what happens to the tiny parts that make up sugar.

Alton Brown knows about food. He created a food TV show called "Good Eats." He says the secret to making candy is "controlling the size and shape of sugar crystals."

Melted Sugar Turns Into Syrup

Each grain of sugar is a crystal. A crystal is a rock-like material made up of tiny building blocks. These blocks fit together in a repeating pattern. The building blocks that make sugar crystals are called sucrose. Sucrose likes to stick to other sucrose. This is how the crystal pattern forms. When sugar gets wet, some of those sucrose molecules want to stick to the water molecules instead. This

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. makes them lose their crystal form and melt. Hot water can melt more sugar than cold water. Melted sugar turns into a syrup, like sweet water. Crystals will start to form as soon as the syrup cools down. That's how many candies are made.

Sugar crystals control how candy looks and feels. Different types of candy have different sizes of sugar crystals. Chefs are able to make different sugar crystals. They do this by changing the speed of how sugar syrup cools. If it cools slowly, big crystals form. The biggest crystals make rock candy.

You can do this at home by dropping a string or stick into a glass of sugar syrup. Let it cool down slowly over several days. Undisturbed at room temperature, sucrose will move together. The sugar will form bunches of giant crystals on the string or stick.

Different Sizes Of Crystals

What is the opposite of rock candy? It is candy that has no sugar crystals at all. It's called glass candy. Lollipops are a type of glass candy. It is made by cooling syrup down fast. The sucrose clumps together randomly instead of forming the crystal pattern. Adding gelatin to the syrup produces gummies and marshmallows. Gelatin is the ingredient that makes candy squishy. Cotton candy is made up of tiny threads of glass candy. Machines make it by heating sugar and then shooting it through tiny holes as it cools.

Chewy treats are somewhere in the middle. They have lots of tiny crystals instead of a few giant chunks. Chefs do this by cooling syrup slowly. They also have to stir it the entire time.

According to Alton Brown, people do not pay attention to the feel of candy. He says it matters more than we realize. He thinks we like the feel even more than the taste of our favorite treats.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz

1 Read the following paragraph from the section "Melted Sugar Turns Into Syrup."

Based on this paragraph, choose the statement that is TRUE.

(A) If you want large sugar crystals, cool the sugar syrup quickly.

(B) Rock candy is the result of sugar syrup cooling slowly.

(D) Most chefs avoid cooling sugar syrup quickly.

2 Which detail shows HOW lollipops are different from other candies?

(A) There will be some gummy animals in the mix, along with a rainbow of lollipops.

(B) The sugar will form bunches of giant crystals on the string or stick.

(D) Machines make it by heating sugar and then shooting it through tiny holes as it cools.

3 Read the following paragraph from the section "Melted Sugar Turns Into Syrup."

What is the structure of this paragraph?

(A) order of importance

(B) question and answer

(D) sequence of events

4 Read the following selection from the section "Melted Sugar Turns Into Syrup."

When sugar gets wet, some of those sucrose molecules want to stick to the water molecules instead. This makes them lose their crystal form and melt. Hot water can melt more sugar than cold water. Melted sugar turns into a syrup, like sweet water. Crystals will start to form as soon as the syrup cools down.

What does this selection do?

(A) It compares different types of syrups.

(B) It explains how to control the size of sugar crystals.

(D) It explains how sugar syrup is made.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.