Screaming jelly babies

Jelly babies are made with sugar, glucose syrup, gelatin, citric acid, colours and flavourings.

"Screaming jelly babies" is a chemistry demonstration which is practised in schools in the United Kingdom and Australia, and other countries where the sweets are commonly available. It is often used at open evenings to demonstrate the more light-hearted side of secondary school science. The experiment shows the amount of energy there is in a "jelly baby". Potassium chlorate is a very strong oxidizing agent that oxidizes the sugar in the jelly baby almost instantaneously.

When the experiment is performed, the jelly baby bursts into flames and a screaming sound can be heard as rapidly expanding gases are emitted from the test tube in which the experiment is performed. The smell of candy floss is also given off.