5 Fascinating Fact About Jelly Beans (2025)

These little beans have a big history.

By Zoe Bain

What do you love about jelly beans? Is it the candy-coated exterior? Or the soft, gummy inside of these bean-shaped candies? While the world's love for the tiny, colorful candies is undeniable, it seems that people don't know a lot about this popular treats. Here are a few fascinating facts...

Their origin is a mystery. According to the Candy Favorites website, the original jelly bean is thought to have been a combination of the first jelly candy, the Turkish Delight (which dates back thousands of years), and the hard-candy shell of Jordan Almonds created in the 17th century.

They have numerous war connections. The earliest reference to this jelly-bean ancestor is from the 1800s, when a Boston candy maker named William Schrafft advertised his jelly beans as a gift to send to Union soldiers fighting in the American Civil War. Jelly beans became a popular penny candy in the 1900s, when candy makers began using a French process called "panning" to sugar-coat the jelly interior. Jelly Beans returned to the spotlight during World War II when chocolate was less available.

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Ronald Reagan was a fan. President Reagan also helped expand the popularity of the jelly bean when he was in office, famously stating that, "we can hardly start a meeting or make a decision without passing around the jar of jelly beans." In fact, blueberry jelly beans were created specifically for the candy-crazed president so that he could serve a mix of red, white, and blue jelly beans to his guests.

The Jelly Belly Company used to be known for other candies... The company technically dates back to 1960, when the Goelitz family brought their family candy-making business to the U.S. The Goelitz family candy shop was known for its candy corn, for making America's first gummy bear, and for, you guessed it, making jelly beans of all shapes, sizes, and flavors. Now, the Jelly Belly company have 50 official jelly-bean flavors ranging from classics like cherry, bubblegum, and licorice to modern flavors such as crushed pineapple, chili mango, sizzling cinnamon, and cappuccino. Bad flavors of jelly beans are also being produced, such as the Harry Potter-inspired Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans, which contain the occasional earwax bean, and Jelly Belly's Bean Boozled line, which includes flavors such as dog food, pencil shavings, and barf mixed in among the usual flavors.

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The look of the bean matters. While part of the novelty of buying a bag of jelly beans is not knowing which flavor you will pop into your mouth, sometimes it's also fun to search for a favorite bean. When it comes to searching for a favorite flavor, we have a couple of recommendations: Pay close attention to different shades of the same color and search for the little color specs on certain multi-colored beans. For example, chocolate pudding, Dr. Pepper, A&W Root Beer, and cappuccino jelly beans are all shades of brown. While chocolate pudding and Dr. Pepper are very similar looking, you can easily spot a cappuccino by the tiny white specs on the exterior of the bean. Root beer is also a slightly lighter hue than the other brown beans. The same goes for the green family of beans: juicy pear, green apple, lemon lime, kiwi, and margarita. Juicy pear and margarita are both distinguishable by their color specs, while green apple is a little darker and brighter than kiwi and lemon lime.

What are your favorite flavors of jelly beans? Do you search for your favorite flavor or wait to be surprised?

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5 Fascinating Fact About Jelly Beans (2025)

FAQs

5 Fascinating Fact About Jelly Beans? ›

Some clever candymaker figured out how to make a bean-shaped soft jelly. Perhaps it was the same candymaker who figured out how to put a shell on it so it wouldn't stick. Hence the name “jelly beans.” Jelly Belly beans today retain that distinctive shape of a bean.

How did jelly beans get their name? ›

Some clever candymaker figured out how to make a bean-shaped soft jelly. Perhaps it was the same candymaker who figured out how to put a shell on it so it wouldn't stick. Hence the name “jelly beans.” Jelly Belly beans today retain that distinctive shape of a bean.

Why does it take 7 days to make a jelly bean? ›

8.It takes 7 to 21 days to make a jelly bean

Over time, the sugar builds up on each jelly center and builds a shell on the candy. To give the jelly beans that glossy look, the candy maker adds a syrup made of confectioner sugar to the shelled jelly beans.

What is the world record for eating jelly beans? ›

5. People Have Broken World Records With Jelly Beans. In September 2017 Asha Lee broke the Guinness world record for most jelly beans eaten with a chopstick in one minute! The record to beat is 40 jelly beans in one minute, think you can beat it?

What is jelly beans real name? ›

John Benitez (born November 7, 1957), also known as Jellybean, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, remixer, and music producer. He has produced and remixed artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and the Pointer Sisters.

What president ate jelly beans? ›

President Reagan and his jar of Jelly Bellies.

When Ronald Reagan ran for Governor of California in 1966, he began eating "Goelitz Mini Jelly Beans" as part of his successful attempt to give up pipe smoking.

What are some fun facts about jelly beans? ›

It takes between 7 to 14 days to make a Jelly Belly jelly bean. There were 15 billion Jelly Belly jelly beans eaten last year. Jelly Belly can make 1,680 Jelly Belly beans per second. Jelly Belly Candy Company offers 100+ jelly bean flavors.

How many years do jelly beans last? ›

When do Jelly Belly Jelly Beans expire? All of our products have a shelf life of at least one year (although they rarely stick around that long in the average household). Every package is also labeled with a "best before" date.

What is the least liked jelly bean flavor? ›

The top 10 worst jelly bean flavors of all time, ranked
  1. Buttered Popcorn. Nothing says candy like salty, gelatinous butter dissolving into the saliva of your hot, humid mouth.
  2. Licorice. ...
  3. Chili Mango. ...
  4. Caramel Corn. ...
  5. Sizzling Cinnamon. ...
  6. Cinnamon. ...
  7. Top Banana. ...
  8. Gin and Tonic. ...
Mar 20, 2024

What is a fun fact about jelly? ›

'Jelly' is also known as 'jello', 'gelatine' and 'gelatine dessert'. Jelly was originally made by using the gelatine from an animal, most commonly a young cow's foot, and mixing the extract with sugar and fruit juice.

What is jelly bean slang for? ›

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.

How many jelly beans exist? ›

Jelly Belly jelly beans are available in over 100 different flavors.

What color jellybean is most popular? ›

Red is our most popular color. Yellow and browns also do well but everyone loves a good red,” says Sal Harfouch in an airy room that resembles a three-dimensional artist's palette.

What is the most liked jelly bean? ›

Most Popular Flavor

In 2003, Very Cherry retook the title and has remained the most popular ever since.

What is the hottest jelly bean? ›

Carolina Reaper is one of the five pepper flavors of BeanBoozled Fiery Five. They measure 2.2 million Scoville units.

How did Jellybean get her name? ›

Jellybean is actually named after Jughead, whose real name is Forsythe. The nickname Jellybean comes from an accident that occured when she was born. A truck crashed and caused the traffic jam and Jellybean was born in the middle of the traffic jam.

What do jelly beans symbolize? ›

The Jelly Bean Shines

The jelly bean won its most enduring acclaim around 1930, as an Easter candy. The reasons are not entirely clear – perhaps because Easter, like other spring-time rituals, is about rebirth, and the bean is an excellent symbol.

How did jelly beans get associated with Easter? ›

In the 1930s, jelly beans became associated with Easter traditions because their egg-like shape is reminiscent of the belief that the Easter Bunny delivers eggs as a sign of new life in spring.

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