Candy canes are a popular Christmas candy. They usually have a
hook
shape and peppermint flavor. While they may look simple to make,
they aren’t. It
takes many steps to turn large batches of sugary goop into these
striped treats.
To make candy canes, candy makers first cook sugar, water, and
corn syrup.
This mixture creates large piles of sugary goop. It can weigh
over one hundred
pounds! For candy canes with red stripes, they add red food
coloring to a second
mixture. Then, the goop is put onto a table to rest and flatten
into sheets. It cools
down but remains hot and elastic. This is important because the
goop must be
stretchy and flexible for the next step.
The second step is to flavor the goop. While peppermint is most
popular, some
candy makers use strawberry and blueberry flavors. But the
flavoring will not mix
with the goop on its own. Candy makers use a special ingredient
called starch to
combine them. Starch binds ingredients, helping them stick
together. The flavoring
and starch create a powdery mixture, which is sprinkled on top
of the gooey sheets.
Last, a machine folds the goop over and over. That spreads the
flavor evenly.
After flavoring, the goop must have the right color and shape.
First, a machine
with metal arms stretches it. The stretching makes it fluffy and
white. Then, rollers
shape the white goop into a log the size of a tree trunk. The
red goop is pulled by
hand into thin strips. These strips are stretched around the
white log to add a red
stripe. Next, two big wheels squeeze the candy from a tree trunk
down to a narrow
rope. The rope travels over two belts that move in opposite
directions. These belts
twist the rope to create a swirl. Last, machines lop off pieces
of the rope to cut
them into smaller rods.
Making Candy Canes
At this point, the process isn’t done.
The rods are wrapped in plastic. Then, a
machine gives them a quick blast of heat.
The heat shrinks the plastic and makes the
candy flexible. Last, the rods are pushed
around a post. That gives them a quick
bend. The bend turns them into candy
canes.
Lexile: 810L Word Count: 370
13 ©Kristine Nannini www.youngteacherlove.com
The sugary goop with red food coloring added
1.) What does elastic mean as it’s used in the text? Which words
or phrases from the text help you understand the meaning? RI.4
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2.) What does binds mean as it’s used in the text? Which words
or phrases from the text help you understand the meaning? RI.4
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3.) What does lop mean as it’s used in the text? Which words or
phrases from the text help you understand the meaning? RI.4
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4.) What is the text structure of Making Candy Canes (compare
and contrast, sequence, problem and solution, cause and effect, or
description)? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
RI.5
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Name: ______________________
Complete these questions after your second read. Use evidence
from the text to support your answers.
25 ©Kristine Nannini www.youngteacherlove.com