JUST FOR KIDS Sweeter Than Sugar October is a pretty “sweet” month—who doesn’t a not-so-secret ingredient that makes it simply enjoy traveling from house to house and filling a irresistible: sugar! pillowcase with candy? Or maybe you like to eat Too much sugar is unhealthy, of course. Sugar is candied apples, caramel corn, and other goodies in so much of our food that we hardly go a day with- during church harvest festivals and carnivals. No out it. But God created this world bursting with zest matter where you get your tasty treats, each holds and flavor—and that’s something to celebrate!

Sugarcane Most of the sugar we buy from the store comes from the tall, green stalks of a plant called sugarcane. Sugarcane grows in warm, tropical places like Brazil and Cuba—and in some of the warmer parts of the United States such as Florida, Hawaii, and Louisiana. We sometimes call the stalks “canes,” which is where the name “sugarcane” comes from. The next time you are in your local grocery store, ask your parents to buy a stalk of sugar- cane. Cut away the outside and chew on the inside of the cane—it tastes very sweet!

ers HOLLADAY BY SCOTT ILLUSTRATION Sweeten Natural There are other natural sweeteners (or natural sugar) that many people enjoy as healthy options to regular sugar. See if you can guess each sweetener by putting a letter next to the correct sentence. A. Fructose B. Coconut sugar C. Honey D. Maple syrup 1. ____ This sweetener comes from the sap of certain trees in North America. 2. ____ Bzzzz! This sweetener is produced by very busy insects. 3. ____ This is a natural sugar found in many fruits. 4. ____ This sugar comes from tropical palm flowers.

30 THE BANNER | October 2010 | www.thebanner.org What's Sweeter? It’s such a great treat to sink your teeth into a warm, gooey chocolate-chip cookie or taste a spoonful of your favorite ice cream. But there’s something even sweeter: God’s Word! But that doesn’t mean the Bible tastes good—it means that God’s Word is wonderful and comforting. The Bible is full of beautiful word pictures—bright and color- ful images of creation that help us understand who God is and From Stalks how much God loves us. Take a look at Psalm 19. Verse 10 says that God’s laws and com- to Crystals mands are “sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.” When sugarcane is the right size, You could also say, “God’s Word is sweeter than sugar, than sugar it gets chopped down and taken from the cane.” No matter how you say it, there is nothing sweeter! to a sugar factory. Many factories Write your favorite dessert or candy in the blank below: use big machines called “mill “God, your Word is sweeter than ______.” rollers” to squeeze the sweet juice from the sugarcane. Workers heat the sugarcane juice in large containers and mix Make Your Own Candy! it with special minerals to help You can make your very own “rock candy” out of sugar and a few separate any dirt, grass, and bugs other ingredients. Be sure to have an adult help you with the (yuck!) that might be in it. boiling water. The juice gets so hot that the water in it turns to steam—it What you’ll need: “evaporates.” As the water 1 glass jar evaporates, the sugary juice that thick cotton string (not thread) is left in the containers becomes 2 cups water 4 cups granulated sugar a thick brown syrup. 1 pencil When that syrup gets even 1 small paperclip hotter, it forms amazing sugar 1 medium-sized cooking pot crystals that are yellowish-brown 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional) in color. We call these crystals food coloring (optional) “raw sugar.” Most raw sugar is then What to do: refined, or cleaned up some 1. Cut a piece of string so that it hangs more, until it becomes the kind down just to the bottom of the jar. of sugar we use most. That pro- 2. Tie the string to a pencil, and tie the cess is similar to the one above, paperclip to the other end of the string. 3. only with other ingredients Dip the string in water, and then dip it in some sugar. Place added to make the crystals spar- the paperclip end of the string inside the jar, and rest the pencil on top of the jar. kling white. We call these crystals 4. Boil two cups of water in a pot on the stove. Once the water “granulated sugar”—the kind of boils, carefully add one cup of sugar to the pot at a time. Make sugar you might find in your sure each cup of sugar dissolves completely before adding kitchen cabinet. the next one. The next time you open a bag 5. Once all the sugar has dissolved, turn off the stove and remove of M&Ms or pop a few gummy the pan from the heat. You may add a few drops of food coloring bears in your mouth, think about and/or vanilla at this time. where the sugar came from to 6. Wait 10 minutes, then have an adult pour the sugar water into make your treat so tasty! your jar until the jar is almost full. Carefully place the jar in a cool area where it will not be disturbed. Loosely cover the top of it with a piece of plastic wrap. You should start to see sugar Christin Baker is a full time stay-at-home crystals form after a day or so. mom and writes part time for Faith Alive 7. After a few days, remove the pencil with your string of sugar Christian Resources. She lives in Grand Rapids, crystals and enjoy your rock candy! Mich., with her husband and daughter.

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