Easter Candy

According to a number of sources, Easter runs a close second to Halloween for the amount of candy sold in the United States. The three main kinds of candy associated with Easter are chocolate eggs, jellybeans, and marshmallow Peeps. How did Easter become so candy-friendly?

The Chocolate Egg

As much of history does, the tale of the chocolate egg takes us back to Europe in the early1800s. Chocolate was popular with most middle and upper class citizens. As the Easter season approached, chocolate makers looked for ways to increase sales during the Easter season. Recognizing the popularity of the egg, they experimented with how to create chocolate eggs, which at first were solid.

The candy makers worked hard to provide a hallowed candy egg made with the correct consistency. By the twentieth century, chocolate eggs were produced en mass and their popularity spread around the world.

Now the tasty chocolate comes in a variety of sizes and shapes including bunny rabbits and other Easter-based shapes.

Jelly Beans

Jellybeans were created in the Middle East and were known as Turkish Delights. The hard shell we now associate with the candy was developed in France during the 17th century. Somewhere along the line, the two concepts were united into what we now know as jellybeans.

In American during the early 1900s, they became popularly known as penny candy and sold in general stores across the country. They were kept in glass jars and sold by weight. Because the colors were sold separately, they were soon used for various holiday treats.

It is believed jellybeans became popular as Easter candy due to their egg-like shape around the early to mid-1900s. The real boon to jelly bean sales was the election of Ronald Reagan who loved jellybeans. He even sent jellybeans into space for the astronauts on the space shuttle Challenger to enjoy.

Marshmallow Peeps

The most interesting candy development has been the growing popularity of the yellow marshmallow Peeps. Developed in the United States, they have become increasingly popular since the mid-1950s.

Recent statistics show Americans buy more than 700 million Peeps shaped like chicks, as well as the marshmallow bunnies and eggs making them the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy.

These three kinds and styles of candy have come to symbolize Easter in the United States and in many locations around the world.

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