Saltwater Taffy Science Experiment

How to Demonstrate Forces and Physical Changes with Food

Dec 19, 2008 Tammy Andrew

Making saltwater taffy provides a fun and delicious way to show students how physical changes can happen.

Classroom activities involving food are an engaging way for students to learn science. The physical change that occurs when taffy changes from a liquid to a hard, sticky candy is simple to reproduce in a classroom, science lab or kitchen. Students can feel the change with their hands as they pull the mixture and see the difference in length of time spent pulling by the changes in color of the taffy. Taffy also provides easy ways to experiment further by changing its solution and seeing what happens.

Salt Water Taffy Ingredients

2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
¼ teaspoon flavoring (vanilla, peppermint extract, cinnamon oil, etc)
a few drops of food coloring (useful for identifying different batches as found under Fun Changes)

Steps to Make Taffy

Butter a large baking sheet and set to the side.
Butter the sides of a large saucepan. In the saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, water and salt.
Put the pan on a burner set to medium heat. Continue to cook without stirring to hard-ball stage, or 265 degrees F. This might take half an hour.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the margarine or butter.
Once the margarine or butter has completely melted stir in the flavoring. Then stir in food coloring if desired.
Pour solution onto the buttered baking sheet.
Cool for 15 to 20 minutes or until cool enough to hold.
Butter hands and then divide the candy into four or more pieces.
Twist and pull each piece until the color becomes creamy. This step is fun to do with a partner and will take about 10 minutes per piece.
Candy is ready if it is brittle enough to crack when tapped on a hard surface.
Cut the taffy into bite-size pieces with buttered scissors.
Pieces can then be wrapped in plastic wrap or wax paper.

Fun Changes for Taffy Variations

There are several changes that can be made to the original recipe to produce interesting variations. These variations can be done by different groups of students and then compared as a class.

Do not pull the taffy. Have students compare the consistency of this variation to the original recipe.

Leave out the corn syrup. The result is still candy and students can compare both the physical texture and the taste to the original.

Add a pinch of baking soda immediately before pouring out to cool. This should change the physical property of the taffy by adding bubbles caused by the solution reacting with the baking soda.

Recipe reference: Better Homes and Garden: New Cook Book [1989].

The copyright of the article Saltwater Taffy Science Experiment in Teacher Tips/Training is owned by Tammy Andrew. Permission to republish Saltwater Taffy Science Experiment in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Saltwater Taffy