The Big Bang Theory

by Chewy

      When I was young, we had what I will describe as “fizzy sticks”. They were a lump of hard candy on the end of a plastic stick and when you stirred your Kool-Aid or juice with it, you magically carbonated your beverage with tiny bubbles. I am sure some child, somewhere, wondered what would happen if you skipped the liquids and applied directly to the tongue. I have no doubt this was the precursor to the Poprock, that iconic confection from the 70’s.

     General Foods patented the concept in 1956 . Research chemist William A. Mitchell receives credit for this invention that spent the next 20 years in the laboratory probably as a “gag” sweet. However, in 1975, this cracked up candy was finally marketed but ended it’s run with General Foods in 1983 due to marketplace malaise  and short shelf life. Later the product license changed hands and is currently distributed by Pop Rocks Inc (Atlanta, GA) and Zeta Espacial S.A. (Barcelona-Spain). If you have an overwhelming desire to know ALL the details, there is a book available, Pop Rocks: The Inside Story of America’s Revolutionary Candy by Dr. Marvin J. Rudolph. Who would read this? My son-in-law who once read a  book on salt.

     So how are these busting bits made and why do they work? You start with your basic hot sugary hard candy, boiling the mixture until all the water has been dissipated. This leaves you with a pure sugary syrup at a temperature of lava level. Letting it cool at this point results in plain old hard candy. But if you mix this hot mixture with carbon dioxide gas at 600 psi (pounds per square inch), tiny 600 psi carbon dioxide bubbles form in the candy.  As the candy cools, it shatters leaving behind pieces with trapped tiny bubbles. Imagine being in the factory on combustible candy day. Valium for everybody. When saliva comes in contact, the candy pieces break and dissolve releasing the carbon dioxide from the tiny bubbles. What ensues is a furious fireworks display in your mouth with popping and sizzling.

     What these little beauties will NOT do is cause a person’s stomach to explode. This urban legend  is still around and has been perpetuated in many forms of media and fiction. Extensively tested for safety, General Foods fought an uphill battle, even going so far as to send letters to school principles, advertisements in major publications and sending an “ambassador of pop” abroad to explain the workings of the product. MythBusters took on the long standing gossip and concluded that it was impossible to cause a stomach explosion even using pounds of the material. You would think this would settle the issue but I bet you know someone who is still fomenting this fable that ACTUALLY happened to their neighbors second cousin’s brother-in-law’s nephew on the maternal side.

     This “blast from the past” confection has seen a resurgence internationally, re-flooding the market since 2000 with a more advanced and innovative product. For those who would like to try their hand at making Poprocks, a recipe is to follow.