How to Make Sugar Diamonds

Candies and junk food are packed with preservatives and extra chemicals that can be unhealthy. Luckily, it is easy to make sugar diamonds using only a few household items. Sugar diamonds can be colored, and make an easy, tasty treat to enjoy. They can also be used as science fair projects, or to accent a sweet dessert. It takes about one week to make sugar diamonds.

Things You'll Need

• Pot Sugar Glass jar Food coloring Stick String

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and slowly stir in one cup of sugar. Stir until completely dissolved. Continue stirring sugar into the solution until no more sugar can dissolve.

2. Stop adding sugar as soon as it stops dissolving. Adding too much will cause the diamonds to form on the excess sugar instead of on the string. Too little sugar will cause the process to take longer, or prevent diamonds from forming at all.

3. Allow the mixture to cool for several minutes. Pour the liquid into the glass jar. Do not let excess sugar pour into the jar. Add food coloring to the mixture, if desired, to create different colored sugar diamonds.

4. Tie one end of the string to the center of the stick. Attach a paper clip to the end of the other string to use as a weight. Let the string dangle into the liquid by setting the stick across the top of the jar.

5. Find a place that is consistently warm and leave the jar there for 24 hours. If significant diamond growth is present, allow the mixture to remain until it stops growing. The diamonds should fully mature after around one week. They can then be eaten.

Tips & Warnings

• To avoid getting any excess chemicals in the sugar solution, save a diamond to use as a weight the next time sugar diamonds are made. Wool, cotton and yarn are all compatible with the growth of sugar diamonds.

• Diamonds cannot form on nylon string. Don't use fishing weights to weigh down the string. These are made of toxic lead, which will poison the candy.