April 22 is National Jelly Bean Day – the day to celebrate everything about the jelly bean. Jelly Belly, the original gourmet jelly bean® is the best loved of all jelly beans and has become something of an icon in its own lifetime.
Here are a few facts that you may not have known about Jelly Belly.
• Created in 1976, Jelly Belly were the first jelly beans to be sold in single flavours.
• The name Jelly Belly was inspired by the rhyme with Leadbelly, a 1920s blues singer.
• The original 8 flavours of Jelly Belly beans were Very Cherry, Root Beer, Cream Soda, Tangerine, Green Apple, Lemon, Liquorice and Grape.
• Blueberry flavour was created when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated President in 1981. Over three tons of red, white and blue Jelly Belly beans were shipped to the White House to add to the festivities. Reagan loved Jelly Belly jelly beans.
• World-wide, Very Cherry is the most popular flavour of Jelly Belly. It tops the poll in the UK as well.
• Currently, there 50 “official” flavours of Jelly Belly jelly beans and more than 100 different flavours in total.
• BeanBoozled is a sensational Jelly Belly offshoot that is breaking new territory and taking taste buds to an entirely different level. It is a year-round trick or treat challenge that sees delicious classic jelly bean flavours paired with wild-tasting lookalikes. Because they look identical, the real flavour of each jelly bean can only be discovered by taking a bite. Will it be Stinky Socks or its twin Tutti-Fruitti? Rotten Egg or Buttered Popcorn? Thousands of You Tube videos have been posted, viewed and laughed at by countless millions.
• Jelly Belly beans were the first jelly beans in outer space when President Reagan sent them on the 1983 flight of the space shuttle Challenger with Sally Ride who was the first American woman to become an astronaut.
• A rookie Flavour is a Jelly Belly bean introduced on a limited trial each year. If they prove sufficiently popular they replace four flavours at the bottom of the popularity league.
• It can take 21 days to create a single bean. Each part of the process is incredibly important and designed to enhance the flavour and texture of the Jelly Belly bean. In between each stage there is a “resting” period to allow the flavours to develop.
• Each jelly bean is embossed with the Jelly Belly name so as not to be confused with imposters.
• Jelly Belly uses natural flavours whenever possible, for example fruit purees in Raspberry, Blueberry, Peach and others. Other primary ingredients are sugar, corn syrup, modified corn starch and confectioner's glaze.
• There is no fat in Jelly Belly beans and each bean is just 4 calories each. They are free from wheat, gluten, dairy and nuts and are suitable for vegetarians because they contain no gelatine.
• What makes Jelly Belly different is that standard jelly beans have no taste in the centre – Jelly Belly beans are flavoured inside and in the shells. They are also smaller, have more intense and exotic flavours than traditional beans and flavours are sold individually.
• It's very difficult to become a Jelly Belly. The process from the idea to the actual bean being created can be as long as two years. Sourcing the right ingredients and creating a recipe of exact requirements is the first hurdle. Then the experiments start and hopefully an act of genius occurs when exactly the right flavour emerges that is both delicious and recognizable. The Jelly Belly Tasting Panel all have their opinion which general leads to tweaks here and there. Once the bean is created it becomes a Rookie. Who knows about its destination after that? A blockbuster perhaps or just a steady bean with a good following? Or maybe it just becomes a Has Bean.
• Over 2,000,000 Jelly Belly beans are created each hour and over 16 billion beans per year.
• To get the best from Jelly Belly jelly beans, you eat one at a time, savouring the flavour of each one and experiencing the intensity of the taste. They really are true to life and taste like the real thing. Or flavours can be combined to create a recipe i.e. 2 Chocolate Pudding + 1 Toasted Marshmallow = Chocolate Mousse
• Over 16,000,000,000 Jelly Belly beans will be eaten worldwide in 2015. That's enough to circle the earth 4 times. If all the Jelly Belly beans eaten in the last two years had been placed end to end, they would reach further than the moon (roughly 366,000 kilometres).
• Jelly Belly Art is a unique creation made entirely from Jelly Belly jelly beans.
• The three newest flavours of Jelly Belly jelly beans are Draft Beer, TABASCO®, Champagne, Pancakes & Maple Syrup
• Jelly Belly Candy Co is a 5th generation family owned company which was originally called Goelitz Confectionery and founded in 1868 by two brothers, from whom the current Chair is descended.
