The great Easter basket question — to Peep or not Peep

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Love them oregon hatred them, those marshmallow Peeps that travel successful blindingly bright colors and an array of flavors are inescapable astir the Easter holiday.

Millions are made regular successful Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, by Just Born Quality Confections, a family-owned candy shaper that besides churns retired Hot Tamales, Mike and Ike effect chews and Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews.

Peeps is Just Born’s astir recognizable marque and 1 of a fistful of candies that evoke beardown reactions — bully and bad. Some accidental an Easter handbasket isn't implicit without Peeps portion others deride them arsenic being indestructible. Some usage them successful recipes oregon adjacent artwork.

“Even if you’re not usually 1 to gravitate to eating the Peeps, there’s ever truthful galore different amusive ways to see them successful your celebrations,” said Caitlin Servian, marque manager for Peeps.

How galore Peeps are made each year?

On average, astir 5.5 cardinal are made each day.

That adds up to 2 cardinal a twelvemonth — oregon astir 6 Peeps for each man, pistillate and kid crossed the U.S.

How galore antithetic varieties and colors are there?

First hatched successful yellow, the sugary chicks and bunnies travel successful 9 colors for this Easter season, including pink, bluish and lavender. And determination are adjacent much flavors — 14 for Easter — from cookies and cream, to effect punch and sour watermelon. The varieties and colors alteration passim the twelvemonth with antithetic vacation seasons.

How agelong does it instrumentality to marque a Peep?

Before the aboriginal 1950s, making the candies by manus took 27 hours.

Bob Born, who became known arsenic the “Father of Peeps,” came up with a mode to velocity up the process. He and a institution technologist designed a instrumentality to marque them successful little than six minutes. The aforesaid process is utilized today.

How are they made?

The main ingredients — sugar, maize syrup and gelatin — are cooked and combined to make marshmallows, which are past shaped and sent done a “sugar shower.”

A whopping 400 pounds (181 kilograms) of sweetener is utilized per batch for Peeps' colored sugars.

Freshly made Peeps — each chick weighs one-third of an ounce — past determination on a conveyor truthful that they tin chill earlier being packaged.

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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio.

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