Marvelous Maple Candy!

Do you like maple syrup on your pancakes or waffles? Then try this candy, which is sometimes called "Jack Wax" (although that name doesn't make it sound very tasty!). You'll heat the syrup, then pour it directly onto snow or ice, forming a taffy that can be formed into fun shapes. This recipe works best if you have fresh snow available, but crushed ice is OK, too. A couple of warnings - be very careful with the hot syrup, as it can burn you. Also, if you have braces or other tooth problems, maybe you shouldn't try this very sticky candy (check with an adult first).

What you'll need:
1 cup maple syrup (genuine syrup, not the artificial kind)
Large saucepan
Spoon
Fork
Small juice glass
Large bowl
Stove
Candy thermometer (optional)
Water
Enough snow or crushed ice to fill the bowl

Put the snow or ice into the large bowl. Fill the small glass about 3/4 full with water. Pour the maple syrup into the saucepan and heat to boiling. Once the syrup starts to foam, reduce the heat to low. Keep stirring. In the beginning, the syrup will create a LOT of foam as the water boils off. Be sure that it doesn't boil over onto the stove - remove it from the heat for a few minutes if necessary.

While the syrup is heating, you should test it by letting a drop fall from the spoon into the water in the juice glass. You'll notice that, at first, the drop loses its shape right away, but as the syrup gets hotter, it forms little balls that fall to the bottom. And these balls get tighter as the temperature goes up. Candymakers call these the thread stage, the soft-ball stage, and the hard-ball stage.

You'll need to keep heating for at least 10-15 minutes. If you're using a candy thermometer, you can stop when the syrup reaches 240^oF; this is in the soft-ball stage. If you don't have a thermometer, uses the water test described above. Then pour a little of the syrup over the snow or ice in a ribbon. It will harden and cool really fast. Use a fork to pick it up. If it is soft but stretchy, then the syrup is at the right temperature, and you should pour most of it over the snow. If the syrup stays mushy even when cooled, heat it a little longer. You can eat this candy mixed with the snow or ice, or save it for later. If you're saving it, put it in the refrigerator.

Pouring the syrup onto ice cools it quickly, and the solid candy is smooth and shiny, not bumpy like the rock candy was. The crystals in rock candy take time to grow. When the liquid is poured onto snow or ice, there is no time for the crystals to even get started, so the solid is smooth.