Jelly bean
Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:Pp-move-indef Template:Infobox food
Jelly beans are small bean-shaped sugar candies with soft candy shells and thick gel interiors (see gelatin and jelly). The confection is primarily made of sugar and sold in a wide variety of colors. According to one common story, they existed as early as 1861, when Boston confectioner William Schrafft urged people to buy them as gifts for soldiers in the American Civil War.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A more definite reference appears in food testing records of the United States Department of Agriculture published in 1887.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> Most historians contend that jelly beans were first associated with celebrations of Easter in the United States sometime during the 1930s due to their egg-like shape.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Manufacture
[edit]The basic ingredients of jelly beans include sugar, tapioca, corn syrup, and pectin or starch. Relatively minor amounts of the emulsifying agent lecithin, anti-foaming agents, an edible wax such as carnauba wax or beeswax, salt, and confectioner's glaze are also included.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The ingredients that give each bean its character are also relatively small in proportion and may vary depending on the flavor.
Slang
[edit]
In United States slang during the 1910s and early 1920s. a "jellybean" or "jelly-bean" was a young man who dressed stylishly but had little else to recommend him, similar to the older terms dandy and fop. F. Scott Fitzgerald published a story, The Jelly-Bean, about such a character in 1920.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> While previously common, the slang word has fallen out of fashion as of 2025.
In popular culture
[edit]When Beatlemania broke out in 1964, fans of the Beatles in the US pelted the band with jelly beans (emulating fans in the UK who threw the British candy Jelly Babies at George Harrison, who reportedly liked eating them).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>"George Harrison's 1963 plea: stop throwing jelly babies at Beatles" The Times 14 May 2009</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
[edit]- Starch mogul
- Dragée
- Gummy bears
- Skittles (candy)
- Turkish delight
- Nerds (candy)
- Jelly babies
- Jujube (confectionery)
- Gumdrop
- Mint (candy)
- Jelly (preserves)
- Jelly (dessert)
- Jelly bean rule