Yes , Jelly Bean . It is one of the most popular candies in the world and have been around for over a century . This classic candy with a soft, chewy center and a thin hard sugar coating come with flavour possibilities that is almost endless which has led to the ever growing popularity of this fun, tiny candy . It's the all time favourite candy of President Ronald Reagan . Jelly Belly, a major jelly bean producer, even created a special blueberry flavor jelly bean for him ! It's also the first candy that got to space in 1983 Challenger Space Shuttle to serve as snack for the astronauts . Amazing , huh?
But that's not the case we are talking about today . Do you ever wonder why they always looks so shiny ? Well , this maybe sound unbelievable to you .They are coated with shellac . Yes , you hear it right . Shellac . You may ask , the thing that make my furniture shiny ? Yes , agian , and they came from the same source . So , what's is it? The excrement of tiny insects . In other words , bug poops .
How Shellac Is Made
The female lac bug, Kerria lacca , is a parasitic insect that live on certain trees ,known informally as lac trees , primarily in India and Thailand . They constantly suck up the sap of the tree and excrete lac , scarlet resinous secretion ( their dung ) onto the branches of trees , to provide protection for her eggs to hatch and mature .The encrusted brunch, called sticklac is cut . The lac crust is then scraped off , together with insect remains and tree barks is sieved and washed repeatedly to remove the impurities . They are then processed into shellac by heat treatment or solvent extraction. Eventually , all the dry shellac is broken up to flakes to be bagged and sold .
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Where Is Shellac Used
Shellac is used in the manufacture of a number of products including furniture polish and varnish; aluminum foil ; lipstick, hairspray, shampoos, mascara and perfume; printing ink and paints; pharmaceutical tablets; and agricultural fertilizer.
In foods, shellac is used as a coating or glaze . Basically , all hard-coated, shiny candies contains a shellac coating or glaze . Some chocolates , chewing gum , as well as fruits including apples are coated with shellac to make them shiny . Shellac is often labeled as confectioner's glaze, pharmaneutical glaze or resinous glaze in food ingrediants .
Nonetheless , shellac is recognized as GRAS under the FDA ( Food and Drug Administration ) , which mean Generally Recognized As Safe for human consumption . It's edible , safe , and non-toxic , but it just doesnt simply mean that you would like to eat it .
Check this video out if you want to know more details about how shellac is made
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=lQcQ0yuekZ0
(Shellac Origins and Manufacture)
Shellac is used in the manufacture of a number of products including furniture polish and varnish; aluminum foil ; lipstick, hairspray, shampoos, mascara and perfume; printing ink and paints; pharmaceutical tablets; and agricultural fertilizer.
In foods, shellac is used as a coating or glaze . Basically , all hard-coated, shiny candies contains a shellac coating or glaze . Some chocolates , chewing gum , as well as fruits including apples are coated with shellac to make them shiny . Shellac is often labeled as confectioner's glaze, pharmaneutical glaze or resinous glaze in food ingrediants .
Nonetheless , shellac is recognized as GRAS under the FDA ( Food and Drug Administration ) , which mean Generally Recognized As Safe for human consumption . It's edible , safe , and non-toxic , but it just doesnt simply mean that you would like to eat it .
Check this video out if you want to know more details about how shellac is made
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=lQcQ0yuekZ0
(Shellac Origins and Manufacture)
