"jelly belly" news and stories

There's no delicate way to put it: The newest flavor at The Ice Cream Store in Rehoboth Beach, DE, is flat-out gross. Ready for a double scoop of...Booger? Yes, Booger. And it's everything you might imagine: green, studded with chunks and completely off-putting. Longing for the good old days of Rocky Road yet?

Of course, the shop's owner, Chip Hearn, was banking on the gross-out factor. In a flash of marketing genius, he decided to create the ice cream after tasting a booger-flavored Jelly Belly jelly bean (a part of their 'BeenBoozled' collection that contains other gross-out flavors like Rotten Egg, Moldy Cheese and Barf). "Let's make 'Booger' and let's make it great just to mess with everyone," the ice cream maker recalls telling his staff.

Hearn is no dummy -- kids are big fans of unorthodox flavors. Look at the candy aisle these days and you'll see a wide selection of gummy worms, fake slime, and other stomach-turning offerings (care for a candy scab on a faux band-aid?). So, Hearn told the Associated Press, he thought, "I'm going to make my version of what booger tastes like, and I'm going to make it look good." He added, "I did not pick a bunch of boogers for myself to get some ideas."

Read more about booger ice cream after the jump.

A few of the best stories spied elsewhere on the Web this week:

Much to the dismay of the meat industry, the Baltimore Public School System has instituted Meatless Mondays on the lunch line in an effort to reduce students' intake of cholesterol and saturated fats.

See which chefs are running the New York City Marathon this Sunday and what they'll be dining on afterwards.

Building on the success of "Top Chef," Bravo plans to launch "Top Chef: Just Desserts," a competitive show for pastry chefs. They have yet to release the planned panel of judges or the host.

Jelly Belly announced a new line of beverages called Jelly Belly Gourmet Soda to be sold in 4-packs in popular jelly-bean flavors Sour Cherry, Lemon Drop, Crushed Pineapple and Blueberry.

Still looking for Halloween costume inspiration? Check out this slideshow of celeb chefs and dress accordingly -- will you choose tattooed arms or the traditional chef's coat?

As a kid, I didn't really care too much for jelly beans. The obligatory jelly beans in my Easter basket every year were some of the last candy eaten, and only because, as a kid, I just couldn't let any candy go to waste. I was initially skeptical of Jelly Belly's because of my childhood aversion to jelly beans: I just didn't think anything classified as a jelly bean could be good. Boy, was I wrong, and I'm glad someone convinced me to give them a try.

Now, you can help Jelly Belly decide on their next flavor jelly bean. Out of thousands of entries, Jelly Belly has the choices whittled down to five. The person who contributed the winning bean flavor gets $10, 000, but sadly the voters only get the satisfaction of voting. Fortunately for me that's pretty good in my book. You have five choices, all of which sound interesting, and you have until August 31 to vote. I think I'm going for the sublime chili lime, or maybe the Thai iced tea. What flavor do you think should win?

[Via Candy Addict]

Despite the recession, people are buying Jelly Bellys like never before, reports the New York Times. Why? Because they blow other jelly beans out of the water in terms of taste, consumers say. And, as we've already seen, consumers are loathe to give up their little treats in the middle of stressful financial times.

While other candy companies are experiencing flat sales, the Jelly Belly Candy Company is producing 300,000 pounds of beans a day and rising. Sales are up 25 percent since 2006, for a total of $160 million a year. The company continues to expand its reach, with niche products like the "every flavor beans" from Harry Potter (try the dirt, stay away from the ear wax), the JBz, which are like flavored M&Ms, and electrolyte-infused sports beans.

Some marketers wonder if Jelly Bellys increased availability in stores like Wal-Mart will kill their appeal with higher end consumers (I remember when the only place I could find them was at a gourmet store). I personally doubt that any amount of snobbery will keep people away from their chocolate pudding- and cinnamon-flavored treats.

Source

Here it is -- July 31, and it looks like they tried to squeeze in three food holidays before the month was over.

Today is National Jump For Jelly Beans Day, National Cotton Candy Day, and National Raspberry Cake Day. Why Raspberry Cake is so popular it gets its own holiday I have no idea, but there you go. Here's a recipe for Raspberry Cake from Annie's Recipe Kitchen, and did you know you can make cotton candy at home?

As for jelly beans, you can get some recipes from Jelly Belly. They aren't "recipes" in the classic sense, they are actually combos of jelly beans you pop in your mouth that create a dessert. For example, 2 chocolate pudding jelly beans + 1 cappuccino jelly bean + 1 peanut butter jelly bean = Mud Pie!