Is it possible to turn common table sugar that has been dissolved in water back into its original granular form?
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3By "melted in water" do you mean dissolved? Or melted as in caramelized?– logophobeCommented Mar 22, 2016 at 22:00
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Sorry for being vague. Melted as in dissolved in heated water.– user44428Commented Mar 23, 2016 at 3:37
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I guess you could try creating a saturated sugar solution first and then cooling it quickly to help tiny crystal growth. Otherwise do the old school science trick and produce a large sugar crystal, dry it and bash it up.– MegasaurCommented Mar 23, 2016 at 11:46
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can I ask what do you want to do with the sugar once its back to its granular form?– Pork ChopCommented Mar 23, 2016 at 14:52
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2 Answers
You probably can't achieve the size and uniformity of classic granulated sugar at home, not without finding some special equipment. But if you are OK with other crystal sizes, it is very simple.
All you have to do is to search for recipes for rock candy. It is nothing but re-crystalized sugar. Also considered to be the easiest candy to make, you'll find it in many "cooking with children" books and blogs.
The one problem may be that you are not crystalizing sugar, but a combination of fruit juice and sugar. If the juice has enough acid to invert your sugar, it might not crystalize well. You'll have to try and see.
answered Mar 23, 2016 at 15:38
Imagine, if you will, a cup of Koolaid. Essentially, sugar dissolved in water. Just let it sit there in the cup. The water slowly evaporates leaving gummy residue in the cup. Basically the same result would occur if you boiled the water away (only faster). Once it dissolves, you've lost the crystal lattice forever.
Even if granulated sugar merely absorbs moisture from a humid day and becomes a solid hunk in the sugar bowl, returning it to its previous consistency is difficult. You'd need to break it apart as best you can, maybe grind it in a blender to get a granular form factor.
answered Mar 23, 2016 at 0:14
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The other challenge is microbial activity. Depending on the strength of the solution it may have a high enough water activity for an unsafe number of bacteria to breed in a sugar-rich environment before you manage to evaporate the water. Commented Mar 23, 2016 at 3:54
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I understand what is being said. I have read many discussions regarding how to stop or avoid syrups or sugar batches for caramel, fudge, etc. from crystallizing. I actually want such crystallization for my purpose but I have found no methods to intentionally induce such a thing consistently. I seek to turn a flavored syrup consisting of all-natural fruit juice and refined cane sugar into a flavored granular dry table sugar. Commented Mar 23, 2016 at 3:55
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Thank you for asking this question, I've enjoyed poking into the chemistry. Check out this article on the chemistry of candy-making. So to get a "rock candy" like output that you could then grind down, you'd need the saturated solution, then something for the crystals to cling to, utter stillness while the crystals form, and then a way to turn that crystal into powder by grinding it. acs.org/content/acs/en/education/resources/highschool/… Commented Mar 23, 2016 at 16:50