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Rock candy (nabat): photo of the dish
Illustrative photo: Dietmar Rabich — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Snacks & baking

Rock candy (nabat)

Large translucent sugar crystals, slowly grown in a saturated syrup and often flavored with saffron or cardamom. In Iran it is nibbled at the end of a meal, with tea, or placed on the tongue to sweeten a hot drink.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

Spices & seasoning

Optional extras

Instructions

  1. Heat the water in a saucepan and add the sugar in a steady stream, stirring until fully dissolved.
  2. Add the saffron (steeped for 5 minutes in a spoonful of hot water) and the cardamom, then bring to a gentle simmer without boiling hard.
  3. Cook the syrup to 120 °C on a thermometer, or until a drop poured into a glass of cold water forms a hard ball.
  4. Pour the syrup into a clean jar, then suspend the skewer or cotton thread in the center, held in place by a pencil laid across the top.
  5. Loosely cover with paper and let it crystallize for 7 to 10 days in a quiet spot, without moving it.
  6. Break off the crystals, rinse them quickly under cold water, and let them dry overnight on a rack before storing in an airtight box.

Variations and tips

Rose version. Replace the saffron with 1 tbsp rose water and a few dried rose petals for a more floral flavor.

Using what's easy to find. Saffron and orange blossom water are sold in most supermarkets; cardamom can be replaced with a pinch of cinnamon.

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Original Ecomely recipe.