Homemade Pop Rocks

Making homemade Pop Rocks is a fun (but slightly tricky) kitchen chemistry experiment! The iconic “popping” sensation comes from pressurized carbon dioxide (CO₂) trapped in hardened sugar. While true Pop Rocks require specialized equipment to safely pressurize and cool the mixture with CO₂ gas, you can make a simplified, homemade version that has some fizz and crackle.

Here’s a DIY Pop Rocks-style candy you can make at home — it won’t be exactly like commercial Pop Rocks, but it’s still a fun science-meets-candy project.

🎇 Homemade “Pop Rocks”-Style Candy (Fizzy Candy)

🍭 Ingredients:

2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp citric acid (for fizz & sourness)
1/8 tsp baking soda (again, for fizz — reacts with citric acid)
Food coloring (optional)
Flavoring extract (like raspberry, cherry, etc.)
Candy thermometer

🧪 Optional for light popping:

A few crushed effervescent tablets (like Vitamin C fizzy tablets or antacid tabs) — for a crackle when they dissolve
Carbonated sugar crystals (can sometimes be bought online)

🔥 Instructions:

Prep everything first:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease it.
- Set up your flavoring, coloring, baking soda, and citric acid so they’re ready to add quickly.
Cook the sugar:
- In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and water.
- Heat over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
- Clip on the candy thermometer and cook the mixture until it reaches 300°F (hard crack stage).
Add ingredients quickly:
- Remove from heat immediately.
- Stir in flavoring, food coloring, baking soda, and citric acid — it will fizz a little.
- Quickly pour onto the prepared baking sheet and let it cool completely.
Crack into pieces:
- Once hardened, break the candy into small crystals or shards.
- For extra “fizz”, you can crush and dust the candy lightly with more citric acid + baking soda mixture.

🧊 Optional CO₂ Addition (Advanced & Dangerous – Not for kids):

True Pop Rocks are made by pressurizing the hot candy mixture with carbon dioxide gas (~600 psi), which gets trapped in the sugar. This isn’t safely possible at home unless you have:

A CO₂ tank
A pressure chamber rated for high PSI
Safety gear and experience with pressure vessels

Because of the danger, this is not recommended for home kitchens.

🍬 Final Notes:

These homemade candies will fizz and crackle a little on your tongue (from citric acid + baking soda), but not explode like store-bought Pop Rocks.
Store them in an airtight container in a dry place to prevent humidity from ruining the texture.