by Alexa Steele

Created on: March 25, 2009   Last Updated: July 05, 2009

Ah, the humble jelly bean. Soft and gummy on the inside, deliciously candy coated on the outside. The exact history of this popular treat is somewhat obscure, but it is commonly believed that the history of jelly beans starts with a centuries old sweet called Turkish Delight.

Turkish Delight is a soft, chewy candy similar in consistency to the inside of a jelly bean. It originated in Istanbul, Turkey which is how it got its name. Later a process called panning was used to coat the Turkish Delight in a hard candy shell, which is how we got the modern jelly bean.

Panning was developed in 17th century France and was originally used to apply candy coatings to fruits and nuts. Jordan Almonds, for example. were made by placing almonds in a bowl filled with sugar and syrup and rocking it back and forth until the nuts were thoroughly coated. Today the panning process is automated with machines agitating large quantities of candies while ingredients are precisely applied.

Jelly beans have been recognized for their portability and long shelf life since at least the late 1800's. An advertisement by the William Schraft Company suggested jelly beans be sent to soldiers fighting in the Civil War for those very reasons.

Later, jelly beans grew to be a popular as penny candy. The little sweets were bagged and sold based on weight. Although their popularity waned a bit in the early 1900's they had a resurgence when chocolate became scarce during World War II.

Ever since the 1930's the jelly bean has been a part of the Easter tradition. This is because the festive colors as well as the general egg shape of the candy make them a natural match for the holiday's traditions. Each year tens of billions of jelly beans are sold, with demand reaching it's peak around this holiday.

In 1976 the Jelly Belly gourmet jelly bean was created. The idea was to make a jelly bean with natural flavorings. The first eight flavors of Jelly Belly (Very Cherry, Lemon, Cream Soda, Tangerine, Green Apple, Root Beer, Grape and Licorice) remain some of the most popular flavors sold to this day.

In the 1980's the Jelly Belly flavor of blueberry was inspired by the desire to have red white and blue jelly beans served at the inaugural parties of President Ronald Reagan, an ardent Jelly Belly fan. Then in 1983 the President saw to it that Jelly Bellies were sent into space as a surprise treat for the astronauts.

Throughout their history jelly beans have been well regarded as a sweet, portable, high energy snack. They are certified as kosher and are vegetarian friendly. More recently jelly beans have even been recommended as a low calorie snack with about four or five calories per bean an no fat. Add to all these benefits the kid-friendly colors and jelly beans become a near perfect candy. Sweet and chewy. Small and portable. Fun and colorful. Who doesn't love the jelly bean?

For more information visit JellyBelly.com and candyfavorites.com

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