| Jaffas | |
| Type: | Confectionery |
| Main Ingredient: | Chocolate, orange flavouring |
Jaffas are an Australian–New Zealand registered trademark for a small round confectionery consisting of a solid, orange-flavoured chocolate centre with a hard covering of red coloured confectionery. The name derives from the Jaffa orange. Jaffas are part of both Australiana[1] and Kiwiana.[2]
James Stedman-Henderson's Sweets Ltd, under their brand Sweetacres,[3] released Jaffas onto the Australian and New Zealand markets in 1931.[4] The confectionery is currently made in Australia by Allen's lollies, a division of Nestlé and in New Zealand by RJ's Confectionery in Levin.
A number of Australian and New Zealand amateur sporting groups use Jaffa as a team name. In Dunedin, New Zealand, every year a vast quantity of Jaffas is raced down Baldwin Street – the world's steepest residential street, according to the Guinness World Records[5] – as part of the Cadbury Chocolate carnival, which is held in conjunction with the New Zealand International Science Festival.[6] [7] The initial number of 20,000 Jaffas has now been increased to 30,000 Jaffas. Similarly, "rolling Jaffas down the aisle" at the movie theatre is also a piece of Australian and New Zealand folklore, to the point that it was included in advertising in the 1970s.[8] [9] [10]
The Australian supermarket business Coles has a generic version called "Choc Orange Balls"; similar products are made by other manufacturers.