Sugar Crystals for Decoration

This is a recipe — actually, a procedure — I often use to demonstrate to my students how easy it is for sugar crystals to form whenever a foreign material is introduced to sugar syrup. In most cases, this is the opposite of what we want when boiling sugar; we usually take precautions to prevent recrystallization. When it is done intentionally, as in this recipe, it is known as controlled recrystallization. Other examples of recipes involving controlled recrystallization are Fo