Jelly Babies facts for kids
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| Alternative names | Peace Babies, Unclaimed Babies |
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| Type | Gummy candy |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Region or state | Lancashire, England |
| Created by | Fryers of Lancashire |
| Main ingredients | Gelatin |
Jelly Babies are a type of soft sugar jelly sweets in the shape of plump babies, sold in a variety of colours. They were first manufactured in Lancashire, England, in the nineteenth century. Their popularity waned before being revived by Bassett's of Sheffield in Yorkshire, who began mass-producing Jelly Babies (initially sold as "Peace Babies") in 1918.
History
"Jelly Babies" are known at least since advertisements by Riches Confectionery Company of 22 Duke Street, London Bridge in 1885, along with a variety of other baby sweets, including "Tiny Totties" and "Sloper’s Babies". But the pricing of these, at one farthing each, suggests that they were very much larger than the modern Jelly Baby.
The sweets were invented in 1864 by an Austrian immigrant working at Fryers of Lancashire, and were originally marketed as "Unclaimed Babies". By 1918 they were produced by Bassett's in Sheffield as "Peace Babies", to mark the end of World War I. Bassett's themselves have supported the "Peace Babies" name. Production was suspended during World War II due to wartime shortages. The product was relaunched as "Jelly Babies" in 1953.
A line of sweets called Jellyatrics was launched by Barnack Confectionery Ltd to commemorate the "Jelly Baby’s 80th Birthday" in March 1999. Jellyatrics celebrate "all that is great and good about the older generation".
Manufacture
The most noted modern manufacturer of Jelly Babies, Bassett's, now allocate individual name, shape, colour and flavour to different babies: Brilliant (red; strawberry), Bubbles (yellow; lemon), Baby Bonny (pink; raspberry), Boofuls (green; lime), Bigheart (purple; blackcurrant), and Bumper (orange).
The introduction of different shapes and names was an innovation, circa 1989, prior to which all colours of jelly baby were a uniform shape. Bassett's Jelly Babies changed in September 2007 to include only natural colours and ingredients. There are many brands of jelly babies, as well as supermarket own brands.
Jelly Babies manufactured in the United Kingdom tend to be dusted in starch, which is left over from the manufacturing process, where it is used to aid release from the mould. Jelly Babies manufactured in Australia generally lack this coating. Like most other gummy sweets, they contain gelatin.
