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  • Jelly beans are an American candy staple,

  • and Jelly Belly is the most recognizable name making them.

  • The company's story begins all the way back in the 1800s.

  • This is Lisa Rowland Brasher.

  • She's a fifth-generation candymaker for Jelly Belly.

  • We've been in business for quite a long time.

  • The first known candymaker in our company

  • was my great-great-grandfather Gustav Goelitz in 1869,

  • and then the second generation began making candy in 1898,

  • and our company has been running continuously since then.

  • We currently have the fourth, fifth, sixth,

  • and seventh generation working in the business today.

  • [Narrator] What started as a small candy business

  • in Belleville, Illinois, has grown into

  • a candy empire today.

  • Jelly Belly produces over 100 different flavors.

  • We were able to get a peek behind the scenes

  • of what goes into making these beloved candies.

  • It can take between seven to 14 days

  • to create a Jelly Belly jelly bean,

  • and each individual flavor has its own recipe.

  • The process begins with making the slurry,

  • which is a hot liquid mixture.

  • The slurry consists of water,

  • cornstarch, sugar, and corn syrup.

  • The flavoring, which is made up of juice concentrate,

  • fruit purées, or natural flavorings is then added in.

  • [Lisa] So we have a lot of fun coming up

  • with new flavors here.

  • We get ideas from our fans online,

  • from phone calls and letters and our employees

  • and people that come in and shop at our stores,

  • and we like to take a product that is very well known

  • and has a very distinct taste

  • that people will know what it is,

  • and then we like to make a Jelly Belly flavor

  • that tastes just like the real thing.

  • So that's exactly what we'll do.

  • If we're making red apple, we'll bring in a red apple

  • and taste that and then work with the flavors to make sure

  • that that product comes out just like a red apple.

  • [Narrator] Next, the slurry is fed through pipes

  • and into a machine called the mogul.

  • The mogul creates the jelly bean mold

  • by filling wooden trays with dry cornstarch

  • and making an impression of the candy into it.

  • The trays pass through the mogul,

  • and the slurry is injected into the candy impressions.

  • After being left overnight in a dry, heated room to firm up,

  • the soon-to-be jelly beans are placed back into the mogul,

  • where they are flipped over.

  • The jelly bean centers get a steam bath

  • and a quick sugar shower.

  • This prevents the centers from sticking together.

  • Colored syrups and sugar are hand-poured on the bean centers

  • to create the shell of the candy.

  • After another rest, the jelly beans

  • receive one more final coating of syrup,

  • and they're topped with confectioner's glaze and beeswax

  • to give the beans their shine.

  • The beans are inspected and taste-tested

  • to make sure they meet the Jelly Belly standard.

  • The jelly beans then make their way

  • through the printing machine

  • where they are imprinted with the Jelly Belly name.

  • They're now ready to be wrapped and shipped.

  • Jelly Belly ships over 15 billion beans a year.

Jelly beans are an American candy staple,

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