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Rock is a type of stick-shaped boiled sugar Confectionery most usually flavoured with peppermint. It is commonly sold at Tourist (usually seaside) Resort s in the UK (like Brighton or Blackpool ), and in Sydney and Tasmania , Australia. It usually takes the form of a cylindrical stick ("a stick of rock"), normally 1 cm (0.4 in) in diameter and 20 cm (8 in) long. These cylinders usually have a Pattern embedded throughout the length, which is often the name of the resort where the rock is sold, so that the name can be read on both ends of the stick (reversed at one end) and remains legible even after pieces are bitten off. Rock is also manufactured as a promotional item, for example with a company name running through it. It is sometimes found in the form of individual sweets, with writing or a pattern in the centre; these are, in effect, 'slices' of rock. (See illustration.) MAKING ROCK Rock starts as a sugar water syrup which is boiled and glucose or corn syrup is added. It is taken to hard crack stage (146-158 degrees Celsius, 295-316 degrees Fahrenheit) and an oil (such as peppermint or orange) is added for flavouring. From there it is a matter of cooling the sugar syrup until it is a workable consistency like clay. From this stage it is possible to construct the designs and words that will form in the centre. Letters and other images are moulded or assembled from separate pieces of candy and laid among layers of background rock (usually white) to form the message. All this is done in considerably larger scale than the finished product - the assembled lump of rock is usually 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 in.) in diameter. The still-soft candy is then drawn out, mechanically or by hand, until it is the desired diameter, and cut into lengths. LITERARY AND OTHER REFERENCES In Graham Greene 's novel '' Brighton Rock '', the character Ida says, "It's like those sticks of rock: bite it all the way down, you'll still read Brighton." The beloved British music-hall entertainer George Formby often sang an entertaining ditty by the name of "With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock". OTHER FORMS OF ROCK Rock is a different product from American Rock Candy ; it more closely resembles a harder Candy Cane . Edinburgh Rock is another confection based on sugar and Cream Of Tartar , made into sticks. It is Friable and flavoured, for example, with Ginger or Lemon . EXTERNAL LINKS
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