How to Create Stained Glass Sugar

Sugar is tasty, but it can also be quite stunning! Students will learn about the scientific concept of crystallization in this video with ABC11 Science Club with BASF.

So you've made a striking, flavorful work of art, but how does it work?

Stained glass sugar is created when you dissolve sugar into water and heat it to 300F (150C). This is called the "hard crack" stage as, just like glass, it is hard and cracks. The addition of corn syrup prevents sugar from recrystallizing in the mixture. Corn syrup then prevents the sugar molecules in the mixture from bonding and forming the crystals you originally mixed.

The last ingredient, cream of tartar, separates the original, complex sugar crystals into glucose and fructose, simple sugars. Finally, adding in food coloring prior to the mixture's hardening creates the "stained glass" look.

Click here to download a PDF of the instructions to print and recreate at home!

Find us at Facebook.com/abc11scienceclub to share photos and videos of your stained glass sugar experiment! Also, be sure to tune in to ABC11 Science Club with BASF every Wednesday at 4:28 PM!