Rock Candy

Ingredients:
4 cups of granulated sugar
2 cups filtered water

Dissolve sugar in water. Put the syrup in a tall glass. Dip a length of cotton cooking string into the mixture that’s just a bit shorter than the length of the glass. Make sure the string is saturated. Remove and let the string dry completely. Resubmerge into the sugar water, weighing the end down with a fishing weight, a washer or something equally heavy to keep the string straight. Tie the top end to a pencil that rests on the lip of the glass so that it hangs in gentle suspension in the sweet drink.

Alternatively, pour the liquid in a bowl and secure a piece of parchment over the rim with a rubber band, making sure the parchment is taut. Poke pre-sugar-saturated- and dried-toothpicks through the parchment so that they are partially submerged in the sugar water. Let sit for at least 7 days.

Variation: Replace the 2 cups of water with coffee and produce java-infused rocks.