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I need to make cubes of sugar that are 1 inch cubes and cool them down enough to hold their shape and support weight as quickly as possible. What techniques can I use to cool the cubes, and how long will they take to cool down?

EDIT:

These are being made in an aluminum mold that I did not build. They are made from plain white sugar and about 6 dozen will be made. There are enough molds to make them all at once. They are being used to prop raise a large thin cake off of a table.

Nick Larsen
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  • We can't solve thermodynamics questions without knowing the materials being used and their size/thickness/etc. (and um ... I didn't do so well in that class, anyway) – Joe Jul 23 '10 at 21:20
  • how much weight do they need to hold? Because 1 inch cubes won't hold very much. also, how many are we talking? (matters because of amount of heat we are trying to cancel out) – sarge_smith Jul 23 '10 at 22:56
  • comments addressed in edit – Nick Larsen Jul 24 '10 at 00:21

2 Answers2

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How exactly are you making them? This might affect the answer.

I assume you're using some sort of mold. If that's the case, plunge the mold into an ice bath, but don't completely submerge it. Assuming your mold is metal (molten sugar is hot!) they will cool rather rapidly although I can't give you an exact time.

In general, an ice bath is the way to go for rapid cooling. You could get it a little cooler by adding a generous dose of salt to the ice bath, but meh I think you'll only shave a few seconds.

hobodave
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Putting them in ice water like hobodave says will be fast. Another benefit is the fast cooling will stop crystals from forming.

hobodave
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SamAlterman
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