One of the most well-known brands of jelly beans worldwide is Jelly Belly. The ingredients are mixed and boiled at the Jelly Belly plant, flavours and additives are added, and the beans are coated in sugar before drying and creating a shell. Following sorting, beans are packaged for distribution.
People worldwide enjoy the delicious sweet treat known as jelly beans. Have you ever considered jelly bean manufacturing?
One of the biggest producers of jelly beans is “The Jelly Belly Factory”, which makes millions of these delectable candies daily. In this post, we'll look behind the scenes at the Jelly Belly Factory's manufacturing of jelly beans, from the ingredients used to the complex production processes resulting in distinctive forms and flavours.
Let's dive in and discover the secrets behind jelly beans' magic!
Did you know? President Ronald Reagan loved jelly beans and always kept a jar on his table as well as in his aircraft “Air Force One”. He also loved gifting these sweet, gummy candies to his ministers and friends.
What Are Jelly Beans?
Jelly beans are bean-shaped sugar candies that come in various fruity flavours that correspond with fruit colours. With evolving tastes, more flavours and colours have been incorporated into the array of flavours available.
The jelly bean has a longer shelf life than other confections and is portable due to its size and toughness. Additionally, jelly beans are frequently used in games and activities like flavour guessing and colour sorting, making them fun and engaging.
Jelly beans are also used for games, solving math problems, icing cakes, and giving them away as gifts. They were mainly used as Easter gifts in earlier times.
These little colourful candies are popular worldwide and loved by people of all ages.
Origin of Jelly Beans
Boston confectioner William Schrafft is considered the inventor of jelly beans. He came up with the idea of moulding jelly into small round shapes or beans, hence the name "jelly beans".
He encouraged people to send them as gifts to soldiers fighting in a war far away from home. It is stated that a Turkish delicacy inspires the interior component of the jelly bean.
Manufacturing of Jelly Beans at the Jelly Belly Factory
Jelly Belly is one of the largest manufacturers of jelly beans in the world. Since making jelly beans in 1976, the company has built a reputation for its many taste options and inventive packaging.
Here are some intriguing details about Jelly Belly jelly beans:
- The company makes jelly beans in over 100 distinct flavours, some of which are odd, such as popcorn, sriracha, and Tabasco.
- In Fairfield, California, Jelly Belly's factory occupies more than 200,000 square feet and cranks out 1,000,000 jelly beans per hour.
- Visitors can take an interactive tour of the facility to view the production process up close. This includes the enormous copper kettles used to cook the candies.
- Real fruit juice is one of the only natural components used in Jelly Belly's jelly beans.
- The business has created several distinctive production methods for its jelly beans. These include a technique for layering several hues and flavours to provide a more complex flavour.
- Jelly Belly also develops limited-edition flavours and packaging for special occasions like Christmas, Easter, and Valentine's Day.
- The business is dedicated to sustainability and has implemented a number of programmes to lessen its negative effects on the environment. These programmes include powering the factory with solar panels and recycling water used during production.
Also Read: Learn How Your Favourite Lollipop is Made [Candy Manufacturing Process Flow Chart]
Step-by-step Process of Making Jelly Beans
Let’s discuss the manufacturing process of jelly beans in greater detail. Manufacturing jelly beans involves the following steps:
Step 1: Creating the Slurry
The manufacturing process starts in the kitchen with the ingredients that make up the Jelly Belly jelly bean base. Sugar, corn syrup, and corn starch are combined in enormous kettles. This is known as "slurry".
This thick liquid mixture is cooked at high temperatures until it reaches the desired consistency.
Step 2: Adding Flavors and Colors
Flavours and colours are added to the boiling mixture and mixed vigorously to make a homogeneous slurry. Additives such as fruit juices, flavours, oils, peanut butter, or chocolate are added now.
The constant stirring ensures that the flavourings, colours, and additives are distributed evenly throughout the mixture. The mixture is now ready to be poured into moulds or containers to cool and solidify.
Step 3: Drying in Molds
The dough is dried in the moulds daily to achieve a chewy texture.
Step 4: Creating Bean Shapes and Coating
The candy mixture is then passed through a mogul, which is a machine that pours it into corn flour-lined wooden moulds. The moulds create individual bean shapes before the beans are placed in a warm room overnight.
When the candy has hardened, it is removed from the moulds and coated with a glaze to shine.
Step 5: Drying and Coating with Sugar
Following the gel process, the beans are transferred to a conveyor belt. They are dried in this process. Here, the beans are dusted with sugar.
With this, the beans are coated with a thin layer of sugar to give them their signature crunchy shell.
Step 6: Tumbling and Coating with Glaze and Beeswax
After resting, the beans are poured into large tumblers, where workers add sugar, flavour, and colour to the beans. This increases their size by 30% in the finished product.
Workers alternate between wet and dry ingredients as the flavour develops to achieve the perfect combination. For a few hours, the beans tumble around as the jelly bean shell forms. The beans are coated with glaze and beeswax after setting.
Step 7: Panning Process for Colorful Coating
Jelly beans get their colourful coating from the panning process. The centres are placed in an engrossing pan, which is a rotating drum.
While the centre rotates, sugar is gradually added to form the shell, and colours and flavours are added. After the shell has been formed, the centres are removed and polished to make them smooth and shiny.
Then they are packaged and sold. This method is frequently used in the manufacture of hard candies and jawbreakers. This is how beans get their hard, shiny exterior.
Step 8: Inspection, Printing, and Wrapping
They are inspected and taste-tested to ensure beans meet the Jelly Belly standard. The jelly beans are then fed into a printing machine, where they are imprinted with the Jelly Belly logo. They are now ready to be packaged and shipped.
Step 9: Packaging and Distribution
Beans are packaged according to flavours, sizes, etc. They are grouped using sensors-equipped machines.
Any beans that do not meet the standard requirements are removed from the lot. They are then packed in cartons. They may be packaged in single or mixed flavours.
Packages are loaded onto trucks or shipping containers and transported. They are further distributed to and delivered to retailers, who sell them directly to consumers.
Also Read: How Ammonia Is Manufactured Industrially - Ammonia Synthesis Explained
Conclusion
Jelly bean production is a laborious process that is also fascinating. The entire manufacturing process is a long-drawn process and is done under strict scrutiny to ensure high quality.
Pouring these into jelly-shaped moulds gives them their jelly shape. Jelly beans come in various colours and flavours, and new flavours are introduced regularly.
Jelly beans are also available in unusual flavours, such as popcorn, which has become very controversial. This is done to keep customers interested and meet changing tastes demands. Jelly beans are extremely delicious.
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