Jelly Bean are an easter staple-Bunnies and helpers are stockpiling favorite flavors of the colorful treat for adding a festive touch to the holiday. But where did these mini treats really originate?
The great-great jelly bean ancestor first appeared in the 1800s, but jelly candies of one kind or another have been around for thousands of years. "Turkish delight, " a citrus, honey and rose water jell, has been putting smiles on kids' faces since biblical times. Jordan almonds -a candy coated nut treat- are the ancient ancestor of the Turkish Delight and later generation jellybean. Almonds were coated with sticky and sweet coatings in a process called "panning". Panning is a process used today- but is now done with machine rather than by hand. The panning process creates a sweet shell around a delicious treat-making the candy twice as appealing.
The jelly bean as we know it today, is an American confection.
When the penny candy craze came along in America during the late 1800's, candy makers began experimenting with sugar candies. The jelly candy inspired by Turkish delight was shaped into a bean and given a soft shell using a French process called "panning". The first jelly bean was created by an American candy maker whose name has since been lost in time.
Although the penny candy boom waned a bit when America fell in love with chocolate in the early 1900's, there was a real chocolate shortage when most chocolate went to overseas troops during World War II. So, patriotic Americans once again discovered their urge for non-chocolate sweet treats like common, candy store jelly beans.
In 1960 along came 19-year-old Herman Goelitz Rowland, Sr., fourth generation candy maker who planned to carry on the family candy business. The times were lean for his family's Oakland, Calif., business which was best known for making candy corn. In a leap of faith that boggles the mind today, Herm and his family decided not to close the doors, but to expand and begin making jelly beans, Chocolate Dutch Mints®, America's first gummi bears, and jells. Giant jelly beans, regular jelly beans, miniature jelly beans, all sorts of styles were pouring out of the candy factory. The extra touch that became a signature for the company were jelly beans with flavors cooked into the center and in the shells using the very best ingredients regardless of cost — simply terrific tasting jelly beans.
In 1967 some of those beans managed to catch the attention of the Governor of California, Ronald Reagan. Throughout his two terms in office, the Governor ate Herm's jelly beans and ultimately wrote that famous letter saying "we can hardly start a meeting or make a decision without passing around the jar of jelly beans." Regan loved jelly beans so much that this uniquely American treat was even sent to space as a Presidential surprise for the astronauts and not only did the Oval office have a constant supply on hand- AirForce One was also stocked with jelly beans during the Regan years!
