Now, unlike most people, I am not a big fan of the jelly beans. I don't know why, but I'm just not. There's just something about them that I just don't like. But you really couldn't have a blog about sweets and not include Jelly Beans.
The inspiration for the jelly bean actually came from Turkish Delight because of its jelly-like interior. But again during the American Civil War, people were apparently urged by a Boston Confectioner, William Schrafft, to buy jelly bean-type sweets and send them to the soldiers. But although many historians believe they were first introduced in America, they think that that was not until the 1930's during Easter that they first became popular.
Jelly Beans are mostly made out of sugars, starch and corn syrup. The emulsifying agent Lecithin, as well as anti-foaming agents are also used. Edible waxes, such as beeswax, salt and confectioners glaze is used as well. The standard colours and flavours are as follows: Red (Cherry), Orange (Orange), Yellow (Lemon), Green (Lime), Purple (Grape), Black (Anise), White (Lemonade) and Pink (Strawberry). Different Brands, such as the Jelly Bean Factory, also have many other flavours, such as watermelon, kiwi, marshmallows, popcorn, passion fruit and cranberry and apple.
Some other strange but very cool people have used jelly beans in their art, such as Peter Rocha, who created Jelly Bean Portraits of people like George Clooney, Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Queen Elizabeth II. I posted some below.
gmcavalheiro.com
lenore-nevermore.blogspot.com
funkydowntown.com
Well, I think that's all i have to say about Jelly Beans. I actually kind of like them now.
Ok, another sweet favourite of mine - the lollipop. I found this one a bit more interesting, as well as being a lot easier to research.
The first modern lollipops are though to come from New Haven, Connecticut in America, in 1908, but the original lollipops were thought to have been invented during the American Civil War (1861-65). Other people believe they came about early 1800's. But George Smith claimed to be the first inventor, and trademarked the name in 1931. He thought of the idea by experimenting with sweets on sticks, which he thought would be easier to eat off. It is said that he named the sweet after a race horse at the time, Lolly Pop.But the first real similarity to the modern lollipop appeared much earlier in time, in the Middle Ages, which were boiled sweets on sticks.
Well, what I consider a lollipop is any sweet on a stick, and there are so many "Lollipops". Chocolate lollipops take me about 30 seconds to eat, but there is something about them that makes me love them. Chewy lollipops take longer, but they can be really annoying to eat, but are definitely easier to eat than a normal chewy bar like Refreshers or Stinger bar. The are these really weird lollipops that are made of jelly's with weird icing on them, those now I really don't like. But the lollipop type I really find frustrating is the really big ones-the ones about the size of your face. Its because they are so so so difficult to eat, and they take so long to eat to!
My favourite lollipop has to be the ones you always get free inn shop or at the doctors, really because there free. The are also so many flavours!
Here's Mika's Song "Lollipop" from YouTube.I chose it because it was one of the best videos I could find on this topic, that was actually good. So, enjoy! Next up are jelly beans!
Variations: Cherry Cola Bottles, Blue Bottles, Pink Bottles, Milk Bottles
Ok, for my first proper post, I thought I would choose something that everyone likes, but is still easy enough to research. So I chose Cola Bottles. How wrong was I. I had to scan the web carefully, finding random pieces of information as I went.
So as you can I found the main ingredients in Cola Bottles, which of course differs from brand to brand. The main ingredient is glucose syrup, and I was surprised to see that there is no actual Cola Flavouring in the sweets, and E150d gives it its colour. E150d also gives its colour to Beer, Brown Bread, Brandy, Coatings, Glucose Tablets, Gravy Browning, Ice-Cream, Pancakes, Sauces and Dressings,- as well as to soft drinks particularly cola drinks. Ah ha, we have found our cola flavouring. Although they don’t really have that taste that Coke and Diet Coke have. Also, E150d is not recommended for the consumption of children. Uh Oh!
I still cannot find out where cola bottles were first consumed, but I have two suspects. The first is Britain, as when I was researching, cola bottles were labled a Vintage British Sweet, but again I am not sure. The other is of course America, the home of "Candy" (Oh how I hate that word), and since Coke was first produced in America, it could also be the Home of Cola Bottles.
Ok I think I covered all I needed to. Next Post is on Lollipops of any flavour you can think of!
Image Taken from dylanscandybar.com
P.S. my favourite type of cola bottles are the Fizzy Cola Bottles! : )
Hi, I'm Sarah, and this Blog is part of my module for Enviornmental Studies. I chose to do it on Sweets and other sweet foods just randomly, basicly because i like them-well who doesnt. Through out the blog, I will hopefully go through one type of sweet each post, for example, marshmellows. With this topic I want to learn things like where the food came from, what its made of, things like that. Up first is of course, my favourite, Cola Bottles.
