In movies, you see a fight such as a barroom brawl. Someone hurls another person through a glass window or door. You hear a spectacular crashing sound but the person gets away unhurt except for some fake blood.
The jagged pieces of glass look real enough to cut someone to shreds and you wonder how he escaped. The credit goes to candy glass, which makes fearsome looking shards but is much safer than when real glass shatters.
How to make candy glass.
Candy glass (also known as sugar glass) is easy and fun to make. A mixture of sugar, corn syrup, and water it only takes a candy thermometer and a watchful eye to get it just right.
Spray a non-stick cookie sheet with sides or a shallow pan with vegetable spray or grease with shortening or oil. You are making a mold for the glass so make sure it is a little larger size than you want the window or decoration to be. Molds of Christmas ornaments or other shapes you want to create work well if they are heatproof.
To make a sheet of candy glass, combine three cups of sugar, a cup of clear corn syrup, and a cup of water. Some people skip the corn syrup but it keeps the sugar from crystallizing again. If you skip the water, you still make glass. The water usually cooks off in the heat. Some people add a small amount of cream of tartar
Fix a candy thermometer in the pan not letting the bulb hit the bottom or sides. Cook until the thermometer registers 290-300, which is the hard crack stage.
Turn off heat and stir in any flavoring or food coloring you want to use. Pour the mixture out onto the greased cookie sheet. Let it cool until the candy hardens. Use as a sheet of glass in a project or cut into pieces. To make jags, drop the tray on a hard surface a few times to create awesome remnants. Use them to decorate other deserts or eat as-is.
If you need a window larger than a cookie sheet, pour the mixture onto a piece of glass, plexiglass, or Formica.
Different Colors
The basic recipe with clear corn syrup makes clear glass.
Substitute brown sugar for white if you want brown glass. For amber glass, cook the mixture to 310 degrees or slightly higher.
Have fun with it.
Have fun and experiment with making candy glass. Discover all the unique and creative ways you can use it. If it turns out wrong, throw it back in the pan and boil again. Better yet, eat the evidence and start over!
Sources:
Ehow.com
Wikipedia.org
wisegeek.com
likeastory.com
Youtube.com
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