Ferrara Pan Candy Company
Encyclopedia
The Ferrara Pan Candy Company is a Chicago
and Forest Park
, Illinois
, based candy
company that makes a variety of popular candies. Their popular confections include Lemonheads
, Jaw busters
("The Original Jaw Breakers"), Atomic Fireballs, Chewy Fireballs, Original Boston Baked Beans, Grapeheads (formerly Alexander the Grape), Apple Heads, Punch Heads, Orange Heads, Cherry Heads, Chewy Lemon Heads & Friends, Tropical Chewy Lemon Heads & Friends and Red Hots.
According to the Ferrara Pan Candy Company website, the company was founded in 1908 by Salvatore Ferrara, Salvatore Buffardi and Anello Pagano. The company is located on the outskirts of Chicago
at 7301 W. Harrison St., Forest Park, Illinois
. It continues to be owned by the Ferrara, Buffardi, and Pagano families. Originally, Ferrara Pan developed and sold sugar-coated almonds
or confetti as they are called in Italy. The original manufacturing facility located at 2200 W. Taylor Street now is the Ferrara Bakery.
) are a round, cinnamon
-flavored hard candy
invented by Nello Ferrara in 1954. They are a form of jawbreaker
. The outer layers of the candy are a bright red color while the interior layers are white.
When initially introduced by Ferrara Pan, the company had a manufacturing capacity of 200 cases per day but demand quickly rose to 50,000 cases per day. According to the company, approximately 15 million Fireballs are eaten weekly. "The spicy flavor and the exceptionally long lasting candy was instantly popular (coupled with the popular culture obsession with all things atomic at the time
). The outside layer of the Fireball is quite mild. After a moment in the mouth, the smooth ball of hard candy releases an intense spicy cinnamon flavor. Capsaicin is the ingredient found in the Atomic Fireball that causes the burning sensation.
They are made with the hot panned process
with ingredients of a single grain of sugar, syrup and flavor. The hot pans tumble the ingredients around until the fireballs snowball into the appropriate size. The process lasts for about two weeks. By the end of the process the fireball consists of at least one hundred layers. The fireballs come in two sizes, a pea size and the more popular full-size (7/8ths of an inch in diameter) which comes individually wrapped.
Also available are chewy fireballs, with the same flavor of the original with a chewy texture.
The serving size of Original Boston Baked Beans is 11 pieces or 15 g. One serving contains 70 calories (290 kilojoules) and 20 calories (80 kJ) from fat.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Forest Park
Forest Park, Illinois
Forest Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in the United States. The population was 15,688 at the 2000 census...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, based candy
Candy
Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
company that makes a variety of popular candies. Their popular confections include Lemonheads
Lemonhead (candy)
Lemonhead is a brand of candy produced by the Ferrara Pan Candy Company. Lemonheads are a round, lemon-flavored candy consisting of a sweet coating, soft sour shell, and a hard candy core....
, Jaw busters
Gobstopper
Gobstoppers, known as jawbreakers in Canada and the United States, are a type of hard confectionery. They are usually round, usually range from about 1 cm across to 3 cm across and are traditionally very hard.The term...
("The Original Jaw Breakers"), Atomic Fireballs, Chewy Fireballs, Original Boston Baked Beans, Grapeheads (formerly Alexander the Grape), Apple Heads, Punch Heads, Orange Heads, Cherry Heads, Chewy Lemon Heads & Friends, Tropical Chewy Lemon Heads & Friends and Red Hots.
According to the Ferrara Pan Candy Company website, the company was founded in 1908 by Salvatore Ferrara, Salvatore Buffardi and Anello Pagano. The company is located on the outskirts of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
at 7301 W. Harrison St., Forest Park, Illinois
Forest Park, Illinois
Forest Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in the United States. The population was 15,688 at the 2000 census...
. It continues to be owned by the Ferrara, Buffardi, and Pagano families. Originally, Ferrara Pan developed and sold sugar-coated almonds
Jordan Almonds
Jordan almonds, also known as sugared almonds or confetti, are a type of confectionery consisting of almonds covered with a candy coating in various colors, originating from Italy and particularly typical of the town of Sulmona...
or confetti as they are called in Italy. The original manufacturing facility located at 2200 W. Taylor Street now is the Ferrara Bakery.
Atomic Fireballs
Atomic Fireballs (known as Atomic FireBlast in the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) are a round, cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
-flavored hard candy
Candy
Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
invented by Nello Ferrara in 1954. They are a form of jawbreaker
Gobstopper
Gobstoppers, known as jawbreakers in Canada and the United States, are a type of hard confectionery. They are usually round, usually range from about 1 cm across to 3 cm across and are traditionally very hard.The term...
. The outer layers of the candy are a bright red color while the interior layers are white.
When initially introduced by Ferrara Pan, the company had a manufacturing capacity of 200 cases per day but demand quickly rose to 50,000 cases per day. According to the company, approximately 15 million Fireballs are eaten weekly. "The spicy flavor and the exceptionally long lasting candy was instantly popular (coupled with the popular culture obsession with all things atomic at the time
Atomic Age
The Atomic Age, also known as the Atomic Era, is a phrase typically used to delineate the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear bomb Trinity on July 16, 1945...
). The outside layer of the Fireball is quite mild. After a moment in the mouth, the smooth ball of hard candy releases an intense spicy cinnamon flavor. Capsaicin is the ingredient found in the Atomic Fireball that causes the burning sensation.
They are made with the hot panned process
Sugar panning
Sugar panning, or simply panning, is a method for adding a candy "shell" to candy or nuts. Popular candies that employ this process in their manufacture include dragées, M&M's, and jelly beans. Jelly beans use soft panning whilst the other two are examples of hard panning...
with ingredients of a single grain of sugar, syrup and flavor. The hot pans tumble the ingredients around until the fireballs snowball into the appropriate size. The process lasts for about two weeks. By the end of the process the fireball consists of at least one hundred layers. The fireballs come in two sizes, a pea size and the more popular full-size (7/8ths of an inch in diameter) which comes individually wrapped.
Also available are chewy fireballs, with the same flavor of the original with a chewy texture.
Atomic Sourballs
Atomic Sourballs come in various colors (including green, purple, yellow, and red) and are sour. They are round with a sour shell and a hard inside.Original Boston Baked Beans
Original Boston Baked Beans are sugar-coated peanut candies.The serving size of Original Boston Baked Beans is 11 pieces or 15 g. One serving contains 70 calories (290 kilojoules) and 20 calories (80 kJ) from fat.
Red Hots
Red Hots are small cinnamon-flavored candy created and trademarked by the Ferrara Pan Candy Company in the 1930s. They are used in some apple sauce recipes and as confectionery decorations.Other
- Grapehead (Formerly called Alexander the Grape)
- Cherryhead (Formerly called Cherry Clan)
- Melonhead (Formerly Mr. Melon)
- Applehead (Formerly called Johnny Apple Treats)
- Lemonhead
- Orangehead
- Jaw Busters
- Narbles
- Sour Cherries