Louisiana State Jellies

Mayhaw Jelly and Louisiana Sugar Cane Jelly

Adopted in 2003

It was not enough to have a state jelly. A slug-fest erupted in the Legislature that resulted in not just one, but two state jellies. The official jellies for the State of Louisiana are mayhaw jelly and sugar cane jelly. It is comforting to know the Legislature was able to work this out.

Louisiana Legislature Archives
§170.8.  State jellies
A.  There shall be two official state jellies.  One official state jelly shall be the mayhaw jelly.  Its use on official documents of the state and with the insignia of the state is hereby authorized.
B.  The second official state jelly shall be Louisiana sugar cane jelly.  Its use on official documents of the state and with the insignia of the state is hereby authorized.
Acts 2003, No. 76, §1.
 

Mayhaw Jelly

May is a good time to enjoy mayhaw jelly, Louisiana's state jelly. The mayhaw, Crataegus opaca, is a native fruit of Louisiana. It begins ripening in late April and finishes about the first week in June. Fruit color is usually bright red, although it can deviate toward pink or yellow.

Louisiana Sugar Cane Jelly

Sugar cane came to Louisiana as early as 1733 when the Jesuit priests brought cane stalks from Santo Domingo. It was used primarily as chewable stalks and as a confection similar to molasses. Sixty-one years later (1794), a fellow by the name of Etienne de Bore opened the first successful sugar mill on the site where Audubon Park is located today. It was at that time the method of creating granulated sugar was put into production and started the industrial sugar revolution.

Two hundred years later, Roland F. LeBlanc, Jr. of Abbeville, Louisiana conceived the idea of turning the juice of sugar cane into jelly. Driven by, ingenuity and the grace of God, along with the legacy of past generations (Roland's grandfather was Senator Dudley J. LeBlanc, Sr., otherwise know as "Coozin Dud: the inventor and promoter of Hadacol, the cure-all elixir). Roland F. LeBlanc, Jr. set out to develop a new product. After three years of experiments research, and travel, he with a handful of shareholders under the corporate name "The LeBlanc Jelly Co." successfully opened the first Cane Jelly™ manufacturing facility.

ENROLLED
Regular Session, 2003
HOUSE BILL NO. 27

BY REPRESENTATIVES HILL, FRITH, BOWLER, FAUCHEUX, AND
WALSWORTH AND SENATOR HINES

AN ACT
To enact R.S. 49:170.8, relative to state symbols; to provide that mayhaw jelly
and cane jelly are the official state jellies of Louisiana; and to provide
for related matters.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
Section 1. R.S. 49:170.8 is hereby enacted to read as follows:

§170.8. State jellies
A. There shall be two official state jellies. One official state
jelly shall be the mayhaw jelly. Its use on official documents of the
state and with the insignia of the state is hereby authorized.

B. The second official state jelly shall be Louisiana sugar cane
jelly. Its use on official documents of the state and with the insignia of
the state is hereby authorized.

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA

APPROVED: