Nepedia
Back to Discover
Fluent Reader
📖

Jelly bean

language culture Maturity 7-9 Next article →

Jelly beans are tiny, bean-shaped candies. They have a soft outer shell. Inside, they have a thick gel. Most of these treats are made of sugar. You can find them in many bright colors. People enjoy them because they are sweet. They are a very popular type of confection.

JellyBean1920
JellyBean1920

Making these candies involves several ingredients. The main parts are sugar and corn syrup. They also use tapioca and starch or pectin. Pectin is a substance that helps make things thick. Makers add small amounts of salt too. They use edible wax like beeswax or carnauba wax. This wax helps the beans look shiny. Tiny amounts of flavor make each bean unique.

JellyBean1920
JellyBean1920

These sweets have a long and interesting history. One story says they were sold in 1861. A man named William Schrafft sold them in Boston. He wanted people to give them to soldiers. This was during the American Civil War. Later, records from 1887 mention them too. In the 1930s, people linked them to Easter. This is because they look like small eggs.

JellyBean1920
JellyBean1920

The name "jellybean" has meant different things over time. In the 1910s, it was a slang word. It described a young man who dressed well. However, he did not have much else to offer. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a story about this in 1920.

JellyBean1920
JellyBean1920

In 1964, the candy appeared in music history. Fans in the U.S. threw them at the Beatles. This happened during the time of Beatlemania. Fans in the UK threw different candies instead.

Many famous people have a connection to these treats. President Ronald Reagan loved eating jelly beans. They are also part of our shared culture. You might see them at many holidays. They are similar to other chewy candies like gummy bears. They are also like gumdrops or jujubes. These treats bring a little sweetness to many lives.

JellyBean1920
JellyBean1920
309 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (1)
File:JellyBean1920.jpg
JellyBean1920.jpg
More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.