# Jelly babies

**Canonical URL:** https://sweeties.net/wiki/jelly-babies/
**Source:** sweeties.net, online pick and mix sweet shop

## Summary

Jelly babies compared: Bassett's, Haribo and Candy King recipes, all made with gelatine, plus the history, names and famous fans, in one place.

## Description

Jelly babies are soft, baby shaped jelly sweets, dusted with starch. They were first sold in 1864 as Unclaimed Babies, made in Lancashire. Bassett's of Sheffield made them as Peace Babies from 1918 and renamed them Jelly Babies in 1953: see what were jelly babies originally called? and why are jelly babies called jelly babies?
Three recipes
Bassett's Jelly Babies, 400 g, as published by Chomp. Sugar, glucose syrup, water, gelatine, concentrated fruit juices, citric acid, flavourings, and colours from plant sources such as anthocyanins, paprika extract and curcumin. The list warns that they may contain wheat.
Haribo Jelly Babies, as listed by Haribo UK. Sugar, glucose syrup, gelatine, citric acid, fruit and plant concentrates from apple, aronia, bilberry, blackcurrant, carrot, elderberry, grape, lemon, mango, orange, passion fruit, radish, safflower, spirulina and sweet potato, sunflower oil, flavouring, beeswax as a glaze, caramelised sugar syrup and elderberry extract. Haribo lists six flavours: apple, blackcurrant, peach, lemon meringue, raspberry and pineapple.
Candy King Jelly Babies. Sugar, glucose syrup, water, modified starch, gelatine, citric and malic acids, natural flavourings, the colours carmine, vegetable carbon and curcumin, and safflower and spirulina concentrates.
What differs
Colours. Bassett's and Haribo's use plant colours and concentrates. Candy King's adds carmine, a red made from insects, and vegetable carbon, a black: see what is carmine?Glaze. Haribo's are glazed with beeswax: see what is beeswax on sweets?Wheat. The Bassett's list carries a may contain wheat warning.Loose sweets. Candy King reminds shoppers that scoops are used in different boxes, so allergens can move between them: see pick and mix and allergies
All three contain gelatine, so none is suitable for vegetarians or vegans: see are jelly babies vegetarian? and are jelly babies vegan?
How they are made
Jelly babies are cast in baby shaped hollows pressed into trays of starch, which is where the dusty coat comes from: see how are jelly babies made? and why are jelly babies covered in powder?
Famous fans
In 1963, after George Harrison let slip that he liked them, Beatles fans pelted the band with jelly babies. Doctor Who's time traveller has offered them since 1968, most famously as Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor: see the Beatles and the jelly babies and Doctor Who and his jelly babies. Runners carry them for quick sugar, and some people with diabetes use them for low blood sugar: see why are jelly babies used by runners? and why are jelly babies used for low blood sugar?
In our pick and mix
We sell SW003 by the 100 g. Recipes differ between makers, so the card opens up to show the full ingredients and allergens for the jelly babies we actually stock.

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