Rock on! Find out how rock candy is made (and buy bulk lollies online!)
Candy rocks – especially rock candy!
Sure, it may not have gotten you quite as excited as other types of lollies did when you were younger. Now that time has passed however, you’re discovering (or rediscovering) a love for these rockstar lollies.
Alongside a newfound appreciation for their taste however, you’re also curious how rock candy is made.
Luckily, you’ve come to the right place – while awaiting your order of rock candy from our online lolly shop, you can read this article, where we explore the cool manufacturing process!
How is rock candy made?
When you think of old-timey, classic lollies, chances are rock candy is one of the first you think of.
It’s a classic lolly that’s been around for years – what you may not know however is exactly how long it’s been around for!
Rock candy has a long history, with some evidence pointing to rock candy being around in some form since the 9th century!
Essentially, rock candy is made up of sugar crystals that gradually form over a period of several days.
But how do you turn sugar into crystals anyway?
1) Apply heat
Step one in making rock candy: heating.
For rock candies to be created, you’ll need to start with a boiling pan filled with water. Sugar is added to this, forming a mixture. The sugar crystals are then dissolved in boiling water that forms sugar syrup.
2) Stir, stir and stir
The sugar syrup needs to be thoroughly stirred and properly melted to maintain an even consistency and ensure that the sugar is fully liquified.
Not only that, but stirring the syrup evenly can keep sugar crystals from forming too early – while that’s still our goal, we want that to happen later!
3) Cool it down
After sugar syrup has been thoroughly mixed and liquified, the sugar candy then needs to be cooled. The sugar pan is tipped into the cooling table, and the sugar mixture is then divided and left alone for 20-30 minutes.
4) Rock candy colouring and flavouring
Once it’s cooled down (but not cool to the point of fully hardening), it’s time to add colours to your rock candy!
On its own, rock candy has a neutral, yellowish colour (assuming you use raw sugar, that is – white sugar will result in a white mixture).
Either way, it’s nothing like the colourful rock candy you’ll find in our online lolly shop!
As it cools, you’ll want to put food colouring in, mixing and combining it to form a range of colours and designs.
If you want, you can even add your very own food flavouring to imbue a burst of fruity flavour!
5) Making rock candy by batch
It’s at this point that the rock candy mixture is put in a batch roller machine and put into their distinctive round, rock shape.
Some manufacturers will create long strips of rock candy and then cut them into bite-sized pieces based on the shape and length required.
6) Packaging
Once rock candy is ready to ship, it gets packaged and sent off to warehouses. From that point, it’s usually distributed to retailers and marked up for you to purchase.
Our online lolly shop does things a little bit differently, however.
Instead of marking up our rock candy and only selling them by the pack, we sell them in huge numbers in keeping with our focus on providing bulk lollies online!
Best of all, we offer all our lollies and candies at close to wholesale prices!
Rock candy: not just for eating!
The beautiful thing about rock candy is that it has a certain timeless appeal.
It’s this timeless appeal that means rock candy can be used for more than just snacking on throughout the day!
So you’ve bought bulk lollies online, and you have rock candy to spare. Here are a couple of suggestions to help burn through your stockpile…
Raise your glass to rock candy
Want to add more sweetness to that bubbly champagne? Why not add your favourite rock candy into the glass?
Dropping lemon or raspberry drops into your champagne won’t just add an exciting colour – it’ll also make it taste all the sweeter!
Hard candy on pastries
You might not think of it, but crushed rock candy can make for a great pastry decoration in a pinch. If you’re short on sprinkles, but have plenty of rock candy lying around, you know what to do!
Whether you’re baking your favourite carrot cake or red velvet cake, crushed rock candies can be a great decoration and can add a dash of flavour to your cake.
Use them in a lolly buffet
One of the beautiful things about buying bulk lollies online is that all those dreams of having an entire buffet worth of lollies are suddenly possible – and without the cost or multiple supermarket trips, either!
If you’re planning a lolly buffet or a dessert table, rock candy can be a great addition.
Not only are they sweet, but rock candy is also the most photogenic lollies around, making them the perfect choice for a lolly buffet.
Sort them by colour using glass lolly jars, or pair them up with lolly bags – the perfect way to fundraise, promote, or say “thanks” to your guests.
Buy lollies online – including bulk rock candy – without breaking the bank
You want rock candy, and you want lots of it. Normally, that means making multiple trips to the store and spending a lot of money.
Not only that, but it’s also a major time-sink!
The unfortunate truth is that rock candy isn’t as appreciated as other types of lollies. If you want bulk rock candy, you may find yourself having to bounce from store-to-store.
Luckily, it doesn’t have to be this way anymore.
Whether you need lollies for your cocktail, pastries, and even in your lolly buffet, we’ve got tons of cheap lollies online for you!
And that includes harder-to-find sweets like rock candy, all available in bulk and at bargain prices.
If you need bulk lollies, you can visit our online lolly shop. With Australia-wide delivery, our lolly warehouse in Melbourne is the place to go for bulk lollies online.
What are you waiting for? Click here to buy lollies online.