Category Archives: Candy Perspectives

And the Pucker-Up Award Goes to…

Sour Candy… just reading these two words together can make your mouth water, your lips pucker, and your eyes squint and tear up. Sour candy delivers high intensity flavors to your taste buds that always leave you wanting more. As a kid or maybe even as adults, sour candy not only provides a tingling sensation but it also provides a challenge… how much sour can you handle? As an expert in sour candy and their levels of sourness, a beginner may want to start with Sour Patch Kids or Shock Tarts so that just in case the sour is too much to handle, the sweet aftertaste can mend your scalding tongue. For our intermediates we can move on to extreme sour Smarties or sour Pop Rocks for a little more explosive feeling. Finally, if your tongue and your senses permit it, for your final level you can move on to Warheads or Too Tarts tongue sprayers (use precaution, we don’t want a sour coma). If you think you have what it takes to be sourly invincible visit us at candydirect.com and show us how much sour you can handle!

Bring it on…

This Blog is intern approved!

Alina Serrano (the newbie)

Making National Pancake Day a Little Sweeter

Happy National Pancake day! Could this national holiday get any better? Make you holiday even sweeter by adding candy. Everybody loves pancakes and candy, so why not eat both. Try adding Reese’s peanut butter cups, M&M’s, or even Nerds to give them a little kick. just add you favorite candy to the pancake batter and cook them as you would regularly. It’s also a great idea for little munchkins that always want candy for breakfast. What will you put in your pancakes? Find a great selection of candy for your pancakes at candydirect.com and get creative, you can’t go wrong with candy in pancakes.

This Blog is Intern Approved!

Alina Serrano (the newbie)

Tootsie Pops – Lollipop Candy

Getting in the Middle of an All-Time Favorite: Tootsie Pops

“How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?” There’s absolutely no doubt that the question has been around for quite some time. Made popular in both the 70’s and 90’s, Tootsie Pops are well known not just for that catchy slogan, but also for their exceptional flavor.

Unlike a lot of other pops on the market, a Tootsie Pop stands out for being the only one with a chewy chocolate center. Against flavors like cherry, orange, grape and many others, the chocolate at the core offers a sumptuous contrast to the fruity sweetness—there is absolutely nothing else like it!

Since there’s no other treat like Tootsie Pops, why not share this taste of nostalgia with this generation’s trick-or-treaters? They’ll love the wide variety of flavors this particular pop has to offer, as well as the thrill of finding out how many licks it takes to get to its chocolate core!

Salt Water Taffy – Old-Fashioned Candy

The Different Flavors of Salt Water Taffy

As with candy corn, you can never go wrong with an old-time favorite.  Salt water taffy is one such classic that never really grows old with its fluffy, soft texture that might try to stick to your palette.

The real selling point of this classic treat isn’t just its nostalgic value. The reason why it’s still a big hit with all generations is that innovative manufacturers like Taffy Town have been making these treats with all kinds of different flavors. Now it comes with all sorts of flavors from the standard fare of fruits to more exciting tastes like tropical punch, raspberry lemonade and even pumpkin pie! You might even find something unlikely, like an extra spicy blend to fire up your senses!

Salt water taffy with all its awesome flavors can be quite addicting. After all, with so many tastes to try out, you’ll be sure to spend a lot of time tasting everything that a bag of assorted sweets can offer.

Orange Jells – Gummy Candy

Revive a Classic Treat with Peach-Flavored Orange Jells this Halloween

This Halloween, enjoy the taste of juicy peach jells from Jelly Belly. These firm yet chewy orange jells are bursting with authentic peach flavor that’s sure to bring back sweet memories of Halloween’s past.

Among the fruit flavors in candy, peach is one tricky flavor to get right. The awesome thing about these jells is that they capture the taste perfectly: a mellow, juicy taste with just a little kick of sweetness. Jelly Belly makes all its products with natural ingredients whenever possible, so you can rest assured that the flavor of these jells won’t let you or your guests down.

As a trick-or-treat giveaway, try making small bags of these jells shaped like little peaches. A paper leaf tied to the bag can top off the look and make your giveaway stand out from many others.

Like a lot of other nostalgic treats, these peach-flavored orange jells can be tough to find. Thankfully, online shops like Candy Direct make it easy for anyone to revisit their childhood favorites anytime of the year!

Candy Corn – Chewy Candy

Going Beyond Simple Sugar with the Many Flavors of Candy Corn

Every Halloween, there’s no doubt that there’ll be a batch of candy corn ready for the eating. As a traditional treat, we’ve all come to know and love its simple sugary taste. But did you know that you can now find this candy in a wide variety of other flavors?

A little touch of fruity flavor can totally transform a traditional treat into something new for everyone! This Halloween, why not treat your guests to a sugary rendition of caramel apple? With its white, red and brown colors, it also makes a welcome addition to any Thanksgiving cornucopia.

If you’re feeling a little more gothic, maybe the blackberry cobbler flavor is right up your alley. With a violet stripe over black and white, this type of candy corn totally makes the perfect treat to pair up with a bowl of licorice sweets in a Halloween candy buffet.

It isn’t all about different flavors, though. Today, you can even find these chewy treats molded into all sorts of shapes and sizes! Don’t hesitate to surprise your guests this season with a completely different spin on candy corn. After all, it’s always great to take a little break from tradition every now and then.

Mixing Halloween Candy to Create the Perfect Mystery Trick-or-Treat Stash


This Halloween, don’t just give away wrapped candy like everyone else. Do it creatively!

By adding a gimmick to the usual Halloween candy bowl, your little trick-or-treaters can have an unforgettable night as soon as they arrive at your front door.

Making a creative Halloween bowl isn’t difficult. With just a few simple things you can find at home, you can definitely create an impressive presentation for any visiting vampire, fairy, ghoul, or pirate.

For instance, by using a black cloth with a small hole in the middle, you can add a dash of mystery and suspense to the trick-or-treating experience. Fill the bowl with all sorts of treats from classic favorites like Tootsie Pops and Candy Corn, to something a little more outrageous like sour brite crawlers and Atomic Fireballs.

To add to all the suspense, don’t forget to add special jackpot candy such as Snickers and Milky Way bars for the little creatures lucky enough to get them. Even a simple gimmick like this can really make you the talk of the town!

This isn’t all you can do to make your Halloween creative, though. With the right selection of Halloween candy, you can readily make all sorts of interesting ways to treat your doorstep visitors!

Getting a Bite of Autumn with Mini Snickers Bars

Creamy caramel, roasted peanuts and melt-in-your-mouth chocolate make for a combination that’s simply delightful for autumn! When it comes to capturing that right blend of savory-sweet flavor, nothing beats Snickers. Mini Snickers bars are the way to go if you really love the snack bar’s flavor but want just enough to satisfy your taste buds.

So why are Snickers so great for fall? Simple: the season is meant for enjoying the harvest. Fall also usually calls for heavier desserts, inspiring all sorts of pies and lavish pastries. But if you don’t have the time to spare for all the kitchen work, snack bars like Snickers hit the spot perfectly with that sumptuous blend of salty and sweet. There’s simply no other candy bar that does the same!

With Halloween and Thanksgiving fast approaching, mini Snickers bars also make great sweets for everyone to enjoy: from the neighborhood trick-or-treaters, to family and friends who stop by to celebrate the holidays with you. You can never go wrong with an autumn classic!

Halloween Mix – Party Favors

With kids (and even adults!) coming up with creative ways to dress up this Halloween, why not reward them with a special Halloween mix pumpkin bouquet to bring home?

Overflowing with all sorts of candy favorites, this basket makes a super-sweet trophy for the scariest ghoul, the wickedest witch and the most hideous monster at any party. To create a bouquet perfect as a Halloween trophy, fill the basket up with all sorts of spoils that are sure to appeal to every child and child at heart. Aside from classics like candy corn, Reese’s chocolate, and M&M’s, you can also consider other spooky delights to tantalize the taste buds like sour brite crawlers and black licorice strings.

Don’t just have one bouquet ready, though. If you’re planning to throw a Halloween shindig, it’s a must to have lots of awards to make sure that everyone has a great time. It’s not too hard to get the perfect Halloween mix bouquet when you know the right place to find it!

The Ultimate Jelly Bean Blog

Short Introduction

For those of you that don’t know, a jelly bean is more or less exactly what it sounds like. It is a bean-shaped candy with a semi-hard outer shell and a soft inside. They are generally fruit flavored, such as cherry and watermelon, but as production techniques have become more refined, companies have been able to experiment with many unique and interesting flavors, such as cotton candy and buttered popcorn. This candy has blossomed from an Easter-centered candy to a year-round favorite. Companies have the ability to change the colors and flavors of the jelly bean to match any occasion or season; red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July or orange and black for Halloween.

History

The exact date that jelly beans were created is unknown, but many believe they got their start during the civil war. In 1861, a man by the name of William Schraft began manufacturing jelly beans in Boston and encouraged people to send them to the soldiers to eat as snacks during the war. Some experts believe that the jelly center is descendent of a mid-Eastern confection known as Turkish Delight, which dates back to the biblical times.

However it was not until 1905 when the Chicago Daily News first mentioned jelly beans in an advertisement. Back then they sold for 9 cents per pound, and are considered to be the first “bulk candy.” Most historians have agreed that they were first linked with Easter in the 1930s.

In 1976, the Herman Goelitz Candy Co.,Inc. invented the gourmet jelly bean, which sprung new life into the jelly bean and assured it would last as a candy favorite.

Fun Fact: Jelly beans were Ronald Reagan’s favorite candy, thus during the Reagan administration, jelly beans could always be found in the White House. Reagan even had a specially made jelly bean holder for Air Force One so the jelly beans would not spill during turbulence. Jelly beans have also visited outer space when they traveled on the space shuttle.

Ingredients, Shape, Flavors

Although there are slight differences in the manufacturing processes between companies, the overall process required to make jelly beans is essentially the same.

The basic ingredients needed are sugar, corn syrup, and food starch. In addition to these ingredients, there are small proportions of flavoring that depend on the type of jelly bean. These natural and artificial flavors depend of the specific flavor and may include chocolate, coconut, peanuts, vanilla, oils, cream, or freeze-dried egg, milk, or fruit powders.

One of the recent advancements that has allowed for more creatively flavored jelly beans is the ability to have a particular jelly bean resemble its real world flavor. For example, a watermelon-flavored jelly bean has a soft red center and an outer green shell, so that it looks like a real watermelon. There is also a mixed fruit jelly bean, often known as tutti-frutti, that may have a soft pink center and a speckled outer shell, which suggests that it is a mixed flavor.

Believe it or not, the shape of the jelly bean remained relatively unchanged up until the mid-1970s when producers began manufacturing “gourmet” jelly beans. Gourmet jelly beans are typically smaller and softer than the traditional jelly beans. Since the introduction of gourmet jelly beans, manufacturers have been constantly changing the flavors available. They have been varying the flavors and colors that are available, replacing the less popular flavors with newly designed ones. Even creating fat-free jelly beans to adapt to a more health conscious generation.

The Manufacturing Process

This site has good pictures:    https://wikis.nyu.edu/xdesign/mediawiki/index.php/Jelly_Bean

The manufacturing process begins far earlier than the actual creating of the jelly bean. It begins in a laboratory where chemists test new flavors and flavor combinations of jelly beans, in order to see which flavors will sell the best. These chemists develop small test batches based on customer studies, which are manufactured over a trial period and marketed to gauge their success. If the new flavor is a success, it will be put into production, if not, it will be discarded. A recent trend has been toward organic and healthier candy, with an emphasis on natural ingredients and low calories and fat content.

After the chemists and marketing team have determined a successful flavor it is sent to the candy kitchen where the jelly bean making process begins. The first thing that the kitchen must do is create the jelly bean center. This is made using a syrup that is created by dissolving sugar and other ingredients in a large boiler. Here, the syrup is heated to the proper temperature and consistency, as well as where the flavor and color is added. After the flavor and color have been added, it is transported to the starch casting area.

Each individual jelly bean is created through a process called starch casting. During this process a product called dry corn starch is laid across a plastic tray by a machine called a mogul. Dry corn starch is used because it is a fine powder that is able to retain shapes very well. After the layer of corn starch is laid, dents are pressed into the corn starch in the shape of the inside of a jelly bean. The corn starch covered trays can contain between several hundred to over one thousand individual dents for jelly beans.

After the dents are placed in the dry corn starch, the trays are transported to a machine that deposits the heated syrup, which was made in the kitchen, into each tiny mold. From here, the trays are transported to a cooling room where the temperature and humidity are controlled. This allows the liquid syrup to cool and form the gummy center of the jelly bean.

Now that the gummy center of the jelly bean has been created, it is time to move onto the outer shell. The process to create the outer shell is known as the panning process. This process gives the outer shell its color and flavor. After the gummy centers are dried, they are removed from the corn starch, which is then recycled and used to create even more jelly centers.

Did you know…? Did you know that all of the centers are the same flavor and color before they start the panning process?

Once removed from their corn starch housing, the centers are transported to stainless steel “pans” where additional ingredients are added to give the jelly beans flavor and color. These “pans” rotate several hundred times per minute, which, when sugar is slowly added, allows a hard, sugar shell to be formed. Workers then add the flavors and colors, which gives each flavor of jelly bean its distinctive color and taste.

This is a very time consuming process and can take anywhere between 6 and 10 days. The final step in the process is the package the final product. After they finish the panning process, the jelly beans are placed in sorting trays where they are still separated by flavor and color. They are then taken to a large bin where they are mixed until the desired combination is achieved. Exceptions to this of course include times when jelly beans are packaged as a single flavor.

After they are mixed together they are inspected by workers for quality controlled reasons. Jelly beans with any imperfections are removed, and those that pass the quality inspection are packaged in various sizes and made available for bulk sale or to customers for individual purchases. Some packaging machines can package and seal 80,000 jelly beans a day!

Come take a look at the vast selection of Jelly Beans and more at Candy Direct!

By Matthew Rogers