Chem is Cool: Xylitol Gum and Candy

For more information about how sugar is making its way into many of the foods you eat (and some that you least expect) check out this video!

Some fun facts about candy from the American Chemical Society are

• Hard candy is technically a glass — so much so that it is sometimes used to make the “bottle” that gets broken over someone’s head in a fight scene.

• The same chemical that makes grapefruit taste sour — citric acid — is in sour-tasting candy.

• Peppermint oil comes from a plant, and some research shows that candies flavored with it can help people concentrate better.

• Ever wonder how they get liquefied cherries into a chocolate-covered cherry without leaving an injection hole? The candy actually starts with a hard cherry center that slowly softens after the chocolate is applied, thanks to a chemical called invertase that’s added to the recipe.

• Cotton candy is almost pure sugar that has been melted and then spun. 

• Gummies contain flavor, sugar and a seaweed chemical called carrageenan, which makes them chewy.

• Licorice contains a smelly compound that’s found in a spice called anise.

Mrs. Woodward's favorite non-crystalline candy is the cow tale.  Tell me what your favorite candy is in the comments!

If you'd like to submit your Chem is Cool assignment online, you can do so by clicking on the following link: Chem is Cool: Xylitol Gum and Candy.