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.
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 
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.
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| From Michael | Michael as Jesse for Halloween |
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| From Frank Constantelos | From Lauren Harris-Murray |
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| Tim Harrison as Walt | See Tim’s video here |
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| From Jonathan Park | Jonathan Park as Walt |
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| From Sandra Hughan, with James Hughan as Walt | From Sandra Hughan |
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| From Rob Youngberg | Rob as Walt–see his full blog post here! |
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| From Chris Thomas | From Martin Dooyes |
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| “Methcakes” from Elizabeth Parker | From Elizabeth Parker |
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| From Ryan Horton | From Ryan Horton |
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| From Ty Underwood – see his video here! | From Bart McQueary |
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| Breaking Bad-themed cake from Eva | See Eva’s blog post here! |
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| From Brian Mack | From Susan — see her blog post here! |
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| From Yuki Takahashi | Yuki’s Crystal Meth Cupcakes |
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| From Lindsay Garron | From Ryan Garcia |
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| From Jeff Hernandez– see Jeff’s video here! | From Matt Kirby–blue meth on top of White family “breakfast cupcakes.” |
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| From Lynne Barbour | From Warren Corpus |
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| From Christa Janina | From Andy Beck |
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| From Bob Carlton | From Brandon Yates |
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| From Aaron Segura | From Jennifer |
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| From Michelle Kaczmarowski | From Sarah |
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| From Scott Gallagher | From Rachel Morris–download the label templates here! |
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| From Elizabeth Ayoob | Meth cake from Maria Miranda |
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| From Michelle LeBlanc | From Raimy Reyes |
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| From Robert Mantler | From Jacqueline South |
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| From Sonic Bodhi | From Richard Evans |
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| From Bowzer Mike | From Elody McIlhargie |
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| From Dean Porter | From Cynthia |
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| From Lisa Taylor | From Chris Francis |
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| From James Dyer | From Angel |
Don’t be shy–send me your pictures and join the virtual candy meth party! elizabeth (at) sugarhero.com
 If you have enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to the SugarHero RSS feed, becoming a fan on Facebook, or following on Twitter. Ooh, and let’s not forget Pinterest. Thank you! |
awesome! i’m obsessed w the show and made a menu of what to eat for the premiere:
http://theactorsdiet.com/2012/07/07/breaking-bad-premiere-menu/
That menu is awesome! I added a link in the post to your page ’cause I think it’s so fun.
thanks dear – i linked back to your recipe too and will share it on my Facebook too!!!
Respected Elizabeth…….em confuse when i read a word of (recipe)…..you are talking about the recipe of drugs?
Am I the only one on the Internet that is kind of shocked by this blatant glorification of a very real and very dangerous drug? SMH
Nope! You can see some comments above by people who share your perspective. In my opinion, this is a novelty item for adult fans of a certain television show. Obviously I would never market or sell it to children, but I personally don’t find anything wrong with making a batch and serving it to friends at a Breaking Bad party. Others may disagree, and I welcome (polite) discussion about it.
I’d like to pass on a comment with regard to the time factor involved with reaching the correct temperature (285F)before removing it from the heat. This was my first batch and the temp. reached 250 on my 3 different thermometers which I tested beforehand! I got worried. I increased the flame a bit (I had been conservative on the Med./High setting since I didn’t want to ruin it. But at Med. setting on the stove, it wouldn’t raise the temp. Finally I got brave and raised the flame to Med./High and with “patience” and the belief that it was going to work, it finally started to climb to the 285 goal! But the key word here is PATIENCE. I would like to advise you that after it starts to boil, it took us about 15 min. to reach the desired temp. So if you’re cautious like us and have to raise the flame gradually, don’t expect it to shoot up to the 285 in a flash. It WILL get there.
Also to those who oppose this type of “fun” – *get a life*! If you were a fan of the show, you should be tolerant enough to understand that art sometimes requires an open mind and elevating it to the level of humor is a sign of advanced intellect. Broaden your scope.
totally agree… when you personally have been affected by this, there is no humour. I am shocked too
What can I use instead of corn syrup? They use it here in fake maple syrup and it makes me sick.
Hi Glenn, Glucose is the best store-bought substitute for corn syrup, so if you can find glucose you can substitute that. Golden syrup would probably also work well, although I haven’t tried it with golden syrup so I can’t say for sure. You can also make your own corn syrup substitute out of granulated sugar! It adds an extra step to this recipe, but it’s probably worth it if you have a regular need for corn syrup, since it will keep for several months. Here’s one recipe: http://www.thekitchn.com/pantry-staples-diy-cane-sugar-131934
Great recipe! Quick question – What is flavoring extract and where do I get it?
Thanks!
Hi Carly! By “flavoring extract” I just meant any flavor you might use in baking or candy making: vanilla extract, mint extract, coconut, etc. If you don’t have some already, a good variety can usually be found in the baking aisle of a supermarket near the spices. I like to make hard candy with fruity flavors (berry, lemon, etc) but any extract should work.
If you find flavoring OILS used for candy, those are a lot more concentrated so only use about a quarter of the recommended amount if you’re using an oil instead of an extract.
I was just wondering how long does it usually take to harden after pouring the candy on the baking sheet? I want to make this before the premiere, time is counting down, and was hoping I could have some in time! Thanks for this recipe, a truly awesome idea!
Hi Luke! I would estimate about 30 minutes to cool down. Cooking the candy on my electric stove takes about 15 minutes, then 30-40 minutes to harden, and a little more time after that to bash it up into pieces–I’d put the recipe start to finish at about an hour, give or take depending on your stove and the temperature of your kitchen. Good luck, and let me know how it turns out!
if the candy didn’t harden, what would the likely reason be? i ended up with a gooey gel like pan of blue magic.
(the only thing i didnt do strictly to the instructions: i dont have a thermometer. so my best guess is too hot, or not hot enough.)
Hi Matt,
You’re right–the culprit is not cooking the candy enough. Basically you need to cook it to a high enough temperature so that enough water evaporates to leave the candy hard and brittle. If it’s not cooked long enough, it retains too much liquid and never sets.
A candy thermometer is the easiest fix for this problem (many grocery stores sell them in the baking aisle for around $5) but if you ever wanted to try it again without a thermometer, you can do the “cold water test.” As you’re cooking the candy, periodically drop a spoonful of the candy into a bowl of ice water. Let it sit a few seconds, then feel it with your hands. As it cooks it will progress from being a jelly-like substance, to a soft ball, then to a hard ball. Finally, when it crackles and turns into hard shards immediately upon being poured into the water, that’s when it’s ready.
This method works, but it’s a little more complicated, which is why I always recommend a thermometer instead. 🙂
nailed it the second time around.. thanks for the cold water test tip.
First time I’ve ever made candy.. Mine cracked but turns chewy in the mouth. Thinking this post will help me with this. This is definitely a nice touch to my Halloween costume.
Reminds me of being in school and making blue crystals with copper sulfate. I took some home in my pocket, year seven and accidently put in a bare unwrapped chocolate bar in the same pocket before eating with some blue crystals in the same mouthfull. I had worried about what it did to my body and brain since
Mine turned out green! Why? I used one drop, like you said. I used regular food coloring, as I had no “gel” coloring. Think that’s why?
Hi Mike,
I think the problem is the food coloring. Regular liquid food coloring isn’t as strong as gel coloring. When the candy is cooked to a high temperature it starts to take on a light amber color. This yellowish color, when combined with just a drop of (weaker) blue food coloring, could make the candy green instead of blue. If you were to make it again, I’d either use more liquid coloring, or switch to gel coloring.
Is there a specific shade of blue gel you use? I picked up royal blue and one drop turned it green so I put in a couple more and it ended up too dark.
Hi Nic,
I used one drop of Americolor Sky Blue gel food coloring, the kind you squeeze out from the bottle. I honestly would have thought royal blue would have worked as well. So sorry that the color didn’t turn out–hopefully the candy still tasted okay!
Ah yes, I have the same brand and there was Sky Blue coloring there as well but i went with the Royal. I will pick up the other color tomorrow and give it another go because my whole family loves the candy anyway! Great recipe!
How fitting! Sky blue is the name of Walt and Jesse’s meth. Thanks a lot for this recipe!
I hadn’t even realized! Obviously it’s a sign. 🙂 Thanks Matt!
My son is a huge BBad fan and he came across this recipe and has made it a few times now and it’s great!
Couple things: The NEON blue McCormick liquid food coloring is the exact right shade, if you can get that – we used that & lemon flavoring for the first batch. The second time we tried Tropical Punch KoolAid in lieu of the color/flavor but! note: just cuz the KoolAid pack is blue doesnt mean the powder is (it made a purpley red candy) And this last batch, made for the final we used a packet of Duncan Hines Frosting Creations in the Cotton Candy flavor instead of the coloring/flavoring ingredients – it’s the PERFECT color, and has a very nice candy taste – the best batch yet we thought!
Just some tips we thought we’d share for anyone else wanting to give the recipe a try. Thanks Elizabeth, for posting the recipe – I guess it’s kinda weird to let my teenager cook candy “meth” – but I was just happy he was motivated to get in the kitchen and make a recipe, period! 🙂
Hi Gem,
Thanks for all the tips! It’s great to know about the food coloring–I think McCormick’s is probably easier to find than Americolor, so that’s useful for other people…and the Frosting Creations idea is genius!
I’m laughing at the thought of you encouraging your son to cook meth–at least you know what he’s up to, right? 🙂
When using the Duncan Hines frosting… is it for the same size batch as the posted recipe, and how much do you use? Thanks! 🙂
Samantha,
I haven’t tried it, but my guess would be that it was for the same sized batch. Don’t know about the quantity–you might try adding half the packet and if the color isn’t strong enough, adding the rest? Please post back if you try it!
Thanks for the recipe. I made the mistake of using unbleached sugar so it came out green-brown. Also, I think this amount might work well in a 10″ x 15″ pyrex dish since I doubled it and my product was too thick.
I have a few questions because I know incredibly little about cooking or baking etc.
#1 What size baking sheet should I use for this recipe?
#2 How much hard candy does the recipe make?
#3 Do I have to worry about colors from the flavoring extract or does that all come in the same color?
Hi Keith,
Any large baking sheet will work–I used a half-sheet (about 13×18) but it doesn’t matter too much, because you don’t need to spread the candy all the way out to the edges–just get it nice and thin. You could even do it on a heat-proof countertop, but I like a baking sheet because air can circulate underneath to cool it down quickly, plus you can move the candy as it sets if you need to.
This recipe makes a little over a pound of hard candy. I’m not sure what volume that is (it really depends on how much you smash it up!) but I would say it’s enough for a dozen small baggies, easily.
Almost all flavoring extracts are clear, or so light as to not make a difference. Some, like vanilla, chocolate, or maple, are a dark brown color, but most of the fruity ones I’ve encountered are clear.
Also, I’ve amended the recipe above with a note about the coloring–some folks are having trouble with their candy turning green, so if you’re very concerned about getting the perfect blue color, please read it!
I’ve tried to make this twice now and everytime it comes out green. Is it going green because the mixture turns yellow while its cooking and when I add the blue colouring, it makes green (blue+yellow=green)?
Hi Chris,
One problem might be overcooking–the more you cook, the closer to caramel it gets, and the yellow color might be turning it green. Also, What type of food coloring are you using? From comments other people have made, it seems like food coloring is inconsistent, and some coloring does produce a green color when mixed with the slightly yellow candy.
I used Americolor Sky Blue gel coloring to get mine blue. Another commenter had good success with the NEON blue McCormick liquid food coloring. She also tried a package of Duncan Hines Frosting Creations in Cotton Candy, instead of using additional coloring or flavoring, and said that worked well.
My product looks great but is very sticky, any idea how to un-sticky them?
Hey! Thank you for the recipie! I tried this the first time to day and it looks like i got a more green like color. Do I use wrong kind of coloring? Or is it may be because the syrup I used is to dark?
And I just don’t understand how you can get it to 300 degrees! Any tips?
Hi! Did you read the note at the end of the recipe about the coloring? Some food coloring does turn the candy green instead of blue. I recommend reading the note above, and trying to track down Americolor Sky Blue gel coloring if getting a light blue color is important!
Also, I’m not sure what you mean by get it to 300 degrees? This is measured in Fahrenheit, and 300 F is a pretty typical temperature for making hard candies. The sugar syrup should be nearly colorless or a light gold color at 300. Sugar starts to caramelize and get darker as you get above 300, but it shouldn’t be burnt or brown at 300 F. When making caramel sauce I take sugar to 340-350, so 300 isn’t unusual. Are you using a different scale? Or have you checked your thermometer? Here’s one way to check your candy thermometer to make sure it’s working properly:
http://candy.about.com/od/candybasics/ht/How-To-Test-Your-Candy-Thermometer.htm
Can’t wait to try this. I just shaved my head and I’m going as Walter White for Halloween. This will make the perfect accessory!
That is an awesome costume idea! I hope you have the Heisenberg fedora too?
I already had a shaved head and Gotee and went last year as Walter. I bought blue rock candy from a candy store and put into 1 ounce baggies. Wore a blue hazmat suit and a Respirator. My friends loved the costume so much they want me to revise it for this year. I am upgrading to the Yellow Hazmat suit and I am going to make my own Blue Sky this time. Thanks for the tips…. Going to take picks with me in the Suit and a sheet of Blue Sky in my hands 🙂
Is the flavoring necessary? I feel like most rock candy is just sugary flavor and I have no idea how it’ll taste with the flavoring.
Nope, totally not necessary–you can skip it and you’ll have a plain candy that just tastes like basic sugar. I just add it since most folks I know prefer a little flavor.
I spoke to Elizabeth a few times about this recipe, and it worked out great for my needs. I also got a really good color from Adeco brand Electric Blue food coloring. I used 6 drops for this recipe and it came out as a nice sharp blue when cooking at 285, but perhaps a bit deeper than the color they use for the show, so next time I’ll try 5 drops. That plus a half dram of LorAnn Key Lime flavor oil makes for a good time.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Frank! So glad it worked for you, and I have you to thank for the revised temperature recommendation. Let me know how the Halloween costume goes!
hmm i’ve tried to make this twice now and its not hardening even after several hours any advice on what I should do?
Hi Joaquin,
If it’s not hardening that means the candy wasn’t cooked enough. Did you use a candy thermometer, and get it up to 285 degrees Fahrenheit? At this temperature it should start hardening within a minute or two, and be completely hard after 30 minutes or so. If you did use a thermometer, it’s a good idea to test it to make sure it’s accurate. Here’s how:
http://candy.about.com/od/candybasics/ht/How-To-Test-Your-Candy-Thermometer.htm
Hi can you re-boil the candy that didn’t set?
Hi Gloria, You can try, but it’s not a fool-proof process. Reboiling it means the possibility of re-introducing sugar crystals into the candy, so it increases your chances of having a grainy or a gritty candy. It also means that the candy will probably have some green color tones, since cooking it a second time will most likely cause the sugar syrup to develop more of a yellowish tinge. All that being said, there’s no harm in trying, and you don’t have much to lose other than the time it takes to re-boil it!
I followed Elizabeth’s recipe as far as measurements for sugar, water, and corn syrup goes, and I just kinda winged it with the LorAnn flavor oil (I think 3-4 drops came out from my dram of key lime flavoring). I kept doing a crack test in a cup of cool water, by scooping some of the sugar mixture out of the pan, and dropping it into the cup. This in turn cools it down and you can test it for whether it’s pliable like taffy, or if it snaps like it should. I did this and as soon as my candy thermometer hit 285 degrees, I turned off the flame and poured it in a tray and it reached hard crack. I think the last crack test I did was at around 282-283 degrees as is, so there’s one way to test how it’s hardening, just keep dripping some in a cup of cool water so you can touch it, and see if it snaps when you bend it at room temperature.
We used the Duncan Hines frosting creations and it worked perfectly. Thanks so much for your tips. Looking forward to Breaking Bad on Halloween!
Awesome, Hope, thanks for the coloring feedback! So glad it worked out–happy BB Halloween to you. 🙂
How much of the frosting creations did you use?
I haven’t tried it with the frosting creations, I believe the people who did tried it used the entire packet, and omitted any other flavoring or coloring.
Excellent instructions; thanks!! A group of us are doing some BB characters for Halloween. I tried crystalizing rock candy on a string. Failed. Bought a candy thermometer & followed instructions exactly. Made 3 batches & looks exactly like your photos!
For food coloring, I used the Target store brand (1 drop) and it worked fine, doesn’t look green.
Great to know! I’ll add it to the list of recommended colors. 🙂
But officer, I swear it’s only rock candy! It’s not crystal meth!
Tell it to the judge, punk. Now shut-up and get in the car.
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe.
Now what about cleaning? I have a pot and thermometer (not mine) caked with candy!
Great question! It’s really simple. Fill your pot with water and put the thermometer in. Bring the water to a boil–it will dissolve all the sugar, then you can just pour the water out and give it a little once-over with some soap.
Thanks so much for the recipe! My brother and I made this tonight for his Halloween costume. It is starting to harden, but it has been about 2 hours and it isn’t hard enough to crack it. Do you know if there is a way to fix this, or do we have to start from scratch?
Hi Rachel,
Bummer! If it hasn’t set yet it’s not going to–it should start setting almost as soon as you pour it out, and be completely set by the time it’s room temperature. Did you use a thermometer?
There’s not really a great fix. Since the candy won’t work the way it is, you can try melting it and re-cooking it. It might not work (it could crystallize, or the color could be too dark) but you won’t be out any extra ingredients, just a little of your time. To re-melt it, place it in a pot with 1/2 cup of water over medium to medium-high heat. Stir frequently while the candy melts, and once it’s melted and boiling, proceed with the recipe as before. I really recommend using a thermometer and checking it before you begin for accuracy. If you don’t have one, Frank gave an alternate method of checking the candy’s temperature in this comment, using just cold water:
https://www.sugarhero.com/2012/07/blue-crystal-meth-rock-candy-for-breaking-bad/#comment-40036
Good luck!
I did use a thermometer, but I think I must have read it wrong…oops! Thanks for your help. I was able to salvage it and re-do it, but as you predicted, the color was off. I think we are going to start over to get the perfect blue color. Thanks again for this post and your quick reply! Great idea!!
Okay, my fingers are crossed–hope it works out the second time around!
Turned out beautifully. Thanks for the recipe. It would be an awesome addition to my two “Breaking Bad” men and their costumes.
I’m so glad! I’m starting a reader submissions section of this post, with pictures of meth candy people have emailed me, so if you have the desire, send me a picture and I’ll put it on the blog. (elizabeth at sugarhero.com) Hope your guys have an awesome Halloween!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I just made it an hour ago and it’s perfect! I followed your instructions except that I could only get McCormick’s Assorted Food Colorings, one of which was blue (liquid). The candy thermometer stayed at 250 degrees for the longest time and I worried that it wasn’t registering hot enough because the sugar mixture was shallow enough the thermometer wasn’t in very deep. I decided to do the ice water test as well and that was definitely a great back-up. As soon as it cracked in the bowl of cold water, I checked the thermometer which in seconds had gone from 260 to 300 degrees. I pulled the pan off the heat immediately and it turned out great. I tried 4 drops of the liquid food coloring and when I stirred it, I decided to put in one more drop (total of 5). That was the perfect amount. The other thing I did was prepare two foil pans both of which I used as I had enough candy syrup and it was setting so fast I couldn’t fill out one entire pan; I just held the second one at a tilt and poured the balance onto that. The color is beautiful and it smashed up perfectly. I’m in Florida and it’s still hot and humid here, so I’m praying it stays separate and doesn’t clump up by the time of the party tomorrow night, but I think it’ll be okay. One thing…it didn’t make a lot, so I’m going to make another batch after dinner as I want to have little baggies of a “teenth” each for a bunch of friends. That, with my Heisenberg t-shirt, fedora, and dark glasses will be the perfect finishing touch to my costume. I couldn’t be happier!
How exactly do you use the frosting creations. I actually have that on hand and am having a hard time finding the color. I have the wilton sky blue…is it similar?
Hi Jessa,
You can stir in the packet of frosting creations after the candy is fully cooked and removed from the heat. I haven’t tried it with the Wilton sky blue but my hunch would be that it would work just fine.
Never mind. Bit the bullet and gave it a try. It works pretty good, but it is hard to get it all to dissolve. It ended up with several spots of dark bits of coloring/flavoring from the frosting creations. Once I crushed it you couldn’t see them so all is well. Thanks!
Hey Elizabeth!
My “meth” has crystalised when I’ve poured it into the tin after cooking. I cooked it to exactly 140c. Please help X
Hi Amy,
There could be a couple different reasons for the crystallization. Did you use corn syrup or did you substitute something else? The corn syrup really helps prevent crystallization. Did you brush down the sides of the pan with a wet brush to remove any stray sugar crystals? The other question is, once the candy started boiling, did you stir it at all? Stirring cooking sugar causes sugar crystals to form and once that process starts, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have a grainy candy. It has less to do with the temperature you cooked it to and more to do with how it was handled during the cooking. Unfortunately, once your candy has crystallized, there’s not much that can be done to fix it. So sorry to hear it didn’t work out!
1. Make a batch
2. Bring it to school
3. Start handing it out in class
4. ???
5. Profit
what? I think this is neat, but overall a stupid idea. Maybe it’s because i’m a teen, or maybe it’s because this is a sensitive subject for me, but taking something like meth and making it into something so lighthearted and desensitizing as candy… seems really messed up to me. Kind of like making candies resembling rape or something. I get that it’s supposed to be Breaking Bad themed and relate to the show, but eeehh… had to input that thought. Ya’ll are adults though. Just don’t give it to kids lol…
No, I agree with you entirely, and I’m an ‘adult’. I know people whose lives have been affected by and, in some cases, destroyed by methamphetamine usage. It’s not something to take lightly and I think making ‘meth’ candy undermines the seriousness of the situation, particularly as most of the people making this candy will be middle-class earners who have had no experience with this drug outside of Breaking Bad. It’s akin to rape jokes and cultural appropriation, and it’s in bad taste, if not downright offensive to those who have lost loved ones to methamphetamine usage. I don’t care that it’s supposed to be an ‘in-joke’ with people that watch the show, it’s still inappropriate.
Hi. I’ve made a many times. I always have problems at the same place, mixing in the oil. It immediately boils off into really intense steam and what’s left fails to stir into the syrup. I always wind up with the oil coating the outside of the candy instead of being mixed through. Any suggestions?
P.S. Never have your face in the steam from the oil, especially if it’s cinnamon.
Hi Dag,
Do you let it sit for a few moments once you take it off the heat, to let the bubbles die down? I find that that helps with the suffocating-oil-in-face syndrome. As to the oil not mixing in, I admit I haven’t had this problem before. What type of oil are you using? I know that LorAnn makes some oils that are specially formulated for use in chocolate, could that be the problem? Maybe try switching to a flavoring extract instead of an oil and see if that helps.
Hi there, I found this page via imgur lol. My fiance is a fan of Breaking Bad and I was hoping to add this to a bunch of themed gifts for xmas.
However, I live in Canada and I’m not sure I’d be able to get some of the same ingredients (ie food colouring etc) Do you have any suggestions for the canucks like me out there?
Hi Katherine, Fun gift idea! I think you’ll be okay with regular food coloring you find in stores. I’ve heard from multiple readers who’ve tried it and used the typical liquid food coloring you can find in many supermarkets. I recommend the specific Americolor shade because I *know* it will work, but from the experiences of others, I think you’ll be fine as long as you don’t overcook the candy and let it take on a caramel color. Were there other ingredients you won’t be able to find? If corn syrup is a problem, you can use glucose as a good substitute if that’s available to you, or make your own corn syrup from sugar, using a recipe like this one:
http://www.thekitchn.com/pantry-staples-diy-cane-sugar-131934
Please let me know if you have more questions. Good luck!
I think you may want to reconsider the name–I was offended that you chose the name Crystal Meth Rock Candy–very ill-chosen name. I would suggest you find a different name than “Crystal Meth,” really bad connotation.
Carol, Did you read the post? Are you familiar with the television show Breaking Bad? I think perhaps you’ve missed the point. This is a recipe for fans of a television show–an in-joke of sorts, for entertainment purposes only. I’m sorry if it offended you, and I understand that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ll be keeping the name unchanged.
Thanks for the recipe, seeing as we can’t take the easy way out and buy blue raspberry rock candy in England!
I’ve just cooked my first batch of product – the colour is spot on (Dr Oetker blue food colouring, available in UK supermarkets) but Heisenberg would not be impressed with my “meth” being opaque. It set well and cracked nicely, btw.
I didn’t use corn syrup (not sure if that’s available here), just adjusted the amount of sugar instead. Pretty please could you suggest what I could try to stop my next batch being opaque?
I absolutely love Breaking Bad – I even went to Albuquerque in summer 2011 during a roadtrip! I had a chicken burrito at Twisters (a.k.a. Los Pollos Hermanos), pilgrimaged to the REAL White House and savoured the atmosphere in the parking lot at the Crossroads Motel. I’ll be back in ABQ next summer too.
Thanks again…
Hi fellow Liz! So fun to meet a fellow BB enthusiast–the road trip sounds amazing!
If your candy is opaque, my guess is that it crystallized. Did it break cleanly and have a smooth, shiny surface, or was it a bit more crumbly and rough or coarse? One of the main jobs of corn syrup is to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Sugar crystallizes suuuuper easily, so it’s necessary to have some sort of ingredient that stops this process. If you don’t have corn syrup, you can try adding an acid, like lemon juice, to the sugar mixture. One teaspoon should probably do the trick, and the small amount means you likely won’t taste it in the final product. Cream of tartar is another acid that works well for preventing crystals.
Hope this helps–let me know how it goes! And please do send a picture of the final product.
Thanks for the tip! It was slightly coarse, although I wouldn’t say it was crumbly. I’m just going to do small batches until I perfect my technique. I’ll try to send a photo of my first batch after sending this.
We can buy glucose syrup here, but a lemon would be cheaper! I’ll add it to my shopping list as I’ll try cooking another batch later in the week to (hopefully) get the blue glass effect. I need to increase the purity of my product for my methcakes. 😉
All this sounds a tad dodgy, so a little message to the DEA & Hank – “Please don’t kick down my door in a dawn raid, it’s only sugar!”
Thanks again…
I think this name is very offensive and inappropriate, even if it is a reference to a tv show.
Do you serve this to children using this name??
Only when they get a mad case of the munchies!
As this recipe/post is directed to Breaking Bad fans, an ADULT show, I doubt anyone would feel the need to give this to kids and call it crystal meth. It would simply be ‘blue candy’. I think that should be fairly obvious.
Personally, I’m a massive fan of the show and I cant wait to give this recipe a try!
tried it last night (17th), perfect! can I use parchment paper next time? i feel as if you don’t need the pam. and if you know how to make the “meth” as pop rocks that’d be so awesome.
Hi Laura,
So glad it worked! I wouldn’t recommend parchment. It might work (haven’t tried it with this exact recipe) but I’ve had bad experiences with other hard candy recipes where the parchment sticks and has to be peeled off and leaves a papery residue. You probably could forgo the spray on the foil and be fine. If you’re looking to eliminate the foil, a Silpat liner works, or lightly grease a baking sheet or marble slab and you should be able to pop it off once it hardens. I just think the foil is least messy/most convenient…to each their own, though!
I don’t have any good ideas about the pop rocks…but that sounds awesome.
Hello, thanks so much for the recipe yo! My first couple batches have turned out great.
I have been cooking to 285 as directed and have had good clear crunchy product. However I noticed many rock candy recipes calling for a 300 degree boil to reach “hard crack”. I think I will try to boil to 300 next time and see what happens.
I like to take out a shard, and crack it into pieces on a glass surface with a bic lighter before consuming. I think its easier on the teeth in smaller pieces, and I feel like Tuco doing it 🙂
Thanks again!
Skinny Pete, you are cracking me up! I don’t know that emulating Tuco is really the best way to go about life, but to each his own.
300F is definitely the traditional temperature for hard candies. That was actually how I originally wrote the recipe, but I found that people were consistently overcooking the candy and as the candy went above 300, it started to darken and turn a greenish color. To help prevent that, I took the temperature a little lower to give people more “wiggle room” so that even if they overcooked their candy, they would still get a blue color instead of a green color. Definitely give it a try and see what you think! You may notice the color changes a little, and the candy will probably be a bit less sticky, but otherwise the taste should be almost identical.
Hi Elizabeth!
Thanks for such a great recipe. I love this blog, and I keep coming back especially to this page again and again. I’ve now made this for the third time and I just follow all your instructions and it never fails. Most recently, I made the candy to line the side of a Breaking Bad themed cake! It was a really great extra touch, so thank you
First, thank you for writing and revising this as you’ve gone–I’d been eyeing this for a long time but finally got up the nerve (and ingredients) to try it last night. My first batch turned out green–I know it isn’t the coloring since I was able to get the one you recommend, so it must be overcooked.
I have a digital candy thermometer, so I tried doing the calibration tonight. The thermometer read 212 when the water was boiling. But I did notice that when the water was first starting to do a rolling boil it was about 207 or 208. Do you think it might be that might thermometer is a bit slow or I’m cooking at too high a heat? I took last night’s batch off the heat the moment it reached 285 but didn’t think to see what the temp ended at.
Also, not sure if related, but should the final texture be completely rigid? The set gel did shatter nicely, but the moment you put a piece in your mouth it was sticky like a dense caramel. Maybe related–too much water still in there from cooking too fast?
Thanks again. Right now I feel like I’m at Captain Cook and would like to get to Heisenberg by premiere.
Hi Ryan! The texture of the finished candy shouldn’t be sticky or caramel-like–it should be crunchy and hard, like a lollipop. So yes, it might be that it was cooked at too high a temp and the sugars caramelized before enough water was evaporated–what stove setting were you cooking it on? Are you at sea level, or a higher altitude? And is it humid or stormy where you are right now? Humidity can be a big culprit in turning sugar candies sticky and making hard candy making troublesome.
Thanks for replying. I’m close to sea level but in Austin, TX. Not as humid as Houston, but may very well be an issue. I did try a second batch cooking at a lower temp (first batch I had temp gauge at a bit over 8, this time I tried 6). That definitely took longer but I noticed the temperature topping out so I had to increase the heat a couple of times. The result was definitely more rigid so I think that worked to get more water out.
It was still green, but I realized the culprit–I was only able to find one store with light corn syrup but it was an organic light corn syrup and totally yellow. I didn’t know that corn syrup should be clear until I did some searching. Like I said, totally Captain Cook.
Thanks again, will keep working on it.
Yellow corn syrup sounds like the culprit for sure! I don’t think I’ve ever seen yellow corn syrup (or organic corn syrup at all…) so it didn’t occur to me, but I’ll be that’s it. And who knows, it might also contribute to your texture problem. Get yourself some highly processed, non-organic corn syrup and try again! None of that fancy healthy stuff here.
That was it. Switched to Karo for third batch–sky blue! The culprit was Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Light Corn Syrup. Silly healthy corn syrup!!
Yesss success! Walt would be proud! So glad it worked, and glad to know what the culprit was in case others have the same trouble later on.
This recipe works really well! I did some experimentation with it because I was trying to do it without corn syrup, but my attempts failed – corn syrup is definitely the way to go!
Oh my goodness – being a HUGE breaking bad fan myself and seeing as to how the premiere of the final season is this weekend, this is the BEST THING EVER!!
after a few attempts i had to refine the recipe, at 285 degrees i found my candy wouldn’t crystalize, turns out that it actually needs to be 300-310 degrees in order to do so. but in order to avoid overcooking (as it is quite a finite temperature range) when taking the pan off the boil, i had to sit it in a bowl of cold water to cool the pan down and stop the cooking process as residual heat from the pan can continue to cook the candy and potentially overcook it, which then turns it green when adding the blue colouring.
thanks for the recipe though, i now have a new addiciton, but at leasts it’s one i can cook myself 🙂
Hi Rob, Glad you got the recipe to work! My original recipe called for the candy to be cooked to 300 (typical hard candy temperature) but so many people had trouble overcooking it and turning their candy green, I lowered my recommendation. Cooling the pan in a water bath right after cooking is a great call. Walter would be proud! 🙂
I’ll give this a try. Just cooked my first batch and although the look is spot on it was very sticky and nearly pulled a few teeth out! I thought this may be due to the substitutes I was using (had to use glucose as no corn syrup in the UK), but I’ll try cooking to 300* next time. Should this make it less sticky?
Yes, a higher cooking temp should definitely help! Glucose is a great substitute for corn syrup, so I don’t think it’s your ingredients–my guess is that adding a few degrees of cooking temp will solve the problem. Please let me know how it goes!
PS Your user name is cracking me up. I thought Walt Jr’s friend is named breakfast?
I just cooked the second batch at 300 and although it is less sticky, its still liable to pull a few teeth out. Could this be the ingredients possibly; I have been using blue food colouring oil instead of the gel, and 1-2 teaspoons of flavouring, as our stuff might not be as potent as you guys have in the US. Could it be that this extra liquid causes it to set less hard, or do I dare cook up until 310* like a few other recipes suggest?
That’s disappointing! 300F should be golden. I suppose it could be the change in ingredients, although if you would have asked I would have thought a small change like that wouldn’t make a big difference. Is it humid/stormy/rainy where you are right now? That could do it. You can definitely cook it higher–the risk is that the sugar will start to take on color and your candy will be greenish. But as far as taste and texture, you can safely take it to 310 or even 315. (Much past that, though, and you’re starting to caramelize the sugar, and while that’s delicious, it’s not really what we’re going for.) Another thought: have you tested your candy thermometer for accuracy? It’s as easy as sticking it in a pot of boiling water, but it’s a good way to know if your thermometer is off by a few degrees, which can make a big difference. Here are full instructions:
http://candy.about.com/od/candybasics/ht/How-To-Test-Your-Candy-Thermometer.htm
Two thumbs up for Cpt Crunch! Eagerly awaiting tales of your candy success and a new clever user name.
I made a batch using your recipe and instructions and it came out flawlessly! I may have overcooked it a little and used too much food coloring, but otherwise it was perfect, and quite tasty. I used 4 drops of the McCormick Neon Blue food coloring and mint extract. I sent this to a friend who is also a huge BB fan with a letter from “W.W.” and he got a kick out of it! Thank you!
Awesome! So glad to hear it worked well with the Neon Blue–and I’ll bet your friend loved the message from “Walt.” 🙂 That’s great!
Blew up my moms glass measuring bowl and spent two hours cleaning shards of glass out of the corn syrup. Cut my feet and burned my hand. My parents were horrified. Luckily I got everything swept up and washed down. DO NOT USE GLASS… :/
Can you just use regular syrup?
Hi Anthony, I’m not sure what you mean by regular syrup–maple-flavored pancake syrup? I haven’t tried it but I wouldn’t recommend it. The brown coloring would make your candy a dark color, and the composition/other additives in the syrup might mess up the cooking. If you do end up giving it a try, please let us know how it turns out!
I used to love making this in high school back in the 80’s. My Mom and I had all sorts of flavors and colors. In any case, time moves on and thanks to YOUR wonderful recipe, I’m making it again!
I made my first batch last night. It wasn’t quite up to Heisenburg standards … but it was a nice first attempt. Next time I need to get it a few degrees hotter. It cracked just fine … but it gets a bit chewy once it’s in the mouth.
I used the cotton candy flavored packet of frosting creations. It has a nice taste and the color is alright. My one warning to anyone going this route, once you take the candy off the heat and wait for the bubbles to stop, stir in the flavoring VERY well. I didn’t mix it well enough so there were dozens of small dark blue “dots” of mix in the candy. It’s not horrible? I just laughed thinking of Walt yelling, “It’s not pure!” haha
Thanks again for the GREAT recipe and tips! I have a picture up at my site and I’ll be making more today or tomorrow!
ThirtyWhat
That is awesome! Thanks for the feedback! I’ve never tried the frosting creations myself, only heard about it from readers, so it’s good to know what works & what could be improved. Also, you can definitely take it a few degrees hotter–up to 300 F should be fine, provided you watch it toward the end so it doesn’t take on color.
Hey!
I just tried this but it didn’t set properly. It’s hard but not hard enough to smash. Its a bit sticky.
I used a thermometer and took it off the heat when it reached 285. I’ve left it set for an hour and just put it in the fridge 2 mins ago to see if that will help.
Any ideas??
Hi Nicole,
It sounds like the candy wasn’t cooked enough. Unfortunately if it’s not hard by now, it won’t get harder and refrigerating probably won’t help things. (The humidity in the fridge might just make it stickier.) If you’re up for trying it again, I’d first test your thermometer to make sure it’s accurate (how-to link below) and then cook it to 295 F this time–if you watch the temperature carefully you should be able to cook it to 295 and get it hard without risking the candy turning green. Good luck!
http://candy.about.com/od/candybasics/ht/How-To-Test-Your-Candy-Thermometer.htm
Yeah it’s currently stuck to my teeth! Looks awesome, but it’s too sticky.
Will be making another batch tomorrow.
Thanks again for posting this online and for replying!
Also Elizabeth, just a last question to ask, I had to use glucose syrup as we don’t have light corn syrup in Ireland.
Would this have anything to do with the sticky-factor?
If so, how much glucose syrup should I use in my second batch? It’s €5 ($7) per pot and it’s one pot per batch so it’s pricey! Would appreciate any advice.
Hi Nicole, I’m not exactly sure. I haven’t tried this particular recipe with glucose (it is much hard to find glucose than corn syrup here!) but I have made other hard candies with glucose instead of corn syrup, and it’s worked fine. My understanding is that glucose and corn syrup can be substituted on a 1:1 basis, so my guess is that it *should* work fine if you take it to a higher temp so more of the water boils off. That being said, I looked up a recipe for hard candy in an older candy book I have, and the recipe they use is 3 cups sugar, 3/4 cup glucose, and 1/2 cup water. So if you want to experiment you could try adding an extra cup of sugar, and see if the changed ratio of sugar:glucose helps the candy to set. (I do have to emphasize that I haven’t tried this recipe myself.) And again, I would take it to 295 F or even 300 F this time–but not higher, or the candy will start to take on color and you’ll have greenish meth. Also, if it’s stormy, rainy, or otherwise humid where you are, your candy might be soft and sticky, so it’s best to do it on a dry day!
Thank you so much!
So close to giving up! Tried it with the extra cup of sugar and cooking til 295 and its now green!
Waiting til it sets to see if its less sticky than last time.
The only thing I can think of is to cook with the 3 cups of sugar but only until 285.
After that I’m out of ideas!
Ugh, frustrating!! I wish I had glucose handy so I could give it a try and provide some concrete ideas. (I have to order it online, so there’s no chance of getting it anytime soon.) So sorry this has been such a pain. When you do succeed it will be sweet, sweet victory! And all those who don’t have access to corn syrup will owe you a big debt of gratitude for doing all of this glucose experimentation. 🙂
Haha, I can’t believe I’m still doing it.
Right to summarize for everyone, and hopefully it will be of some use to anyone who uses glucose!
Batch 1:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup liquid glucose (PME)
2 tsp flavouring (LorAnn Key Lime)
1/4 tsp colouring paste (SugarFlair Colour)
Cooked until thermom hit 285F
Result: Too sticky, too blue, overpowering smell and taste
Batch 2:
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup glucose
1 tsp flavouring
Drop of colouring paste
Cooked until thermom hit 295/300F
Result: Great consistency (although a teeny tiny bit sticky but its basically pure sugar so that’s to be expected!) and great taste but green!!
Batch 3:
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
3/4 glucose
1 tsp flavouring
2 drops colouring
Cooked until thermom hit 285
Result: Blue, translucent, and good consistency! It’s the best I’ve ended up with so far!
I think I *might* try the original recipe (2 cups sugar) and cook until 290/295… when I buy more sugar! I’m all out!
A local bar is hosting a Breaking Bad finale party for charity and they’ve asked me for 30 bags (15g) which I have all packaged up and ready to go. There’s easily another 10 bags to be gotten out of the batch.
The only thing I’ve found is it got stickier quickly. I’m in my room with the fan on; smashing and spooning furiously!
Thanks Elizabeth for having the patience of a saint! ^_^
Nicole, you are my hero! Seriously, this is awesome. Thank you for doing the recipe testing for me when I could not. I am so glad that you got a batch you’re happy with!! (I was feeling guilty over the amount of glucose you were going through…) If you do end up trying a 4th version, please let me know how it goes! I’ll update the official recipe with a glucose variation once you settle on the one you like best. Do you feel like Walter White yet? SCIENCE!
P.S. I think it’s so great that you’re contributing these for charity!
I hope you will be able to answer to my questions on time 🙂
First of all, thank you for your fantastic sharing of ideas and recipes !
I’ve tried the recipe of the Crystal Meth Rock Candy, and here is the result: sticky and green…
So, knowing that if it’s sticky it means that it’s undercooked and if it’s green, it’s overcooked.. I am confused, I have to say.
I have used a gel food coloring, and as I do not have thermometer (yet!), and that I need the candy for tomorrow, I have used your advice given a bit further up to someone else, to test with iced water.
Do you have any idea what happened?
And what do I have to change?
I have enough to do one more batch, but that’s it !
Thank you so much,
a French-Irish fan x
Hi Benedicte, So sorry for the belated response–I imagine it’s too late to be of much help. It’s so hard to know what went wrong when I’m not in the kitchen with you, seeing how the candy is cooked and what ingredients are used. It’s especially difficult when you don’t have access to a thermometer, so we can’t troubleshoot and be precise about what temperature you’re cooking it to. If it’s soft and doesn’t break easily because it’s too soft and sticky, then yes, it’s undercooked. As to the green color, did you use light corn syrup, or did you substitute something else? Substituting some other syrups, like golden syrup, will give the candy a greenish color. Before you added the food coloring, was the candy colored at all in the pan–like a light yellow or amber color, or was it completely colorless?
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you so much for your reply.
You are actually of a big help.
I’ve used Golden syrup, because it’s difficult in Ireland to find light corn syrup ! The candy was amber before I added the food coloring.
And I think that’s the issue here. I’ll buy myself a thermometer and I’ll try again with glucose probably.
My friend liked it even sticky and green… So no worries here, I’ll try again with every precise ingredients.
Thank you again for your help.
Take care.
Mystery solved! So glad we could figure it out–and that your friend liked soft green candy. 🙂
Glucose is a much better substitute in this case. I haven’t tried it myself, but other readers have. One did several test batches, and this is her recommendation for making this candy with glucose:
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
3/4 glucose
1 tsp flavouring
2 drops colouring
Cooked until thermom hit 285
Result: Blue, translucent, and good consistency! It’s the best I’ve ended up with so far!
If you do give it a try, please let me know how it turns out! When I get a little more feedback (or get my hands on some glucose–it’s hard to find here!) I’ll update the recipe with some alternative directions for those who can’t find corn syrup.
Will do I promise ! Thanks a million for your help !
Thanks so much for the recipe! I cooked up a batch of “meth” for the final episode tonight. It was so easy! I have never been one for baking, or candy making, but this turned out just right the first time. I made mine lemon flavored.
My daughter, who is a big time “Superman Geek” , liked it so much, that she wanted some “kryptonite”. So we whipped up a batch using green food coloring, and tilted the baking sheet while it cooled so it would gather in one corner. It was about a quarter to half inch thick, and I broke it into large pieces so it would look like big crystals of “Superman’s Achilles heel”.
So glad that it worked for you–and on the first try! You’re a Walt in the making. 🙂 And I love the Kryptonite idea–how creative! You win best dad award for sure.
Best dad award!?!? I am honored. As a single parent that really means allot. I should mention that I put the “kryptonite” in a Tupperware container and my daughter took it to school the next day. She came home with an empty container and requests from her friends for more, and suggestions for different flavors. One quick question. How difficult would it be to pour into small molds to make it into different shapes? I thought about possibly using it to make lollypops for my daughter’s friends. I think I will be making the local dentists very happy.
This recipe works great for other hard candies! If you’re not worried about getting a specific color (cough*blue sky*cough) you can actually cook the candy a little hotter–between 300 F-310 F) to be sure you get a hard candy that will set quickly, unmold nicely, and not be sticky. The only thing you’ll want to watch out for is the type of mold you buy. Some molds are meant for chocolate only, and can’t withstand the high temperatures of sugar candy. Just make sure the molds mention candy & not just chocolate, and you’re good to go!
I’ve been obsessed with perfecting this recipe for about a week now. Found some useful tips. (At least for me)
1. Use a very thick pot when cooking, and you are much less likely to burn your sugar.
2. Bring your sugar up to temperature slowly. The slower you bring it up, the clearer it will be.
3. If you want candy that is more like glass (that you can actually bite down on) cook your candy to 310f. and stir vigorously with a immersion mixer (mixer, not blender) right after you remove it from the heat. To prevent this from clouding your candy, add 1/4 tsp. of cream of tartar to the recipe before cooking. This will also help if from yellowing.
Awesome–thanks for the tips! I’m sure that other folks will find them super helpful too. I’d love to see a pic of the candy if you happen to have one! One thing–I’m not sure what an immersion mixer is vs an immersion blender–I’ve never heard that term. Can you clarify?
My first attempt, it came out soft and flexible… but a few hours later, I went to go get a piece to eat and it had hardened up much much more, and I was able to smash it up with a rolling pin… so I think I pulled it off the sheet pan too early, and in the process, it got stretched like taffy a little bit and that caused streaking and made it a little cloudy and not as transparent as I had hoped… next time I will leave it on the pan overnight and then pull it off… also I used generic grocery store food coloring, and it had that green tint you mentioned… I will look for the brand name coloring you mentioned, or just add an extra drop to maybe overpower the green tint… I also added orange extract to it, and it tastes delicious! Thanx for the recipe!!
Here are some links to pics I took of the process…
http://s7.postimg.org/vyt8inzrf/20131004_221700.jpg
http://s7.postimg.org/4190l7zyj/20131004_224732.jpg
http://s7.postimg.org/8lv705jnv/20131005_010607.jpg
Thanks for the feedback and photos, Scott! Sounds like you have a plan to get perfect candy next time–drop me a line if you need any help or advice.
Just made some more, posted a comment but not sure if went through or not… =) if not, I can repost with my list of mistakes I made the first time and new photos…
Love your work here! We are in BrBa withdrawals, so we hit the kitchen. A lic.per.chef, I use Isomalt (beet based invert sugar) to make my Heisen-Bleu & other sugar art. It’s super easy & very low calorie. If you get isomalt (look at cooking supply or online) recipe is simple:
ISOMALT HEISEN-BLEU
2 cups dry isomalt powder
1/2 c water
1 drop Americolor Sky Blue Food Color
LAB EQUIPMENT YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
Candy Thermometer
Heavy bottom saucepan
Cookie sheet w/ walls, sprayed lightly w/ Pam
Combine water & isomalt in heavy bottom pan over med high heat. Wipe pan walls with wet brush to remove crystals, and begin to heat without stirring. The crystals will melt pretty quickly; swirl pan GENTLY to combine any unmixed particles, and set up candy thermometer. Heat without stirring until 275F, then add one drop food coloring, & stir just until uniformly colored with a metal or silicone spoon (more stirring creates unwanted air bubbles). Continue to cook until mixture approaches 340F; once it hits 330, be watchful, as it goes fast & will turn brown if overheated. At about 337, remove from heat and set pan into shallow cold water bath to stop cooking, but don’t get any water in mix. Pour immediately into shallow pan with sides that has been sprayed lightly w/ Pam type product & wiped of excess oil. BE SUPER CAREFUL AS THIS THICK LIQUID WILL BuRN YOU BaDLY IF IT TOUCHES YOU! Let cool 10 or more minutes, and crack it like they did on BrBa. Amaze your friends and scare your neighbors; we are handing out little bags for Halloween.
Sundays will never be the same….
We used this recipe for my son’s Minecraft party to make the precious gems. I was going to make rock candy on sticks but it looked like a PITA. This was cheap and awesome. Thanks!
That is an awesome idea! I’m an old person and am not that familiar with Minecraft, but I know it’s what the kids love these days. So glad the candy worked out!
Elizabeth, thank you SO much for this fabulous recipe.
I made a successful batch with the Duncan Hines coloring and observed that the color is a bit dark, so the next batch I will double before adding a whole packet of color/flavor.
My question to the expert is, can I start the next batch in my sugary-blue pot? Or is it necessary to clean it out first?
I’m making 5lbs worth so I’d like to save time and not have to clean between batches.
So glad to hear that it worked out for you, and thanks for the tip on the Duncan Hines color! Since I’ve never tried that variation myself, I appreciate the feedback.
Sadly, I would not recommend using a dirty pot. My fear is that you might get sugar crystals from the cooked candy mixed into your sugar syrup, and it would change the texture of the next batch or cause it to crystallize. I know cleaning the pots is a pain. My only tip to make it easier is to fill the used pot with water (and any dirty utensils) and bring it to a boil–the hot water will dissolve the hard candy and it makes cleaning up super simple, although it is still time consuming while you wait for the water to boil. If you do end up re-using the pot and it works out, please let me know! I’d be happy to be wrong about this. 🙂
Could you somehow incorporate a liquor into the recipe? Anyone?
I seriously doubt it. Alcohol evaporates at between 140 and 170 degrees fahrenheit. So given the temperature the candy mixture has to reach, it is safe to say that any alcohol you add to it will instantly turn to steam and float away.
I was wondering if wilton sky blue icing color would be ok to use instead of what you reccomend, thanks!
Hi Mike, I haven’t tried it myself, but my guess is that it will work just fine. I’d start with a small amount on the tip of a toothpick, stir it in, and add more if necessary–a little gel coloring goes a long way! If you do try it and are happy with the results, please come back and let me know so I can update the recommended coloring section! Thanks.
Thanks for the reply! I sent an email also so you can ignore that :p im going to make a test batch next weekend and I will let you know how it goes.
This is so awesome! I can’t wait to make this for my brother-in-law’s bday. Thanks so much!!
(sorry if I double posted this, don’t think it went through the first time)
Round 2 was perfect! Color and consistency was perfect!
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Mistakes I made first time:
-not enough food coloring…
-didn’t cook it to proper temperature…
-was impatient and turned up to high heat halfway through the process…
This time I used 4 drops of grocery store brand blue, and it was perfect. I was patient and let it get to temperature when it was ready. The difference in how it turned out was amazing, so little changes in your process can have a big effect on the final outcome.
Halloween will be awesome this year! Just got my pork pie hat in the mail yesterday!! =)
Looks awesome, Scott! Thanks for sharing! So glad you were able to get it perfect the second time–Walt would be proud. 🙂
Used this recipe 5 times to prepare for a finale party and to make my other BrBa addicted friends laugh, I used a lemon flavor and three drops of generic regular food coloring.
First I burned it. Brown/blackish. Didn’t read about the water temp method and didn’t have a thermometer.
Second time was slightly sticky but perfect color. Used the water test method. Under cooked.
Third was perfect. The water method worked. I packed up 34 little baggies and stuffed a pink, burned, one-eyed teddy bear for a buddy’s Birthday.
Fourth batch slightly green. Water method. The taste was awesome, because I found a corn syrup with vanilla in it. With the added lemon made it taste like cotton candy.
Just finished my fifth batch for another buddy. Bought a thermometer from Bed Bath and Beyond. Perfect all around. Like diamonds, the color, cut, clarity was perfect. The taste and hardness came out great.
Thermometer makes all the difference!!!
Thanks, this recipe is helping me carve out my sky blue candy empire.
Five times?! That is dedication! So glad that it worked out for you and you are now a crystal meth candy expert. 🙂 Remember that I get 5% of your profits!
5%? You think you can live with that blood money… errrr… cavity money?
My cut has now gone up to 7% due to your sassing back!
This recipe is awesome! Over the past fee weeks I’ve tweeked it a little and found some good points. As stated above 295-300 F is about the perfect temp. Also for coloring frosting creations 1/2 packet per batch cotton candy or Blue Raspberry. McCormick Neon Blue also works but the frosting creations flavor and color and are cheaper where I live. Also DO NOT freeze or refrigerate it will RUIN it. And when cooling don’t smash it too early or too late. I’ve done it too soon and had sticky mess and as well as leaving overnight another sticky mess. Still perfecting this the range is between a hour or two after I’ve poured with a fan on it
Thanks for the feedback, Joshooba! Good to know about using half of the frosting creation packet–I’ll add that tip to the list. And yes, send pics along!
Going as Walter this year shaved my head and have my hazmat suit. With a few batches made up. Will send pics soon! Also seal in airtight packaging it will help dry it overnight and then you can re break the bigger chunks…
So I tried this recipe and it didn’t quite work out. However I was able to make an easy fix by reheating the candy for another 10 minutes or so until it reached 250 degrees (f). One technique I was shown to test the solidification process of the candy was to take a spoon and drip a little bit at a time into a bowl of iced water. I continued to use this method while boiling the candy until the mix went from chewy and gummy to immediately glassy in the water. I suggest this for anyone attempting to try this recipe!
On another note it’s a fantastic recipe for a fantastic show 🙂 glad I found this!
So glad you got it to work out, Brandon! The cold water method is definitely helpful, and it could probably save some people the heartbreak of finding out too late that their candy won’t set. Thanks!
Heads up… I’ve been using McCormick brand flavor extracts for all my candy… so far, the orange, raspberry, and lemon were all clear and made fine candy. The McCormick brand cherry extract is NOT clear… it is red… I just assumed it would be clear and didn’t notice till I put it in the mix at the end… made good tasting candy, but mixed with the food coloring, it came out purple…
Thanks for the head’s up, Scott! Dang cherry extract, giving you purple meth…
It likely turns green because cream of tartar is a n acid – most acid make food colourings change colours. Just a thought.
My recipe actually doesn’t contain cream of tartar–unless you were referring to a different recipe? In my experience cream of tartar (or other acids, like lemon juice) are okay in hard candies and don’t influence the color, possibly because they’re present in such small amounts. Maybe if the quantities were larger that would be different!
Hey I made a test batch and it turned out great but it is sooooo hard, Like I made edible glass pretty much hahaha. Is that normal?
Yes, totally normal! It’s a hard candy, sort of like the texture of a lollipop (but without the stick.) Lots of people have trouble with it being too soft or sticky, so congrats–you got it right the first time. 🙂
awesome! Ill post some pics soon of the big cook and the small cook
hi
is it important to use granulated sugar or is regular sugar also ok?
Hi Steve, Granulated sugar is probably what you mean by “regular sugar”–just the plain white sugar most people have in their houses. I’m just in the habit of specifying the type of sugar (brown, powdered, granulated, etc.) Caster sugar should also work, if that’s what you have available.
Great, thanks 🙂
Ok so after even more tests done in the “Lab”I’ve discovered a few more things. If your candy is too soft or sticky leave it in a ziplock overnight. Should be ready to break the next day.The candy can and will cut you just like glass so be safe and wear gloves.And another thing. If you mix the sugar and water first and stir then add corn syrup and sloely bring up the heat. The product will come out much more clear…
Great tips, Joshooba, much appreciated!
I just want to say that this is an awesome recipe. I got it right on the first try and it looks and taste amazing. Thank you for the help.
Yessss I love it when people get it on the first try! Glad to hear it Marc!
How high is ‘medium high’ because my electric stove only has numbers from low and then 1 through 9 and then high.
I was using a candy thermometer, but it seemed like it was taking forever to get up to temperature, so I kept inching it up from 5 until I got between 8 and 9. Then I looked away for about 2 seconds and suddenly the temperature was way over 300 degrees. Needless to say, I ended up with green candy, although it fractured up nicely.
Hi, In this case, I would say to keep it a little above the medium setting on your stove, so perhaps around number 5-6. The cooking and timing are somewhat dependent on your stove (electric or gas, age and heat conductivity, etc) and pan (material it’s made of, thickness, etc.) There are a LOT of variables that mean that every person’s cooking experience will be different. I will say that electric stoves are a little trickier than gas stoves, since you can’t directly and quickly change the heat setting. But I cook on a 20-year old electric stove, so it can be done–it’s just a matter of figuring out your burners and your pans. 🙂
I did a second batch today and this time I used a Paula Deen ceramic saucepan, set the stove at 7 (it is a five year old GE) and watched the candy thermometer like a hawk the whole time. Once it hit 295, I lifted it off the heat, put it on a cool burner and added 4 drops of generic store brand blue, and voila- perfect coloring!
One tip for others who might be concerned about using aluminum foil. You can pour this stuff over a sheet of wax paper, and once it’s completely cooled, it’ll peel off just fine, no muss or fuss with using cooking spray.
Mine came out great. BUT when you put a piece in your mouth, it sticks to your teeth – annoying as hell. It is not sticky coming out of the pan or to the touch, but unless you balance it on the middle of your tongue away from your teeth you get almost a glue factor and you either have to let it melt away or pull it like taffy off your teeth. WHY? (HELP) I don’t want to “Trick” my Treaters!
Carole, that is odd! I’m not sure why yours turned out that way, especially since it’s not sticky to the touch. Mine typically has the texture of a lollipop, meaning if you were to crunch on it some pieces would stick in your teeth, but it’s certainly not cavity-pulling. I’m sorry that it didn’t turn out perfectly, but since it seems to be the right texture to the touch I’m not quite sure what to tell you!
The same happened to me! It looks great and feels like glass to the touch, but when you eat a piece it turns to glue in your mouth. Very tacky and it feels like it might pull a tooth out. I wonder if maybe it’s just very slightly underdone? I was having trouble with my thermometer and was using the water test method, and I wasn’t 100% sure it was there but I didn’t want to risk overcooking. The previous batch I overcooked slightly (and I burned the batch before that!), so perhaps I pulled it a little soon. Anyway, that’s my guess.
Howdy there 🙂
i tried the receipe and i was glad to start it, so everything was ready ( i just added less sugar because its looked like a ton of it ) and it was pretty slow to get to 300 ( i waited like 40 minutes and it was stuck to 180 ) so i decided to turn up the heat to 6, 7 on 10 and than i was waiting carefully and it heated like so faaaast, turned completly brown, everything was a mess, the termometer felt in it ( hope it will work again ) and it was all burned out like caramel ( didnt even reach the 300 )
so what was wrong ? i have no idea 🙁
Hi Yvan,
Sorry to hear the candy didn’t work out for you. One likely problem is that you reduced the sugar. Sugar is the backbone of this recipe, and when you’re cooking the mixture to a high temperature, what you’re doing is evaporating the water and heating the sugar until it is at the precise right temperature to be hard but not burned. Messing with that formula is going to give you some funny results. [And yes, it is a ton of sugar–that’s what hard candy is! Cooked sugar!] Another problem is turning the heat to high–I really recommend keeping it at medium-high, meaning hotter than medium but less than high. High heat is unpredictable and might scorch candy before enough water evaporates.
Finally, it’s a little odd that it was totally burned and still not at 300 F, since sugar caramelizes around 350 F. Have you tested your candy thermometer using the link above to make sure it’s accurate?
Hello there Eliz,
thank you for replying that fast, im really amazed on all the feed back you give to people 🙂 i’ll try it again tonight with the right amount of sugar and what remains of my caramelized thermometer. I was wondering how much time it usually takes to reach the temperature, more like 20 minutes or 2 hours ? that could be an interesting point for the people that made the same mistake as me :3
have a good day !
Yvan, I’m happy to help! If you haven’t tackled it yet, here’s a tip for your thermometer: put it in a pan full of water and bring the water to a boil. This will dissolve all the caramelized sugar and clean your thermometer without any hard work on your part! Plus, you can test your thermometer and make sure it’s accurate: assuming you’re at sea level, it should read 212 F when boiling. If it doesn’t, you know your therm is off by however many degrees and you should take that into account when cooking the candy.
It’s hard to give a precise amount of time because it’s SO different depending on stoves (gas vs electric) and pans (aluminum, steel, copper, etc.) But you’re right, a rough estimate would be helpful! I’ll add one to the recipe. I’d say you should budget around 30-45 minutes for cooking this: so more than 20, but definitely less than 2 hours!
Are you at a high altitude, by any chance?
Hello Eliz 🙂
so im unfortunatly not in altitude ! i tried again and it worked better with the right amount of sugar. But it was getting yellow arround 250, 260 and as it didnt reached the 290 yet i just waited a little bit more and i think i shouldnt have because as you could imagine. Blue + yellow = … green :p anyway it was still a lot of fun to do
Thanks again !
So if you accidentally drop the bottle of color in the mix after it hits 285, you can save it with quick hands, a spoon and cold water but it makes the wife really nervous. Especially when this happens late at night! Minus the excitement, I think I brought it up too fast as it turned a little green.
Ha, good to know! And glad that you emerged from the experience with all digits intact…
Here’s a few pics of me in my Heisenberg costume… the candy made it all the better when I pulled it out of my pocket… =)
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Scott, you look awesome!
Thanks for the recipe! It worked great.
Elizabeth our candy won’t dry, it became a humid day and we didn’t know about it, what can we do to make it dry?
Hi Gris, Unfortunately there’s not much you can do! If it was a problem with the candy never setting properly, it might have been undercooked, and you could try another batch, cooking it to a higher temperature. But if it’s just so humid that it stays sticky, there’s no real solution. Sorry about that!
I forgot to post some pics of my costume! Thanks again for the awesome recipe and some advice to all you new cooks… FOLLOW THE RECIPE TO THE T!!!!
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Love the costumes, Mike! I especially like that Walt is hanging out with Batgirl. Of course he would! 🙂
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!