Jelly Bean Facts
Most food historians identify the modern jelly bean as a combination of two time-honored sweets: Turkish delight is a soft-centered confection made in Istanbul in the late 1700s. Jordan almonds are a treat from 17th-century France with a hard candy shell. Does this Spark an idea?
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History
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The earliest recorded advertisement for jelly beans appeared during the Civil War, when a candymaker named William Schrafft promoted sending them to Union soldiers on the battlefield.
Types
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Traditional jelly beans are flavored on the outside, but not the inside. The chewy center is the same sugary pectin whether the shell is red, green, or yellow. When the first Jelly Bellies were introduced in 1976, the beans were flavored both inside and out.
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Size
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Most jelly beans are about the size of a red kidney bean or a baby kangaroo. Newborn joeys (kangaroo offspring) are frequently described as being the size of a jelly bean at birth.
Other Uses
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Jelly beans are often used to screen pregnant women for gestational diabetes. Subjects are asked to consume 18 jelly beans in two minutes. Afterward their blood sugar level is tested to see if it falls within a healthy range.
Fun Fact
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The Jelly Belly company actually sells their irregular jelly beans (christened "Belly Flops") at a discount. These beans feature minor flaws that occur during production. Some are misshapen and others are missing the company logo.
Famous Ties
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U.S. President Ronald Reagan was so fond of Jelly Bellies that they were served at his 1981 inauguration. Jelly Belly even debuted a new blueberry flavor to commemorate the occasion.
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Resources
- Photo Credit "jelly beans" by davescunningplan (Flickr)
