This month marks the beginning of the International Year of Crystallography, just as Southern Ontario was hit by some of the most dramatic winter storms of the past few years. Take advantage of the snow as you make your own (delicious) crystals.
Ingredients
- Around two cups of pure maple syrup
- Fresh, clean snow, packed onto a baking sheet and kept in a freezer until needed
Method
- In a small pot, heat the maple syrup at around medium-high heat until it boils. If you have a candy thermometer, it should read around 235 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove the pan of snow from the freezer and carefully pour the syrup onto it. Put the pan back in the freezer, and let the syrup sit for a few minutes.
- Eat/serve when the syrup has crystallized.
This recipe is a play on a popular experiment for young scientists, illustrating the ability of certain molecules to crystallize. Sugar crystals are formed when there is a particularly high amount of sugar molecules in a solution, a state known as supersaturation. In this case, the syrup itself is the solution. Heating the syrup allows the balance between the sugar molecules and the other molecules in the solution to change as part of a stabilization process, and allows for a sweet and simple way to engage in crystallography.
