History of the jelly bean
The exact origins of the jelly bean are lost in time, and only a part of its history is known.
Most experts believe the jelly center is a descendent of a Mid-Eastern confection known as Turkish Delight that dates back to Biblical times.
The shell coating is an offspring of a process called panning, first invented in 17th century France to make Jordan Almonds. The panning process, while done primarily by machine today, has remained essentially the same for the last 300 years. The French began by rocking almonds in a bowl filled with sugar and syrup until the almonds were coated with a candy shell. Today, large rotating pans do the heavy work, while master confectioners apply their true art in adding the ingredients to create just the right shell.
Somehow the two processes made their way to America. Jelly beans quickly earned a place among the many glass jars of "penny candy" in general stores where they were sold by weight and taken home in paper bags. It wasn't until the 1930s, however, that jelly beans became a part of Easter traditions. Because of their egg-like shape, jelly beans became associated with the Easter Bunny who is believed to deliver eggs as a symbol of new life during the spring season.
By definition candy is a rich sweet confection made with sugar or other sweeteners and often flavored or combined with fruits or nuts. Dessert refers to any sweet dish for example: candy, fruit, ice cream, or pastry, served at the end of a meal.
The history of candy dates back to ancient peoples who must have snacked on sweet honey straight from bee hives. The first candy confections were fruits and nuts rolled in honey. The manufacturing of sugar began during the middle ages and at that time sugar was so expensive that only the rich could afford candy made from sugar. Cacao, from which chocolate is made, was re-discovered in 1519 by Spanish explorers in Mexico.
The price of manufacturing sugar was much lower by the seventeenth...