So let’s not beat around the bush: Jelly beans are shiny because they’re coated in shellac, which is a resin that’s secreted by the female lac bug ( laccifer lacca) after it drinks the sap of trees.
According to the Jelly Belly’s UK site, shellac along with beeswax is used to give the beans “their final buff and polish”. If shellac is an ingredient in a food, then the food should not be considered vegan as it contains animal by-products and most likely contains crushed up insects.
Shellac – A Candy Ingredient Made from Bugs. Back in 2011 during an episode of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, he showed some students some of the ingredients used in ice cream and ice cream toppings. One of those ingredients was shellac (pronounced like shelack).
We certainly don’t need insects to produce candy, but in anything, the West needs to be playing a bit of catch-up and embrace alternative sources of protein. If not, we may not even be around to enjoy sweets in the future.
What is the name of the sweet stuff that is made from crushed bugs?
These branches are later harvested, often with most of the bugs still attached, crushed, then washed and sieved to produce shellac, or for the Tim Burton fans out there, colloquially known as “Beetlejuice.”. Shellac is also not the only sweet ingredient that uses crushed bugs. Carmine, a “natural” coloring agent is made by boiling cochineal beetles.
For this process, the beetles are directly harvested from cacti, placed into bags , which are then taken to production plants where they are either boiled in water or left to dry out in sunlight or in an oven. Generally, around 70,000 of the boiled beetles are used to make around a pound of Carmine.
Here’s a fun fact that might help you cut down on all those sugary sweets you like to eat: most of the confectioner’s glaze that makes candy look so good is made from dead insect secretions. Bet that just killed your appetite.
As the Guardian points out, over 2,000 species of insects already form part of people’s diets in over 119 countries worldwide. We certainly don’t need insects to produce candy, but in anything, the West needs to be playing a bit of catch-up and embrace alternative sources of protein.
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