Sugar glass (also called candy glass, edible glass, and breakaway glass) is a brittle transparent form of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

that looks like glass. It can be formed into a sheet that looks like flat glass or an object, such as a bottle or drinking glass.

Description

Sugar glass is made by dissolving sugar in water and heating it to at least the " hard crack" stage (approx. 150 °C / 300 °F) in the

candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...

making process. Glucose or

corn syrup Corn syrup is a food syrup which is made from the starch of corn (called maize in many countries) and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to softe ...

is used to prevent the sugar from recrystallizing, by getting in the way of the sugar molecules forming crystals. Cream of tartar also helps by turning the sugar into glucose and

fructose Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a Ketose, ketonic monosaccharide, simple sugar found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galacto ...

. Because sugar glass is hygroscopic, it must be used soon after preparation, or it will soften and lose its brittle quality. Sugar glass has been used to simulate glass in movies, photographs, plays and professional wrestling.

Other uses

Sugar glass is also used to make

sugar sculpture Sugar sculpture is the art of producing artistic centerpieces entirely composed of sugar and sugar derivatives. These were very popular at grand feasts from the Renaissance until at least the 18th century, and sometimes made by famous artists. ...

s or other forms of edible art. Sugar glass was used as a prop for

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

in the AMC TV series ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...

''. Actor Aaron Paul would eat it on set.

References

{{Sugar Amorphous solids Sugar confectionery Glass types Stunts