How are Jelly Bean Flavors Made?
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What Are Jelly Beans Made of ?
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Jelly beans are made of cornstarch, corn syrup, gelatin and food starch. Other ingredients added are an emulsifier and anti foaming agent such as lecithin, bee's wax or confectioner's glaze. Natural and artificial flavors and colors give the jelly bean the flavor and characteristic of the type it is. Sometimes chocolate, fruit puree, coconut, vanilla, peanuts or fruit powder are added for flavoring. Gourmet jelly beans are smaller than traditional jelly beans and have more flavors to choose from. New flavors are introduced and the ones that are not so popular are phased out.
Chemistry and Cooking of Jelly Beans
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Each type of flavor and color of jelly bean begins in the chemistry lab. There the right balance and mixture of ingredients is tested in batches. New flavors are suggested based on the marketing studies conducted by staff then tested by the lab for taste and visual appeal with consumers. A new flavor will be test marketed over a specific time. If the flavor proves popular, it will become a new flavor of jelly bean. When the chemists get the right recipe, the candy kitchen makes the syrup for the jelly bean center. Sugar and other ingredients are cooked in large boilers to a certain temperature. Color and flavor are added to the beans center. The kitchen mixes the flavors and color syrups separately for the process of starch casting and panning process used in making jelly beans.
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Starch Casting and Panning
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Starch casting is the process of making or shaping the individual jelly beans. Dry corn starch is used because it retains its shapes well. A machine puts a layer of cornstarch in a tray. Another machines makes dents in the cornstarch. This is the center of the jelly bean. Jelly beans come in many flavors like plum, green apple, lemon, raspberry, cherry and tropical fruit blends. After the starch casting process the heated flavored syrups are squirted into the folds or dents in the pan to make the different flavored candy. The candy is then sent to a cooling room for centers to harden. The centers are reprocessed and more syrup and flavors are added during the panning process. This is when hard outer shell is added. The centers are put in pans with holes in one end that eventually build the outer glaze. The workers pour beakers of syrup made by the candy kitchen into opening in the pan. The flavor and color forms at this point and the final coating is a glaze of sugar to give them that glossy look. The process takes about a week. They are later sorted and packed by color.
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