1 00:00:20,220 --> 00:00:23,685 Jane: This is But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids from Vermont 2 00:00:23,685 --> 00:00:27,285 Public. I'm Jane Lindholm. On this show, we take questions 3 00:00:27,285 --> 00:00:30,045 from kids all over the world just like you, and we find 4 00:00:30,045 --> 00:00:33,525 interesting people to answer them. Do you have a sweet tooth? 5 00:00:33,885 --> 00:00:38,325 Do you love lollipops and sour candies? Gummies? Maybe 6 00:00:38,325 --> 00:00:41,985 chocolates, sweets, candy, lollies, whatever you call them, 7 00:00:42,045 --> 00:00:46,245 many of us find these sweet treats irresistible. And here in 8 00:00:46,245 --> 00:00:49,470 the United States, the holiday many people celebrate on October 9 00:00:49,470 --> 00:00:54,330 31, Halloween, has basically become an excuse to collect and 10 00:00:54,330 --> 00:00:57,990 eat a lot of candy. So at this time of year, when many young 11 00:00:57,990 --> 00:01:01,710 minds turn to thoughts of sweets, we thought we'd learn a 12 00:01:01,710 --> 00:01:04,890 little bit more about what candy actually is. 13 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:10,360 Craig Montgomery: Candy comes in all sorts of shapes, sizes and 14 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:15,760 textures. Usually it has a sugar base, or it's made out of sugar 15 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,880 most of the time, or different forms of sugar, like honey or 16 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:23,320 natural sugars from apples and fruits. But typically what I 17 00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:26,680 think of when I think about candies, like chocolate or 18 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:30,325 gummies or like hard candies, like lollipops and stuff like 19 00:01:30,325 --> 00:01:35,005 that. My name is Craig Montgomery, owner of Sticky here 20 00:01:35,005 --> 00:01:36,025 in the United States. 21 00:01:36,025 --> 00:01:39,505 Jane: Sticky is a candy company, so Craig is a good person to 22 00:01:39,505 --> 00:01:42,925 help answer a few of your candylicious questions. The 23 00:01:42,925 --> 00:01:46,165 definition of candy is actually a little complicated, because it 24 00:01:46,165 --> 00:01:49,345 can mean different things in different cultures. What's a 25 00:01:49,345 --> 00:01:54,190 candy to you might be considered a dessert to me, and some people 26 00:01:54,190 --> 00:01:58,930 think of chocolate as candy, but others consider chocolate a sort 27 00:01:58,930 --> 00:02:02,530 of separate category altogether. One thing, though, is for 28 00:02:02,530 --> 00:02:06,070 certain: at the heart of all candy is sugar. 29 00:02:06,550 --> 00:02:11,290 Ashton: Hi, my name is Axton from Edmonton, Canada. I'm seven 30 00:02:11,290 --> 00:02:14,875 years old, and my question is who created candy? 31 00:02:15,595 --> 00:02:18,835 Jane: Humans have always sought out sweetness, so there's no way 32 00:02:18,835 --> 00:02:23,515 to say who created the first candies. Humans found sweetness 33 00:02:23,515 --> 00:02:27,415 in natural substances like honey, maple syrup, sugar cane 34 00:02:27,415 --> 00:02:31,735 and sugar beets. And ancient cultures created many treats out 35 00:02:31,735 --> 00:02:35,995 of honey and nuts. So people have been making candy, I guess 36 00:02:35,995 --> 00:02:39,640 you could call it, for thousands of years. But the kind of candy 37 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:43,240 we think about in modern times only became possible when humans 38 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,540 developed a reliable source of sugar they could grow or 39 00:02:46,540 --> 00:02:50,140 cultivate as a crop, and then when sugar could be shipped 40 00:02:50,140 --> 00:02:53,500 around the world, that was another milestone in the candy 41 00:02:53,500 --> 00:02:57,520 story. Candy used to be something only very wealthy 42 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:01,165 people could afford to buy, but over time, sugar became much 43 00:03:01,165 --> 00:03:05,125 more readily available and a lot cheaper. And the modern candy 44 00:03:05,125 --> 00:03:09,025 industry was born. Some of the earliest candy available for 45 00:03:09,025 --> 00:03:13,465 people to purchase for fun was very hard candy. It was so hard 46 00:03:13,465 --> 00:03:17,005 it was kind of like sucking on a rock. That's the kind of candy 47 00:03:17,005 --> 00:03:20,185 Sticky, the company Craig Montgomery runs, still makes 48 00:03:20,185 --> 00:03:20,725 today. 49 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,540 Craig Montgomery: we make traditional, handmade rock 50 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:26,900 candy. A lot of people these days say this is like that candy 51 00:03:26,900 --> 00:03:31,400 my grandma used to have on our coffee table. It was pretty much 52 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:37,640 created a long time ago. Came to popularity in the UK in seaside 53 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:41,420 towns, where they would sculpt the seaside town name like 54 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:45,785 Blackpool or Brighton, inside of the candy, and sell it as sticks 55 00:03:45,785 --> 00:03:50,945 of rock. It's made up of sugar and glucose. And we put little 56 00:03:50,945 --> 00:03:56,225 pictures of different designs, like fruits or animals or 57 00:03:56,465 --> 00:03:59,945 skeletons and Frankenstein's monsters, different things like 58 00:03:59,945 --> 00:04:02,525 that, inside of the candy, and we make them a little bit 59 00:04:02,525 --> 00:04:05,165 smaller and more bite size and delicious. 60 00:04:05,525 --> 00:04:08,630 Richard: My name is Richard. I live in Los Alamos, New Mexico. 61 00:04:09,830 --> 00:04:14,510 I'm five years old, and I want to know how is candy made? 62 00:04:15,110 --> 00:04:17,630 Jane: There are lots of ways to make candy, because there are 63 00:04:17,630 --> 00:04:20,690 lots of different kinds of candy, but let's use the rock 64 00:04:20,690 --> 00:04:23,450 candy they make it Sticky as our example. 65 00:04:23,540 --> 00:04:25,940 Craig Montgomery: for us to make candy. Essentially, we're just 66 00:04:25,940 --> 00:04:33,080 glorified sugar boilers. We boil about 18 pounds of sugar and 67 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:38,060 then we add a sugar syrup, because crystal sugar wants to 68 00:04:38,060 --> 00:04:41,960 be a crystal, and it needs some sort of a doctor, like a glucose 69 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,440 which we use other companies use high fructose corn syrup, or a 70 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:50,645 tapioca, which prohibits the crystals in the sugar to 71 00:04:50,645 --> 00:04:55,385 recrystallize. And so we're able to kind of work with those where 72 00:04:55,385 --> 00:04:59,105 we'll add different colors, we cool it down until it's kind of 73 00:04:59,105 --> 00:05:03,605 like play-doh. Or clay. And then we work on a heated table that 74 00:05:03,605 --> 00:05:08,825 keeps the candy kind of squishy, malleable for us to kind of 75 00:05:09,050 --> 00:05:13,790 sculpt each element of the design in three dimensions. 76 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,680 Jane: Let's break this down. Craig starts with sugar crystals 77 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,680 and water and heats them together to make a boiling hot 78 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,580 liquid. He also adds another kind of sugar to keep those 79 00:05:24,580 --> 00:05:27,760 sugar crystals from turning back into crystals when they cool 80 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:31,780 down. You can actually make your own rock candy without that 81 00:05:31,780 --> 00:05:35,440 other type of sugar, and you'll find your finished candy looks 82 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:39,265 like, well, crystals. It has lots of little crystals attached 83 00:05:39,265 --> 00:05:42,925 to one another. But Craig and other candy makers want a hard 84 00:05:42,925 --> 00:05:46,705 candy that is smooth, so they add that other type of sugar, 85 00:05:46,765 --> 00:05:50,005 glucose, or corn syrup, for example, to help make sure it 86 00:05:50,005 --> 00:05:52,585 stays smooth as it cools down and hardens. 87 00:05:52,885 --> 00:05:56,065 Craig Montgomery: Fun fact, back in the day when they would do 88 00:05:56,065 --> 00:05:59,785 like old Western movies and the stuntmen would jump through that 89 00:05:59,830 --> 00:06:04,270 pane of glass, it was actually sugar cooked up this way because 90 00:06:04,270 --> 00:06:06,790 it is very transparent and it looks like glass, but with 91 00:06:06,790 --> 00:06:09,670 stuntman's glass, and so they could jump through a window, 92 00:06:09,670 --> 00:06:14,170 it'd have that breaking effect, but it wouldn't be stuck in 93 00:06:14,170 --> 00:06:17,710 their skin to where they'd have to be having it removed. So it 94 00:06:17,710 --> 00:06:20,710 would basically kind of turn into something like glass. 95 00:06:20,950 --> 00:06:24,055 Jane: But Craig doesn't want a thin sheet of glass. So when the 96 00:06:24,055 --> 00:06:27,595 candy is in that hot lava or play-doh stage, they take it out 97 00:06:27,595 --> 00:06:30,475 of the pot and mix in food coloring to make the candy lots 98 00:06:30,475 --> 00:06:34,435 of different colors. And then they stretch and pull it to mix 99 00:06:34,435 --> 00:06:38,275 in air bubbles and make it nice and shiny. This is when they 100 00:06:38,275 --> 00:06:41,575 start building the candy pieces with words or pictures in the 101 00:06:41,575 --> 00:06:44,875 middle. You might eventually pop one little piece of candy into 102 00:06:44,875 --> 00:06:48,160 your mouth, but when they start building the candy pictures, 103 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:52,120 they make them really big, way too big to fit in your mouth. 104 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:55,840 Craig Montgomery: As we make it, it's probably about six to eight 105 00:06:55,840 --> 00:07:00,520 inches in size, and we typically try and work in squares or 106 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:06,100 circles. So if we're creating, like, say, an apple shape, we 107 00:07:06,100 --> 00:07:09,640 start out with it round as like a cylinder, or almost like a 108 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:14,020 pipe with unstretched candy wrapped around stretched candy, 109 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:18,985 to give it kind of this, like apple skin definition. And then 110 00:07:18,985 --> 00:07:22,045 we put a little indent in the bottom, like your normal apple 111 00:07:22,045 --> 00:07:24,565 has a little apple bottom, and then we put a little bit of 112 00:07:24,565 --> 00:07:30,205 white inside of that crease to then create that shape. So for 113 00:07:30,205 --> 00:07:37,825 every shape we make, we have to put an inverse negative space in 114 00:07:37,825 --> 00:07:42,490 that, so that, because the candy always wants to kind of go flat 115 00:07:42,850 --> 00:07:43,870 because it's hot. 116 00:07:44,230 --> 00:07:47,470 Jane: So then they have a giant pipe of candy with that picture 117 00:07:47,470 --> 00:07:51,310 in the middle, but it's still way too big to eat. So quickly, 118 00:07:51,310 --> 00:07:55,510 before the candy gets hard, they pull and stretch that cylinder 119 00:07:55,510 --> 00:08:00,250 or pipe of soft sugar until it's really, really thin. I guess you 120 00:08:00,250 --> 00:08:03,475 could kind of imagine, like how you roll out dough to make a 121 00:08:03,475 --> 00:08:07,015 pretzel, or maybe if you play with play-doh until it's a thin 122 00:08:07,015 --> 00:08:11,875 snake, they're kind of doing that. The picture in the candy 123 00:08:11,875 --> 00:08:16,135 gets stretched and shrunk down as the candy gets pulled out, 124 00:08:16,435 --> 00:08:19,915 and what you're left with is a rock hard candy with little 125 00:08:19,915 --> 00:08:23,515 letters or pictures in it. You can cut that stick of candy into 126 00:08:23,515 --> 00:08:28,000 bite-sized pieces, and voila, you've got your rock. Coming up, 127 00:08:28,060 --> 00:08:30,280 more answers to your questions about candy. 128 00:08:30,060 --> 00:08:34,980 I'm Jane Lindholm, and this is But Why, a Podcast for Curious 129 00:08:34,980 --> 00:08:38,640 Kids. We are learning about delicious candy and how it's 130 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:42,240 made. Today we have another candy maker joining us? Well, 131 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:43,260 actually. two. 132 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:47,100 Steve Andrianos: I'm Steve Andrianos, owner and candy 133 00:08:47,100 --> 00:08:47,640 maker. 134 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,400 Julia Jackson: I'm Julia I'm a candy maker as well. At Steve's 135 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:51,420 place of business. 136 00:08:52,740 --> 00:08:56,925 Jane: Steve Andrianos owns Hercules Candy. The company was 137 00:08:56,925 --> 00:09:00,345 started over a hundred years ago by Steve's grandfather in East 138 00:09:00,345 --> 00:09:03,585 Syracuse, New York. Julia Jackson is one of the candy 139 00:09:03,585 --> 00:09:04,905 makers who works with Steve. 140 00:09:05,085 --> 00:09:08,865 Steve Andrianos: We basically make candy the old fashioned 141 00:09:08,865 --> 00:09:11,745 way. A lot of things are made by hand. A lot of things. We have 142 00:09:11,745 --> 00:09:16,530 some in robers, which chocolate cover things, and we make hard 143 00:09:16,530 --> 00:09:21,630 candies and clusters and sorted chocolates and ribbon candy and 144 00:09:21,750 --> 00:09:22,710 all kinds of things. 145 00:09:22,710 --> 00:09:25,890 Jane: They even use many of Steve's grandfather's recipes. 146 00:09:26,310 --> 00:09:28,470 Julia describes the process for us. 147 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:31,120 Julia Jackson: It's pretty simple, actually. You just take 148 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:35,440 sugar, corn syrup and water, and you heat it up. It's called like 149 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:38,860 a hard crack stage, which you heat it up to 310 and then we 150 00:09:38,860 --> 00:09:42,580 just manipulate it until little pieces that we want add the 151 00:09:42,580 --> 00:09:46,060 flavor that we want. Once it's heated up to the temperature we 152 00:09:46,060 --> 00:09:49,900 want, it's like this really hot, like liquid lava, and then you 153 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:53,845 pour it onto a cold surface, and eventually, over time, minute by 154 00:09:53,845 --> 00:09:57,565 minute, it gets more moldable, kind of like play-doh-ish, for 155 00:09:57,565 --> 00:10:01,645 people who don't look at it and. So it's at a point where you can 156 00:10:01,645 --> 00:10:04,825 handle it and you can cut it into the little pieces. So it's 157 00:10:04,825 --> 00:10:07,645 basically just, it's basically just cooling off. 158 00:10:08,305 --> 00:10:11,725 Jane: Some candy gets bent or folded or molded into special 159 00:10:11,725 --> 00:10:14,305 shapes that can take some practice. 160 00:10:14,485 --> 00:10:17,170 Julia Jackson: My favorites is candy canes. I love making candy 161 00:10:17,170 --> 00:10:20,470 canes. No one else likes it because it's hard and difficult. 162 00:10:20,470 --> 00:10:22,510 But I love the little challenge. 163 00:10:22,750 --> 00:10:27,790 Steve Andrianos: Ribbon candy, that's, we all, that's all made 164 00:10:27,790 --> 00:10:31,390 with our fingers, making ribbon candy because we pull it out 165 00:10:31,390 --> 00:10:35,110 really nice and thin, like a ribbon, and we cut it off, and 166 00:10:35,110 --> 00:10:39,475 then the next person takes it with their fingers. They twist 167 00:10:39,475 --> 00:10:41,275 it so it looks like a ribbon. 168 00:10:41,275 --> 00:10:43,555 Julia Jackson: And it's hard candy, so you bring up little 169 00:10:43,555 --> 00:10:44,575 pieces and crunch on it. 170 00:10:44,575 --> 00:10:49,615 Steve Andrianos: It hardens up within five to 10 seconds so you 171 00:10:49,615 --> 00:10:50,995 gotta do it fast. 172 00:10:51,055 --> 00:10:56,695 Ava: Hi. My name is Ava. I live in Syosset, and my I'm eight, 173 00:10:56,695 --> 00:11:01,255 and my question is, why is candy so sweet? I'm asking this 174 00:11:01,300 --> 00:11:05,260 because it's Halloween. When I recorded this. 175 00:11:05,500 --> 00:11:08,260 Steve Andrianos: most candies made with corn syrup, which is 176 00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:13,660 sugar, yeah, and then more sugar. So basically it's just... 177 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:14,800 Julia Jackson: A sugar, sugar.... 178 00:11:16,540 --> 00:11:17,500 Steve Andrianos: Sugar concoction. 179 00:11:17,540 --> 00:11:24,320 Meera: Yeah. My name is Meera. I'm three years old. I live in 180 00:11:24,740 --> 00:11:31,880 Cary, North Carolina. And my question is how are gummies 181 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:32,420 made? 182 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:36,440 Steve Andrianos: Gummies and jelly beans are made starch 183 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:37,580 casting, they call it. 184 00:11:37,460 --> 00:11:40,789 Jane: Starch casting is the method for making a mold for the 185 00:11:40,850 --> 00:11:44,611 shape of a gummy so you don't have to try to get a gummy bear 186 00:11:44,673 --> 00:11:48,187 out of a tricky silicone or metal mold. You just push the 187 00:11:48,248 --> 00:11:51,701 shape you want to make into cornstarch, which is a nice, 188 00:11:51,762 --> 00:11:55,646 smooth edible powder. The candy itself is heated up liquid made 189 00:11:55,708 --> 00:11:59,099 from sugar and water and flavorings and some gelatin or 190 00:11:59,161 --> 00:12:02,675 pectin that gives the gummy a nice gummy texture. Gelatin 191 00:12:02,736 --> 00:12:06,559 contains proteins that will hold the little sugar molecules in 192 00:12:06,620 --> 00:12:10,319 suspension. So you pour that nice hot mixture into the molds 193 00:12:10,381 --> 00:12:14,327 you made out of cornstarch, let them cool down and harden into a 194 00:12:14,388 --> 00:12:18,149 gummy texture. And then when they're all cooled down, you can 195 00:12:18,211 --> 00:12:22,280 just take them out and let that powder be used for something else. 196 00:12:23,050 --> 00:12:27,970 Knox: Hi. My name is Knox. I'm six years old. My question is, 197 00:12:28,390 --> 00:12:33,790 how does Candy Corn get made? 198 00:12:34,090 --> 00:12:37,090 Jane: Candy Corn are tri colored, triangle shaped candy 199 00:12:37,090 --> 00:12:40,390 you often see around Halloween. Their shapes are made through 200 00:12:40,390 --> 00:12:43,930 starch casting as well. Candy Corn includes an ingredient 201 00:12:43,930 --> 00:12:47,410 called mallowcreme, which gives it that kind of pasty feeling 202 00:12:47,410 --> 00:12:51,655 and color. Candy Corn actually first appeared in the 1880s in 203 00:12:51,655 --> 00:12:54,895 Philadelphia, and back then it was called chicken feed! 204 00:12:55,375 --> 00:12:59,575 Oliver: Hi, my name is Oliver, and I'm six years old, and I 205 00:12:59,575 --> 00:13:05,035 live in Millersburg, Ohio, and my question is, why does hard 206 00:13:05,035 --> 00:13:06,775 candy melt in your mouth? 207 00:13:07,435 --> 00:13:10,240 Stella: Hello. My name is Stella. I'm seven years old. I 208 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:13,960 live in Long Valley, New Jersey. And my question is, why does 209 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:15,880 cotton candy dissolve when it's wet? 210 00:13:16,420 --> 00:13:18,760 Steve Andrianos: That's just like take, if you just took a 211 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:23,740 tablespoon of sugar and put it in a cup of water, it will just 212 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:27,520 dissolve, dissolve away. So the same effect will happen in your 213 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:29,920 mouth. Or when the hard candy, it will just dissolve. 214 00:13:30,220 --> 00:13:33,985 Julia Jackson: Yes, bigger likes warm, wet areas, yeah, it just 215 00:13:33,985 --> 00:13:35,785 dissolves, just the sugar. 216 00:13:35,965 --> 00:13:38,245 Jane: What's happening in your mouth when you put a piece of 217 00:13:38,245 --> 00:13:41,845 hard candy in there is that saliva breaks down the bonds 218 00:13:41,845 --> 00:13:45,445 between the sugar molecules and they dissolve. Okay, a few more 219 00:13:45,445 --> 00:13:46,465 candy questions. 220 00:13:46,705 --> 00:13:50,425 Evan: My name is Evan. I'm almost five years old, and my 221 00:13:50,425 --> 00:13:52,645 question is, what are Nerds? 222 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:56,140 Jane: If you're unfamiliar with Nerds, they're tiny, colorful 223 00:13:56,140 --> 00:14:00,040 pieces of candy that come in small boxes, usually one flavor 224 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:02,800 on one side of the box and a second flavor on the other side, 225 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:05,560 so you can eat them one at a time or mix the flavors, 226 00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:09,460 whatever you prefer. Nerds are made from a sugar crystal that 227 00:14:09,460 --> 00:14:13,360 is coated with multiple layers of liquid corn syrup. It then 228 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:17,485 gets spun in a pan so that more layers grow on it. They then 229 00:14:17,485 --> 00:14:20,965 take on all the odd shapes you expect from nerds, and they get 230 00:14:20,965 --> 00:14:25,765 colored. If you like, Nerds Ropes and Nerds gummy clusters, 231 00:14:25,885 --> 00:14:29,485 that's just gummy candy with a lot of Nerds spread onto it. 232 00:14:29,905 --> 00:14:33,445 Sometimes the nerds are stuck to a small gummy ball. For ropes, 233 00:14:33,445 --> 00:14:36,445 they're stuck to a longer piece of gummy... How do they even 234 00:14:36,445 --> 00:14:37,645 come up with these things? 235 00:14:38,305 --> 00:14:41,530 Daisy: My name is Daisy, and I'm four and a half years old, and 236 00:14:41,530 --> 00:14:47,770 I'm from Florida. I want to know why popping candy pops in your 237 00:14:47,770 --> 00:14:48,550 mouth. 238 00:14:48,790 --> 00:14:52,930 Will: Hi, my name is Will. I'm eight years old. I live in 239 00:14:52,930 --> 00:14:57,430 Richmond, Virginia, and my question is, how do Pop Rocks 240 00:14:57,430 --> 00:14:58,030 pop? 241 00:14:58,870 --> 00:15:02,215 Jane: Have you ever heard a popping candy like Pop Rocks? 242 00:15:02,575 --> 00:15:05,875 That's a candy that creates a fizzy, popping sensation when 243 00:15:05,875 --> 00:15:09,115 you put it on your tongue. I actually have a packet right 244 00:15:09,115 --> 00:15:13,555 here with me. I'm going to eat some and see if you can hear 245 00:15:13,555 --> 00:15:14,215 them popping. 246 00:15:24,700 --> 00:15:29,020 They're definitely fizzing on my tongue. It's pretty cool. So how 247 00:15:29,020 --> 00:15:32,260 does this actually work? Well, Pop Rocks are made from the same 248 00:15:32,260 --> 00:15:36,100 thing as hard candy: sugar, corn syrup, water and flavoring all 249 00:15:36,100 --> 00:15:40,000 heated up, so the candy all melts. But popping candy is then 250 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:44,020 infused with carbon dioxide, which is trapped in the cooling 251 00:15:44,020 --> 00:15:47,965 candy in lots of little bubbles. In fact, if you look closely, 252 00:15:47,965 --> 00:15:50,365 you can probably even see the bubbles, though you might need a 253 00:15:50,365 --> 00:15:53,665 magnifying glass. When you put the candy in your mouth, the 254 00:15:53,665 --> 00:15:57,385 sugar dissolves and the carbon dioxide bubbles pop and the gas 255 00:15:57,385 --> 00:16:01,165 is released. Don't worry, it's perfectly safe... and pretty 256 00:16:01,165 --> 00:16:01,525 cool. 257 00:16:02,605 --> 00:16:05,425 Jordi: My name is Jordi. I'm from Somerville, Massachusetts. 258 00:16:05,785 --> 00:16:11,845 I'm six years and my question is, why can't we eat candy all 259 00:16:11,845 --> 00:16:12,445 day? 260 00:16:13,140 --> 00:16:16,320 Jane: I like the way you asked this question, Jordi, why can't 261 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:21,180 we eat candy all day? Most of the experts in human nutrition, 262 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,780 that's the study of food and the nutrients in food, agree that 263 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,780 occasional candy is fine if you're otherwise feeding your 264 00:16:27,780 --> 00:16:31,440 body all of the other things it needs to function. But if you're 265 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:34,800 filling up on a lot of candy, your body isn't getting all the 266 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:38,865 stuff it needs, and too much sugar in your body isn't great. 267 00:16:39,285 --> 00:16:42,225 A few years ago, we talked with a nutritionist named Wesley 268 00:16:42,225 --> 00:16:45,525 Delbridge about why eating too much sugar isn't such a good 269 00:16:45,525 --> 00:16:47,325 idea. Here's what he told us. 270 00:16:48,140 --> 00:16:51,140 Wesley Delbridge: It's because, if you're only eating sugar, 271 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:56,120 like let's let's call sugar sweetened beverages like soda or 272 00:16:56,120 --> 00:17:01,520 candy, all it has is sugar, and so when you eat that, your body 273 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:05,900 absorbs it very quickly, and your blood sugar jumps up, and 274 00:17:05,900 --> 00:17:09,020 you get this shot of energy, and you feel good, and maybe you're 275 00:17:09,020 --> 00:17:13,025 a little hyper, but then the body gets rid of that energy 276 00:17:13,025 --> 00:17:17,465 very quickly. And then when we get what we call low blood 277 00:17:17,465 --> 00:17:20,465 sugar, and that's where you feel really tired and really 278 00:17:20,465 --> 00:17:23,645 sluggish, and you don't want to do anything, and you can't 279 00:17:23,645 --> 00:17:27,905 concentrate. And so even though you're getting that energy, 280 00:17:27,965 --> 00:17:32,405 there's nothing else with it. And so your body gets it, 281 00:17:32,645 --> 00:17:35,990 absorbs it, feel good, and then all of a sudden you feel really 282 00:17:35,990 --> 00:17:39,830 bad. And so that's why we want to have a healthy, balanced diet 283 00:17:39,950 --> 00:17:43,730 with, you know, those "sometimes foods," but if you only eat high 284 00:17:43,730 --> 00:17:47,030 sugar items, you're not going to feel good at all. You're not 285 00:17:47,030 --> 00:17:50,030 going to get the nutrients that you need. You're not going to be 286 00:17:50,030 --> 00:17:53,090 able to concentrate in school. You're not going to be able to 287 00:17:53,090 --> 00:17:57,170 do well in sports or play on the playground. You're not going to 288 00:17:57,170 --> 00:18:00,395 feel good even though the things that you're eating taste good. 289 00:18:00,815 --> 00:18:05,735 Nora: My name is Nora, and I'm five, and I live in Grand 290 00:18:05,975 --> 00:18:10,115 Rapids, Michigan, and my question is, why is candy be bad 291 00:18:10,115 --> 00:18:10,955 for your teeth? 292 00:18:11,380 --> 00:18:14,560 Jane: Yeah, sugar isn't great for your teeth, either. Certain 293 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:18,580 bacteria love sugar, and they create something called acid in 294 00:18:18,580 --> 00:18:22,720 your mouth when you eat it. Acid makes holes or cavities on the 295 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,780 enamel, the outer coating on your teeth. That's why it's 296 00:18:25,780 --> 00:18:28,900 important to brush those germs away after you have a treat. 297 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,740 Okay, that's it for this episode. Thanks so much to Craig 298 00:18:32,740 --> 00:18:36,325 Montgomery at Sticky and Steve Andrianos and Julia Jackson at 299 00:18:36,325 --> 00:18:40,225 Hercules Candies. As always, if you have a question about 300 00:18:40,285 --> 00:18:44,725 anything, send it to us. We get lots of questions, and we can't 301 00:18:44,725 --> 00:18:48,445 answer all of them. But even if we can't answer your question, 302 00:18:48,505 --> 00:18:51,025 we love to hear what's on your mind and what you're curious 303 00:18:51,085 --> 00:18:54,505 about. You can have an adult help you record you asking a 304 00:18:54,505 --> 00:18:58,090 question using a free app on a smartphone or tablet, then have 305 00:18:58,090 --> 00:19:03,430 your adult send the file to questions@butwhykids.org if you 306 00:19:03,430 --> 00:19:06,430 like our show, please leave us a review or some stars on whatever 307 00:19:06,430 --> 00:19:09,490 platform you use to listen. It helps other kids and families 308 00:19:09,490 --> 00:19:13,270 discover us. Our show is produced by Sarah Baik, Melody 309 00:19:13,270 --> 00:19:16,930 Bodette and me, Jane Lindholm at Vermont Public and distributed 310 00:19:16,930 --> 00:19:21,055 by PRX. Our video producer is Joey Palumbo, and our theme 311 00:19:21,055 --> 00:19:24,835 music is composed by Luke Reynolds. We'll be back in two 312 00:19:24,835 --> 00:19:29,515 weeks with an all new episode. Until then, stay curious.