Why does popping candy "pop"? Childhood questions solved!

For many people, one of the most unforgettable memories of childhood is the various delicious snacks. In my spare time, I went to the store with my friends to buy snacks of various flavors, share them with each other, and taste them together. It was so happy.

As we grow older, some childhood snacks are no longer produced and sold, and some can only be found in small shops on the streets, but there are always some snacks that are still loved by people after many years and are hard to forget. Popping candy is one of them.

Source: A shopping website

I still remember the first time I ate popping candy, the crackling "jumping" feeling on my tongue made me feel as surprised as "Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden". Popping candy can really "jump"! Why is this so?

Source: Internet

1History of the invention of popping candy

Before explaining why popping candy pops, let's first understand how it was invented.

The invention of popping candy was actually an accident. In 1956, William A. Mitchell, a research scientist at General Foods Corporation, originally planned to make an "instant cola candy" that would pop bubbles when placed in water.

As a result, they didn’t make instant cola, but they accidentally discovered “pop candy”, a snack that can produce a jumping feeling in the mouth.

However, popping candy was not immediately known to the public at that time. After applying for a patent for the product formula, Mitchell went through 20 years of in-depth research and development. It was not until 1976 that popping candy was officially put on the market as a candy snack. Since then, popping candy has become popular around the world and has become one of the favorite snacks of many people.

Source: A shopping website

The English name of popping candy is Pop Rocks. Since its invention, it has been developed and sold in many countries including the United States, Spain, and South Korea. In 1985, South Korea's GF Co., Ltd. purchased the technology and production equipment of popping candy and introduced it to Asia for the first time.

The development story of popping candy was also written into a book called "Pop Rocks: The Inside Story of America's Revolutionary Candy", which records in detail the invention and development story of popping candy. Those who are interested can pay attention to it.

Source: Wikipedia

2Why does popping candy pop?

The "jumping" characteristics of popping candy are affected by its production process.

To make popping candy, you first need to mix the candy ingredients (including sucrose, corn syrup, spices, water, etc.) in proportion, melt them at high temperature and heat them into boiling hot syrup. If the hot syrup is cooled directly, it will become ordinary hard candy. The key to making popping candy from syrup is the "high-pressure environment" .

Source: Baidu Encyclopedia

After the hot syrup is made, before it cools down, it is placed in a high-pressure carbon dioxide environment , which is about 50 times the standard atmospheric pressure.

Next, the hot syrup is stirred thoroughly so that carbon dioxide bubbles will be embedded in the syrup. After stirring, the syrup is cooled and solidified to return to normal pressure.

In the process of returning to normal pressure, the air pressure and temperature gradually decrease, the carbon dioxide bubbles will burst, and the cooled sugar will break into many small pieces, but each small piece still has many unbroken small bubbles, and some carbon dioxide gas is still sealed in the bubbles, and the air pressure is higher than the standard atmospheric pressure.

Source: thenakedscientists.com

When observed under a microscope, you can see obvious small bubble structures in the popping candy. Most of the bubbles are very small, with diameters ranging from 225 to 350 microns.

When we eat popping candy, the sugar coating is dissolved by the moisture in the saliva, the outer wall of the bubble structure is destroyed, the carbon dioxide gas trapped inside is released, and the internal pressure of the bubble suddenly drops, causing the candy to crack and bounce, creating a sizzling "bouncing feeling".

Source: Nancy Foote

3 Will eating popsicles explode your stomach?

Popping candy is a popular snack that is one of the most precious childhood memories of many people born in the 1980s and 1990s. But did you know that the promotion of popping candy was not smooth sailing? Not long after it was launched on the market, rumors spread that "eating popping candy will cause the stomach to explode", causing panic among the public.

Rumor has it that the bubbles in popping candy are caused by acid-base neutralization. At the time, a TV commercial showed a boy eating popping candy and cola at the same time and suddenly falling down.

General Foods was extremely helpless at the time and had to fight this groundless rumor through writing letters, making public statements, and placing advertisements.

Why is this rumor? First of all, the principle of popping candy producing bubbles is not acid-base neutralization, but physical change; secondly, there is very little carbon dioxide gas in popping candy, which has little impact on the human body. Most of this gas is released from the mouth when eating, and rarely enters the stomach, so there is no need to worry about the gas bursting the stomach.

Source: Wikipedia

If you eat popping candy and cola at the same time, cola will dissolve the sugar coating of the popping candy and release some gas. In addition, cola itself is a carbonated beverage and contains carbon dioxide. Eating both at the same time will only release more carbon dioxide, which may cause the eater to burp frequently, but it is far from causing the stomach to burst.

In general, the special taste of popping candy makes it stand out from a series of childhood snacks, and it is still remembered by people today. The wonderful experience of bubbles bursting and breaking in the mouth also adds a lot of fun to our childhood memories.