Rowntree's Randoms

My thanks to the great Cinabar of Foodstuff Finds for once again sending me some yummy U.K. candy to try.

Amongst all the wonderful things Cinabar packed into my latest box of goodies was this little pack of gummies (or "jellies," for those of you on the other side of the pond). What caught my attention -- besides the bright colors -- was how soft the gummies felt through the package. Also, the shapes on the package reminded me a lot of some of the fun Asian candies I have seen online at sites like J-List or at stores like Ranch 99 or Kam Man. My package also had this little gnome guy on it (has to do with a contest the company is running) that reminded me of the Travelocity "Roving Gnome." I was really hoping there would be a gummy gnome in the package because I liked the idea of posing him Flat Stanley style next to random objects.

Part of the fun of the candy is that each bag is a random mix of gummies and you never know what you are going to get in any given bag. Sadly, there was no gnome in mine.



There were lots of fun shapes and several different flavors. I picked my favorite shapes to represent each flavor:



Purple: This one had a taste that was sort of grape, sort of raspberry, sort of...currant, maybe? It's a good, juicy, fruity flavor even if I couldn't pin it down entirely.



Green: I was hoping for green apple -- but instead, it's lime. I give Rowntree points here. It's a completely artificial lime, but they still manage to avoid that industrial cleaner taste most fake lime has. Instead, it's like a gummy version of green doctor's office lollipops.



Orange: Zesty, but a little bit sour. Sort of like a gummy version of unmixed orange juice concentrate. That probably doesn't sound great, but it tasted really good.



Orange/White: This one is a combo of gummy and "foam" or cream base.



It has the same great flavor as the orange in the orange part (big stretch there). The white foam/creme has no taste as far as I can tell.



Yellow/White: The yellow is lemon. This may be the best gummy lemon ever. It's fresh and vibrant.



Granted, it's not quite natural, but it isn't completely fake either. Once again, the white base is tasteless.



Red: This was the lone flavor I didn't like. It was cherry, and it tasted like cough syrup and "red." But the color was quite pretty.



Lighter Red/White: I think this was supposed to be strawberry.



The strongest flavor was simply "red" from the food dye, but it didn't have the same cough syrup taste that the plain red had. The white base, again, is tasteless.

The texture on all of the gummies, regardless of flavor, was a very soft, chewy gel. The only difference with the gummy/cremes is that the creme base is harder and less chewy.

As a whole, this is a really fun candy. The shapes are cool, and they're very well molded. The flavors (besides the red) were really good and the texture was perfect. Hey Nestlé, we need our version of these!

Be sure to check out Cinabar's review here.



PURCHASED FROM:
Gift from Cinabar of Foodstuff Finds.

CALORIES:
164 calories per bag.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Contains gelatin, and may contain traces of dairy.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
rowntrees-randoms.co.uk

Disney Fairies Gummy Flowers: Sweet & Sour

Way back in July, Cybele reviewed a version of these candies (which were called "Pixie Perfect Gummies"). At the time I had no real desire to eat them -- but I did think that her pictures made them look quite pretty.



But there I was at WalMart yesterday, rifling through the candy, when I noticed the box of Gummy Flowers. (Its package photos still do not look as good as Cybele's). I am not sure if this is an entirely different product or simply a redesign of the the one Cybele reviewed. Besides the name being "Gummy Flowers" rather than "Pixie Perfect Gummies," the outer package is not a bag but a movie theater style candy box. It also says that it's a sweet and sour blend. (Although the candy is still in little individual pouches inside said box.) Tinkerbell's Pixie Pals have been banished from the box, and Tink herself leers up in a creepy come-hitherish way that makes me want to make sure Chris Hansen isn't hiding somewhere, just waiting to ask me to take a seat. Seriously, I have a feeling that this was drawn during a phase in Tink's life where she felt like she had to compete with some of the other wannabe Disney starlets; girls who hadn't quite mastered the concept of why it's a bad idea to text naked pictures of yourself...unless you want it to be mentioned on TMZ repeatedly until the end of time...or the end of your career...whichever should come first. (Yes, I am expecting email from Disney's lawyers in three...two...one...) No, folks, that wasn't even the hook that made me part with my dollar to buy the box.




No, that came when I read the back of said box and saw the proclamation that they were "Made Responsibly In China." Well, how could I resist that? Yeah...

In case you missed it, China has been in the news a lot over the last few years for having lead in candy, and all sorts of dire health warnings and recalls issued for food items manufactured there. There is so much information available on this topic that I wouldn't even know where to start linking. Just Google if you're interested. Not to slam an entire country here, but clearly Chinese QA is a concern. (Yes, to be fair, a number of other countries have the same problem.) Looking at this candy as a whole -- from manufacturing location to package to actual candy -- it's clear that Disney makes some interesting choices. (Expecting second email from Disney lawyers...right about...now.) But in any event, these candies were made responsibly -- and it was time for me to enjoy them.

The inner individual packets come with five gummies in each bag. There are three bags to the box. When the box said Sweet & Sour Gummy Candy, I had the impression that the sweet and the sour pieces would be mixed together. In fact, the sours are all sequestered into a mere one out of the three bags. This did sort of make sense -- clearly the candy is aimed at younger kids, and the sour pieces are probably not as popular as the sweet pieces.



There are three flavors, so I am going to do them flavor by flavor, with both the sweet and the sour versions.

In terms of texture, the candies -- while they are somewhat soft and pliable -- are simultaneously chewy to the point that you could call them tough. The candies are fairly large (almost an inch and a half across), and I wonder how hard a time small children would have chewing them or biting off pieces.

The only difference the sour pieces have from the sweet pieces is the dusting of sugar. It add a little crunch and makes the candy a little scratchy on the tongue.

Anyway, on to the flavors...

PINK: Watermelon. Although the box art showed one of the round flowers as being a rather vibrant purple, my box only contained pink flowers. Granted, some were darker (very, very slightly) than others, but I suspect that is just a fluke of the tinting rather than on purpose.

Pink sweet:



Have you ever been using a watermelon-flavored lip balm and gotten a chunk in your mouth? It's like that. Waxy, with a very chemical fake watermelon taste. There is also a bitter aftertaste that I am assuming comes from the dye...or Tinkerbell's tears of shame, whichever.

Pink sour:



I like sour candy. I like sour watermelon. I do not like this sour watermelon candy. I can tell you exactly what they taste like: sour lawn clippings. Yeah, that sounds harsh, but I swear to you it tastes like blades of grass (or wheat grass) covered in sugar and citric acid. Blecch.

BLUE: Blue Raspberry. The blue pieces were nicely molded into little butterflies.

Blue sweet:



This is kind of like a generic blue slushie. It's raspberry flavor in the fakest possible way -- but it's so fake that it's kinda good. The aftertaste is like bad perfume, though.

Blue sour:



After the horrific taste of the watermelon sour, I was worried about this one. But it was merely sour. No immediate flavor, just sour. Once you get through the layer of sugar, it tastes just like the sweet version.

GREEN: Green Apple. The green pieces are also molded into flowers.

Green sweet:



This is the one I was most worried about, because it just doesn't smell good. It smells the way old gum tastes. I am torn on the flavor, though. On one hand, it is the most clearly artificial of the three -- at its worst moments, it also has that took-a-bite-of-lip-balm flavor that the watermelon has -- only amplified by ten. At its best, which comes about ten seconds into having the piece in your mouth (and ends approximately four seconds later), it does in fact taste like apple juice. But I would rather just drink the juice and cut out the middleman.

Green sour:



Again, just sour. But it does manage to cut through some of the most waxy parts. Actually, this was my favorite of the bunch. For the few seconds that it tastes like apple juice, the sourness is nice with that.

As candy, this ranks pretty low. But I will give them points for being nicely molded, and I can see where they would make good decorations for cakes, etc. (I will give them points for that -- but not a higher rating.)



PURCHASED FROM:
WalMart

PRICE:
$1.00

CALORIES:
90 calories per 5 pieces

ADD'LL INFO:
Fat-free. Contains gelatin.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
flixcandy.com. BROWSER WARNING: Site is done entirely in Flash.

Sugar-Free Jell-o With Antioxidants Raspberry Goji

The good people over at Jell-O couldn't have had better timing coming out with this flavor
I won't lie- my favorite way of having Jell-O is still in the forms of Jell-O shots... which is not exactly the healthiest way to enjoy it (wait- vodka is part of a balanced diet right?). I have been looking for low- cal, low fat snacks. It's pretty hard to get lower then 10 calories a serving!- and once again it's antioxilisius!

The Raspberry Goji, has a nice bright raspberry flavor. It's not quite as rich as say a raspberry jam would be but it is a nice floral berry flavor. There is also a taste that the easiest way to describe would be to say that it's sort of like Hawaiian Punch only not. I am not too familiar with the way Goji Berry tastes so there is a very good chance that could be the Goji.

This was a satisfying snack. Sweet enough to curb a sugar craving and perfectly diet friendly. I think I have to start giving a deeper look into Jell-O gelatin.

PURCHASED FROM:
Sample From Company