Jellybeans

Jelly beans in America probably date to the early 19th century. The first known mention of this candy was in a Boston newspaper in 1861. Candy maker William Schrafft ran an advertisement urging citizens to buy jelly beans to send to Union soldiers.

By the 1930s, jelly beans became part of the commercialization of Easter. Because of their shape, the companies succeeded in creating a strong holiday tie-in. At that time of year, jelly beans were manufactured primarily in pastel colors. Spring became their best-selling season.

By the 1940s, jelly beans were popular enough that they were part of American slang. A man referred to as a “jelly bean” was thought to be good-looking but not a person of much substance.

The ingredients for jelly beans are basic… sugar, corn syrup, and pectin (a starch from fruits).  The development of their bean shape is not known, but it was a good size of candy that could be grabbed and eaten by the handful.

Despite the limited ingredients, jelly beans take several days to make even with modern manufacturing methods:   Sugar is warmed to 350 degrees so it liquifies. Then starch and glucose are mixed in. The mixture is then poured into bean-shaped molds where it is left to dry and solidify.

The sweets are then popped out of the molds and placed in a machine that spins them continuously while they are coated with more liquid sugar. This stage adds color and flavor to the beans as well.

Next, the hard, outer shell is created by adding granulated sugar to the spinning machine at several intervals. The final glossy look of the beans is achieved by adding hot syrup and wax as a final coat.

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