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You guys! Breaking Bad is finally coming back to TV this Sunday night, to which I say: bring it. I’m sick of all this feel-good television I’ve been watching, and I’m ready for some feel-bad television once again.
Breaking Bad is the best show that I hate to watch. I basically view the episodes with my hands in front of my eyes, a pit in my stomach, and a looming sense of dread that tightens every muscle in my body. It’s intense. It’s awful. It’s wonderful. (…It’s complicated.) At the end of every single episode I’m left slack-jawed and muttering, “I can’t believe they just did that.”
The centerpiece of the show, of course, is the blue-tinged crystal meth created by chemistry teacher Walter White and his student-turned-partner Jesse Pinkman. The meth is so pure, so potent, that it changes the entire southwestern drug trade and, eventually, the very lives of its creators.
I read an interview with one of the actors awhile ago, and he mentioned that the “meth” is actually rock candy. Apparently he was a little addicted (irony!) and would munch on the fake drugs between takes. Ever since reading that, I couldn’t get the idea of recreating my own crystal meth candy out of my head.
Unlike actual crystal meth, this version is super-simple to make. It’s is a pretty typical hard candy recipe. You’ll need a candy thermometer, but not much else in the way of special equipment or skills. If you can boil sugar, you can make this candy.
After the hard candy is poured and cooled, it’s time to get your Jesse Pinkman on and smash it into small, snort-able chunks. (Snorting of the candy is not actually recommended.) Of course it’s easiest to eat when it’s left in larger pieces, but for absolute accuracy you need to crush this candy into a coarse powder.
For optimal awesomeness, I recommend serving this in small baggies at a Breaking Bad viewing party. I’ll be the one in the corner with my head buried in a pillow, asking when it’s safe to look again and demanding a play-by-play description. Good times!
More fun stuff: Lynn at The Actor’s Diet has a list of recommended theme foods to eat while watching Breaking Bad, you can check it out here. I have to say, the Pollos Hermanos chicken sounds good, but you couldn’t pay me enough to eat Tuco’s burrito…
Update October 2012: Lots of my fellow Breaking Bad enthusiasts have tried this candy recipe–I’m glad people are enjoying it, and I love your feedback! I’ve gotten many similar questions about it, so before you begin, please read the Tips & Troubleshooting section down below, to help you avoid common problems like soft candy or a greenish color.
Blue Crystal Meth Rock Candy for Breaking Bad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup corn syrup, light
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tsp clear flavoring extract, I like LorAnn fruit flavors. See below for more recommendations
- 1 drop blue gel food coloring, I used Americolor Sky Blue gel coloring
- Candy thermometer
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and granulated sugar. Place the pan over medium-high heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil, then stop stirring and brush down the sides with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Insert a candy thermometer.
- Continue to cook the candy without stirring until it reads 290-295 degrees Fahrenheit (143-146 C) on the thermometer. Watch the temperature carefully--a lower temperature might produce sticky candy, while a higher temperature runs the risk of producing green candy! Once at 290-295, take the pan off the heat and let it sit for a few moments, until bubbles stop breaking on the surface. Add the flavoring and a drop of food coloring, and stir everything together.
- Pour the candy onto the prepared baking sheet and tilt it so that it runs into a thin layer. Let it set completely at room temperature.
- Once set, break it into small pieces by hand. For the complete “crystal meth” experience, place the pieces in a large zip-top bag and smash them with a rolling pin until they are crushed. Store the candy in an airtight container at room temperature.
MEASURING TIPS
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Click here to learn more about baking measurements and conversion.Nutrition
Flavoring Options
Thanks to reader Ryan Garcia, here’s a partial list of LorAnn candy flavorings that are clear and won’t turn your candy meth funny colors. Ryan advises that while many of the larger LorAnn bottles are tinted so you can’t tell the color inside, most of the 1-dram bottles are clear, so you can either view them online to check the color, or order them as an experiment before committing to a larger bottle. I like LorAnn because I think the quality, consistency, and flavors are great, but you can of course use any clear flavoring or extract brand that you like.
LorAnn Cool Crème de Menthe flavor
LorAnn Honey flavor
LorAnn Key Lime flavor
LorAnn Pineapple flavor
LorAnn Lemonade flavor
LorAnn Wintergreen flavor
Here are some common questions/difficulties people have had with this recipe, and my suggestions for how to prevent them.
The Candy Turns Out Green: This is the #1 problem people have with this recipe. There are 2 possible culprits: overcooking the candy, and using the wrong food coloring.
First, overcooking. The sugar syrup, if allowed to cook to a high temperature, will eventually turn yellow, then amber, then brown. This recipe calls for syrup to be cooked to 290-295 F, which should produce a near-colorless mixture that will not interfere with food coloring. (It may have a very slight yellowish tinge.) If your candy is already a yellow or brown color when you’re adding the food coloring, chances are you have overcooked it, and the yellow color of the candy will mix with the blue dye and turn your candy green. The solution is to check to make sure your thermometer is accurate (here is an easy method for testing your thermometer), and to watch the candy like a hawk when it’s cooking.
Secondly, using the wrong food coloring. I have made this several times with Americolor Sky Blue , and have always had the color turn out, so I feel reasonably confident recommending this specific brand and shade. I can’t guarantee other colors or brands will turn out the same. Liquid coloring, especially, can be weaker and can produce a greenish shade when mixed with the slightly yellow hard candy, so if you are very concerned with getting the perfect color, consider trying to track down the Americolor Sky Blue.
Here are a few colorings other readers have recommended: one reader says that the neon blue McCormick’s liquid food coloring produced a great blue color. She also recommends using a packet of Duncan Hines Frosting Creations in Cotton Candy, stirring it in at the very end and omitting any other flavoring and coloring. Another reader had great success with Adeco brand Electric Blue, and recommends using 5 drops for a great blue color.
The Candy Is Too Soft/Is Sticky/Doesn’t Set Well: If the candy is too soft or doesn’t set, it has not been cooked enough. This recipe really, truly should be measured using a candy thermometer, and if you are using one and still having problems with soft candy, test the accuracy of your thermometer, and double-check that you used the correct quantities and temperature the recipe calls for.
If the candy is initially fine but quickly becomes sticky, humidity is probably the problem. Hard candy works best in a dry environment–sugar soaks up moisture from the air around it, and hard candy quickly becomes wet and sticky in the humidity. Don’t attempt this candy on a humid or stormy day. It should always be stored in an airtight container at room temperature, to keep it as dry as possible.
The Candy is Crumbly and Opaque: If your candy is crumbly or sandy instead of hard and crunchy, or opaque instead of translucent, then it has crystallized during the cooking process. Nothing is wrong with it, and it will still taste fine, but the appearance and texture may not be what you want. Crystallization happens when sugar crystals form during the cooking process. This can happen due to stirring too much while it cooks (once it comes to a boil, you should not be stirring it at all), or not wiping down the sides of the pan with a wet brush to remove the crystals, or just accidentally having stray crystals on the candy thermometer, spatula, or pan. The corn syrup in the recipe helps prevent crystals from forming, so if you substitute other ingredients for the corn syrup, you might find that crystallization is more likely.
This may seem overwhelming, but I promise the recipe is not terribly tricky–much like cooking meth, it just requires a little precision. Good luck!
Reader Submissions
Since writing this post I’ve heard from so many of my fellow candy methheads Breaking Bad fans. To my delight, folks have started emailing me photos of their rock candy creations. I can’t tell you how awesome it is to wake up and have meth candy photos waiting in my inbox! I love it. Check out some of the contributions below–there are links to blog posts, multiple videos of the cooking process, and even a link to download some great meth candy labels.
I’ve decided to share the love and post the rock candy photos folks have sent me. If you have made this candy and would like to share a photo, email a picture to elizabeth (at) sugarhero.com.
From Michael | Michael as Jesse for Halloween |
From Frank Constantelos | From Lauren Harris-Murray |
Tim Harrison as Walt | See Tim’s video here |
From Jonathan Park | Jonathan Park as Walt |
From Sandra Hughan, with James Hughan as Walt |
From Sandra Hughan |
From Rob Youngberg | Rob as Walt–see his full blog post here! |
From Chris Thomas | From Martin Dooyes |
“Methcakes” from Elizabeth Parker | From Elizabeth Parker |
From Ryan Horton | From Ryan Horton |
From Ty Underwood – see his video here! | From Bart McQueary |
Breaking Bad-themed cake from Eva | See Eva’s blog post here! |
From Brian Mack | From Susan — see her blog post here! |
From Yuki Takahashi | Yuki’s Crystal Meth Cupcakes |
From Lindsay Garron | From Ryan Garcia |
From Jeff Hernandez– see Jeff’s video here! | From Matt Kirby–blue meth on top of White family “breakfast cupcakes.” |
From Lynne Barbour | From Warren Corpus |
From Christa Janina | From Andy Beck |
From Bob Carlton | From Brandon Yates |
From Aaron Segura | From Jennifer |
From Michelle Kaczmarowski | From Sarah |
From Scott Gallagher | From Rachel Morris–download the label templates here! |
From Elizabeth Ayoob | Meth cake from Maria Miranda |
From Michelle LeBlanc | From Raimy Reyes |
From Robert Mantler | From Jacqueline South |
From Sonic Bodhi | From Richard Evans |
From Bowzer Mike | From Elody McIlhargie |
From Dean Porter | From Cynthia |
From Lisa Taylor | From Chris Francis |
From James Dyer | From Angel |
Don’t be shy–send me your pictures and join the virtual candy meth party! elizabeth (at) sugarhero.com
Hi,
Thanks for posting this awesome recipe, but i have a question. As we are speaking, my candy has been on the counter for 30 minutes. It has become a little thicker, but does not seem to set.
You said before, that might be because it is undercooked, but my mixture also turned out a little green, which indicates overcooking..?
im confused, would it help to set by putting the mix in a fridge/freezer?
Hi Lily, If the candy’s not set after 30 minutes, then it’s not going to set–chilling it won’t help much. You should start to see it set around the edges within 5 or 6 minutes, and it should be entirely hard after 30 minutes. It is definitely undercooked. If you have a greenish tinge, then perhaps it was cooked over too high a flame, and some of the sugar scorched/discolored due to the heat, while still not reaching the proper temperature. What did the thermometer say when you took the candy off the heat?
I’d recommend trying again, over a burner that’s just a smidge over medium heat–slow and steady. It might take 30 minutes or more to get up to the right temp. And definitely use a candy thermometer! If you do it again and still have trouble, feel free to email me (elizabeth at sugarhero.com) with specific info about your setup and what temperature you’re cooking to, and I can help you troubleshoot further. Good luck!
Refrigeration will cause hard candy to crystallize and turn opaque, so do not chill it!
Humidity isn’t the problem when the candy doesn’t harden right away. Undercooking is the problem. Humidity can soften the candy but it takes much longer than a half hour—many hours, even a day or two.
You can test the temp with ice water instead of a candy thermometer. Drop a little of the candy syrup into a cereal bowl of ice water. At the “hard crack” stage, it will form brittle threads that crack instead of bending. You do have to work quickly ith this test method but it’s fun to do. Also it’s good for illustrating the consistency of the candy at lower temps so you understand the cooking process better.
I almost got arrested by the police, but otherwise, we had a blast eating this while watching breaking bad.
Sounds like you have a story to share!
They thought it was legit drugs when I handed some over to my friend on the street, I started laughing immediately when the police came to me. 😛
I used 1/4 of a cup of honey instead of the corn syrup and they turned out very slightly green, just throwing this out for you guys who have trouble getting corn syrup
Thanks for the tip, Lisa! Glad to know honey will work in a pinch. 🙂
Elizebeth,just checking back here to see if my photo was up yet,it isn’t but that’s OK.
I have been making lots of rock candy. I made Red Dyed Peppermint Rocks for Xmas gifts and ran out of the Karo Light Syrup. I went to the store and it seems all that is available anywhere is the Light Karo Syrup with real vanilla. Will this change the outcome when adding the flavors.I want to make Orange Rocks next and was just curious if you had any answers for me.
Hi Cynthia, So sorry about that! I had a bunch to do all at once and yours got lost in the shuffle–it’s up now! The karo with vanilla sounds fine, especially since you’ll be adding orange food coloring, so any sort of light tint the corn syrup has will be obscured by the coloring. Glad that the rock candy recipe is working for you!
Chuckles as a joke food, though I hope no one hands it out in little baggies to kiddies at Halloween.
Awesome! I actually stumbled upon this while I was looking for how to make ‘ice’ for my daughter’s Frozen themed birthday party! Haha Thank you!!
My candy turned green, i added powdered citrus acid, is that the problem?
Hi Damien, How much citric acid did you add, and when did you add it? What temperature did you cook the candy to? My guess is that the acid is not the problem–most likely the candy was cooked a little too long. From the troubleshooting section above:
The sugar syrup, if allowed to cook to a high temperature, will eventually turn yellow, then amber, then brown. This recipe calls for syrup to be cooked to 290-295 F, which should produce a near-colorless mixture that will not interfere with food coloring. (It may have a very slight yellowish tinge.) If your candy is already a yellowish color when you’re adding the food coloring, chances are you have overcooked it, and the yellow color of the candy will mix with the blue dye and turn your candy green. The solution is to check to make sure your thermometer is accurate, and to watch the candy like a hawk when it’s cooking.
hello Elizabeth, thank you for the help, I added a teaspoon of it along with the flavouring and the dye. I cooked it until it was 144.5 C, I think that’s the problem. Thank you so much for your help, I’ll keep this in mind the next time I cook.
Glad to help, please let me know how it turns out if you give it another try!
This piecemeal sh-t has to stop. Can you move 20 pounds a week? Oh – and I’ll need $50k for materials.
Found this by total chance. Hilarious and sweetly addictive.
I’m going to cook a ton of this and then go stand at the corner outside and sell the bags to myself. Why? Cause I can only trust myself to not say a word, and only trust myself to get pure product.
So ill need about $500,000 from myself to start and then ill make a pretend profit.
Then ill eat some and say YO! .Then I will yell at myself for saying such a childish word.
I still have to figure out where to find a lawyer to rip me off though.
Better call Saul!
Hey Elizabeth, I’m so glad I found this site.
I’ve been working for almost a week now trying to perfect this candy. Not a Breaking Bad fan, but with a daughter who’s really into the movie Frozen. This makes perfect “ice” to decorate her birthday cake with.
After a week of painful attempts (starting with just plain sugar and water..okay, no refrigeration… okay, don’t stir after the boil starts…okay, I DO need the corn syrup…), today’s batch was a breakthrough.
Thanks for the inspiration and the helpful hints. 🙂 Everyone’s photos were a beautiful addition too.
I’m so glad that you were able to get it to work–although I’m sorry there were some stumbles along the way! (And yes, that pesky corn syrup is pretty important…drat!)
I also have to thank you for commenting, because you’ve inspired me to see Frozen so I can make a Frozen cake and tutorial for this site! You’re the second or third person to mention you used this recipe as blue ice, and I think a Frozen-themed cake tutorial would be valuable. I know it’ll be too late for you, but I think other folks will appreciate it…so thanks!
OMG Elizabeth! Frozen cake??? I can’t wait!
I am SO glad that meth can be used as a party theme. Because meth is just awesome!
-eyeroll-
Yep, the awesomeness of meth is pretty much the entire point of Breaking Bad. So glad you’re on board!
Does anyone know how to make the candy look exactly like it does on the show? Because it’s always too turquoise or teal, and never the slightly cloudy but good shade of blue
Hi Jared, to make it cloudy, you can try adding a small drop of white food coloring, which makes candies opaque. (Americolor is one brand that makes white.) The color is trickier, but in general cooking it to lower temperatures will get you a purer blue, so you can experiment with the final temp to try and get a color you like better.
What temperature would you say is best to get the slightly cloudy but deep blue? And thank you for the help!
Jared, so sorry about the late reply, somehow I didn’t notice this comment slipping through. In case it’s not too late, try 285 F for a brighter blue color.
I’m very excited to try this! I am not a Breaking Bad fan (I’ve never seen the show at all) but I am going to try this as a partial decoration for my son’s Halo (Xbox) birthday cake. If it turns out, I will be sure to post a photo!
That sounds awesome, Noah! Feel free to write me with any questions, and yes, I’d love to see a pic when it’s done!
This is sooo cool! I love breaking bad and really love the idea of making my own ‘meth’ at home. I can’t wait to try this!
Awesome recipe and instructions. Used this to make the decorations for my little girl’s frozen theme birthday cake and it worked on first attempt.
Awesome, Sue! If you feel so inclined, I’d love to see a pic of the cake! (email is elizabeth@sugarhero.com) So glad it worked well for you!
Do you think the blue cotton candy sugar (ie: Gold Medal Raspberry Floss Sugar) will work for this? It can save the steps of adding food coloring and the flavoring. Thanks!
Hi, I don’t have any personal experience with that sugar, so I can’t say if it would work or not. I’m not sure what additives it has that may or may not affect the cooking process. Sorry! If you give it a try I’d love to know how it turns out!
Well, it works just fine! But it sure is blue. The color might be better if you use half floss sugar and half granulated sugar. I’ll e-mail a pic.
Awesome, glad it worked out! I’d love to see a pic. Cheers!
Made it using the drop in water method rather than a candy thermometer and it WORKED! Yea! Of course, I am trying to make shards of ice for a Frozen movie themed cake, but whatever–the recipe is awesome! I will say that it takes waaaaaay more time than you think it should and requires a lot of patience! So be patient, you’ll get it if you follow directions. Thank you! Also–I used Wilton gel food color in Sky Blue.
Awesome, Jennifer! I’m so glad that it worked out for you without the thermometer! I hope your Frozen cake turned out well. 🙂
Who would have though that this article would also be used by mother’s across the country funneled through Pintrest to make “ice” for little girls’ Frozen birthday parties! LOL
This is my first time making candy…EVER! When you say to wipe the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush, do you mean to actually dip the brush into the solution and wipe these sides? Thank you!
Hi Sarah, Congrats on jumping into the world of candy making! What I mean is to dip a pastry brush in regular water, get it really wet, then wipe down the sides of the pan above the boiling candy, re-wetting the brush as necessary. When you make it you’ll see that some sugar crystals cling to the side of the pan, and the purpose is to dissolve (at least some of) them with the wet brush so they don’t cause the candy to crystallize later. It’s technically an optional step but I like to play safe and do as much as possible to prevent any failed candy. Hope this helps, let me know how it turns out!
Awesome! Thank you so much! Here’s hoping I don’t mess it up. I will send you a picture!
Did two perfect batches with slight variations on the theme in both cases. The Duncan Hines Cotton Candy worked well for the first batch. Not unhappy at all 🙂
For the second batch i chose to use Blue Raspberry… I also found some Blue Sugar crystals at the local Walmart and used some of them during cooking.
I had a digital thermometer set at 294 and used paraffin paper so i didnt need non-stick spray… Perfection…
Pictures will be forthcoming, along with my WW outfit. I already look like Cranston, just need some beard dye anda members only jacket! My GF loves the pork pie hat!
Awesome! So glad to hear that it’s worked well for you! Please do send pics–can’t wait to see the outfit! 🙂
Coming back a couple of years later I tried and succeeded to get to the bottom of the green thing.
From my experiments>
It’s not to do with the coloring.
It’s not to do with the final cooking temp (between 285 and 300 F)
It’s entirely a result of the cooking time.
Before I was so careful not to burn and not to overshoot the target temperature that I cooked it gently. It was always green. Whatever coloring I used and even if I stopped well before 300F
The answer is:-
Cook fast without risking coming close to boiling over – pure blue
Cook gently – always green.
Hope this is useful to someone.
Extremely helpful information! Thanks very much for sharing, Guy!
Did not work at all. Followed the recipe precisely and it failed.
Sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you. Feel free to email me with the details if you’d like help troubleshooting the issue.
Hi, I just wanted to say thank you. I finally got around to making this and while it turned out too green from reading the comments I think maybe either it was my corn syrup which was actually kayro syrup and yellow or maybe I should have just used more food coloring. Anyways aside from my coloring issue the candy turned out perfectly, first time I ever managed to make hard candy at home and it’s perfect, worked just as you described and I got to break it in the sheet, loved the whole process. I wore one of my Jesse hoodies and BB apron while cooking. Loved the product, 99.2% pure sky blue (still have to work on that formula to get the perfect product)!
Thanks for your hard work and dedication to this fun project!
Hi Ronnie,
That’s so great to hear! I’m glad you got it all figured out and it turned out the way you wanted it to. Yeah, it sounds like it was most likely the corn syrup. Either way, I love to hear that it was good other than that!
Thank you so much for the kind response. 🙂
Elizabeth
I found this when I had a rock candy craving but couldn’t wait the many weeks to make rock candy the old fashioned way. I had no problem getting the perfect color using 2 drops of regular liquid blue food coloring. Also, I didn’t want a particular flavor, so I left that out but used an extra heavy coating of coconut oil spray on my foil and found I LOVE the hint of coconut in the candy. Next time, I’ll make this with a coconut flavoring. Thanks for the quick and easy recipe!
Turned out great. I used a digital thermometer along with a frying thermometer I know can get to 400°f and couldn’t get this to 290°f on a glass top, it stayed at around 250°f. So, used the ice water method instead and kept boiling until it started getting a slight hint of not being clear anymore. And removed from the burner. Turned out like most of the pictures here and it cracks and explodes on impact just like glass. Made it coconut flavor since it was the only clear flavoring available.
Hey Ed, I am so glad you made it work! It looks great, I love it! Thanks so much for your feedback, I hope you enjoyed the recipe!
Awesome!!!!