Jelly babies are a type of soft confectionery that look like little babies in a variety of colors. They are very popular in the United Kingdom. There are currently several companies that make jelly babies, most predominantly Trebor Bassett (famous for their liquorice allsorts) and also Rowntree (Nestlé).
Jelly Babies were launched by Bassett's in 1919 in Sheffield as "Peace Babies" to mark the end of World War I. Production was suspended during World War II due to wartime shortages and the fact that the name had largely become ironic. In 1953 the product was relaunched as "Jelly Babies". In March 1989 Bassett's were taken over by Cadbury Schweppes who had earlier acquired the Trebor brand. 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 as a mould. Jelly Babies of Australian manufacture generally lack this coating. Like many sweets, they contain gelatin and are thus not suitable for vegetarians. A school experiment is to put them in a strong oxidising agent, and see the resulting spectacular reaction. The experiment is commonly referred to as: "Screaming jelly babies" Each Bassett's Jelly Baby has an individual name, colour and flavour: Brilliant (red - strawberry), Bubbles (yellow - lemon), Baby Bonny (pink - raspberry), Boofuls (green - lime), Bigheart (purple - blackcurrant) and Bumper (orange - orange).
In popular culture
- In the science-fiction television series Doctor Who, the Doctor (especially his fourth incarnation) was particularly fond of Jelly Babies, often offering them to people. In one Fourth Doctor story (The Face of Evil), a cultural mixup on a planet he visits (the home planet of companion-to-be Leela) causes him to pass into mythology as an evil god who eats babies. In the same serial, the Doctor attempts to bluff an alien by pretending that a Jelly baby is a deadly weapon. The bluff called, he scoffs "I won't take orders from anyone" and pops the confection in his mouth. In "The Sound of Drums," the Master offers his wife a Jelly Baby, likely as a nod to the Fourth Doctor.
- Another famous British icon, Basil Brush, also has a penchant for Jelly Babies
- In the 1960s, George Harrison of The Beatles stated in an interview that they were his favorite sweet. This caused their British fans to begin throwing packets or handfuls at the band while they played. American fans, not familiar with Jelly Babies, substituted the much harder and projectile-like jelly bean, much to the band's dismay. Because of the danger of being hit in the eye, John Lennon, who was short-sighted, had to stop wearing contact lenses on stage; this explains his statement in contemporary interviews that Paul McCartney enjoyed their concerts more than he, as Paul could see the girls.
- In The Goon Show jelly babies were often used to bribe the character Bluebottle, as were dolly mixes.
- To mark Jelly Babies' 80th birthday, "Jellyatrics" were released by Age Concern featuring older jelly people.[1]
- The Jellybabies were a DIY/post punk band that were a part of the Cassette Culture scene during the early 1980s.
- The UK sketch comedy show French and Saunders made a reference to Jelly Babies in a sketch parody of The Exorcist in which Dawn French's character says to Jennifer Saunders's character, "Your mother sucks Jelly Babies in hell!"
- The name of the Kingdom of Djelibeybi in Terry Pratchett's Discworld Novels is a pun on the name of the sweet.
