What is the science behind hokey pokey?

The Science Behind it: When the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) is added to the mixture it forms carbon dioxide bubbles and this causes the mixture to foam up. The sugary syrup then sets around the bubbles creating the foam like consistency of the Hokey Pokey.

What is the chemical reaction when making honeycomb?

Honeycomb (cinder toffee) is made using a thermal decomposition reaction to produce the gas bubbles. Sodium hydrogen carbonate (also known as sodium bicarbonate or bicarbonate of soda) has the chemical formula NaHCO3.

Why is honeycomb full of bubbles?

The bicarbonate of soda breaks down with heat to release carbon dioxide gas. The gas causes the sugar and syrup mixture to froth and bubble. The bubbles become trapped in the mixture where they set as the mixture cools.

What happens when you add baking soda to hot sugar?

The sodium bicarbonate reacts when you add it to the hot sugar syrup. This type of reaction is known as a thermal decomposition reaction which means that the heat of the solution breaks the chemical bonds within the chemical compound.

What is hokey pokey made of?

Hokey pokey is a flavour of ice cream in New Zealand, consisting of plain vanilla ice cream with small, solid lumps of honeycomb toffee.

Why does bicarbonate of soda make honeycomb?

The heat causes the bicarbonate of soda (NaHCO3) to break down and release the gas, carbon dioxide (CO2). The gas gets trapped within the sugar, this results in the bubbles in your honeycomb.

How do we get honeycomb?

Honeycomb is a natural product made by honey bees to store honey and pollen or house their larvae. It consists of a series of hexagonal cells constructed from beeswax which generally contain raw honey.

How do I fix a failed honeycomb?

It might be possible to dissolve the candy, and then boil it down again, foaming it with fresh baking soda when it hits the proper stage.

Does sugar affect baking soda?

White sugar, conversely, would fail to react with the baking soda, but after being properly creamed, it’d still aerate the dough well enough to provide some lift. When recipes call for all white or all brown sugar, it’s to achieve a specific effect.

Why is my Hokey Pokey chewy?

Honeycomb, also referred to as cinder toffee, Hokey Pokey, Sponge Candy and Sea Foam is a light, airy sweet made from a sugar syrup and bicarbonate of soda / baking soda. The honeycomb structure is caused by the bicarbonate of soda reacting with the hot sugar syrup and creating pockets of air.

What causes the bubbles in a honeycomb mix?

Because the sugar mix is so hot, it gets working with the bicarbonate of soda straight away. The heat from the sugar mix breaks down the bicarb, forcing it to release carbon dioxide (a kind of gas) immediately. This gas is what causes the bubbles in honeycomb, and the bubbles make…

Why is my Hokey Pokey grainy in water?

You can also drop a little of the hot sugar into a glass of cold water and you will see that it forms a brittle thread when it goes into the water. The mixture should not be stirred once it is boiling as this can cause the dissolved sugar to crystallize again and the Hokey Pokey will be grainy.

What should the temperature be for making Hokey Pokey?

Also the baking sheet that you pour the hot mixture onto can heat up, so should be handled with oven gloves until the candy has cooled sufficiently. The sugar mixture should be boiled to 150-154c/300-310F. This is known as the “hard crack” stage as the sugar will form strands that crack when pressed.

How do you make honeycomb with bicarbonate of soda?

Add your bicarbonate of soda and stir it in. You’ll see the mix transform instantly into a puffy mass. Once it’s all stirred in, get a grown-up to transfer your honeycomb mix to the greaseproof paper quickly. TIP: This will make pieces of about 1cm or so in depth.