Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Dr. Doolittle’s Pastilles (Lemon, Grapefruit & Wild Berry)

Dr. Doolittle's PastillesOne of the earlier reviews I did when I started Candy Blog was of Dr. Doolilttle’s Grapefruit & Blackcurrant Pastilles. I liked them quite a bit, even though they were expensive and hard to find.

After a few years, though, Trader Joe’s stopped carrying them and the comments for that post filled up with folks trying to figure out how to order them or even import them by the case.

Flash forward to last Friday, I was returning from a failed sock-shopping trip when I stopped in at Cost Plus World Market. Dr. Doolittle’s Pastilles have returned!

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They have completely new and distinctive tins (that I might have mistaken for soap if they were on the wrong shelf) and even come in new flavors.

I picked up all three, even though they’re now $2.99 for a tin that holds only 2 ounces (instead of the Trader Joe’s ones that were $1.99 and held 2.5 ounces).

The other difference is also the actual candy pieces. They no longer have the little silhouette of Dr. Doolittle molded into them. Not that I don’t like the smooth surface, it was just a little plainer than I expected.

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Soft Fruit Drops Lemon (Tendres Pastilles Aux Fruits Citron) - these sparkling little gummis boast that they have soothing qualities. They are a gummi with gelatin, but have glycerine in addition to vitamin C.

They are firm, like a Haribo (versus a Trolli or Black Forest bear). But the flavor is much more intense than a gummi bear. The lemon is a marmalade or boiled taste - tangy, sweet and a little zesty but more on the jammy side of things than freshly squeezed. They dissolve slowly for the patient among us. But I like to speed it along by kind of chewing them, by folding and pressing them against the roof of my mouth and teeth.

Soft Fruit Drops Pink Grapefruit (Tendres Pastilles Aux Fruits Pamplemousse Rose) - this is the one that I was most interested in, of course, since Pamplemousse is always a huge favorite.

The pastilles are orange, not pink (the ingredients simply say “natural coloring”).

They have a very intense zesty flavor, much moreso than the lemon. Tangy and with that slight bitter flavor of the grapefruit peel. These were definitely the first to disappear. The oily zest essence persists for quite a while after it’s dissolved, too. Not something that goes well with coffee, but I didn’t mind it with afternoon tea.

Soft Fruit Drops Wild Berry (Tendres Pastilles Aux Fruits Baies Sauvages) - this flavor smelled wonderful. A bit like roses, cotton candy and crushed raspberries.

They’re immediately tangy, sweet and jammy. The flavors of the berries are definitely on the blackberry side of things. A bit like a wine gum, there’s a slightly fermented quality to the dark berry tones and maybe a little blackcurrant note.

All the flavors are winners, again, my only complaint here is price. But they are soothing, full of flavor and even have a little dose of vitamin C. The new tins are really pretty and distinctive, though the tops are curved it means I can’t stack them. But I do plan on reusing them as they’re a great shape, easy to open and stay closed in a bag.

Name: Lemon, Pink Grapefruit & Wild Berry Pastilles
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Dr. Doolittle's
Place Purchased: Cost Plus World Market (3rd & Fairfax)
Price: $2.99 each
Size: 2 ounces
Calories per ounce: 95
Categories: Gummi, Switzerland, All Natural

POSTED BY Cybele AT 7:29 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. How funny - I was at Trader Joe’s last night and asked if they planned on carrying these in the future!  The manager laughed and said, “You’d be surprised how many people still ask for them!”  Well, then, carrying them would be the sensible thing, right??!!

    I’m at Cost Plus a lot so I’ll pick them up there.  Shame that blackcurrant seems to have disappeared, but I can buy blackcurrant Fruitips at Cost Plus, so it’s all good!

    Comment by Lesley on 1/27/09 at 10:30 am #
  2. bettyfelon's avatar

    I love anything in a tin!

    it’s so fun

    even if they are hard to open

    Comment by bettyfelon on 1/27/09 at 11:12 am #
  3. Soft Fruit Drops are really tasty and yummy to eat, not only the kids about also the elders like it as u can munch them anytime and anyplace doing any work its affordable and easy to carry.

    Comment by padmaja on 1/27/09 at 11:17 pm #
  4. I saw these exact same candies at a New York & Co. checkout counter recently, masquerading as ‘New York City Girl Gumdrops”!!! (Maybe that’s why the company got rid of the embossing - makes it easier to mass-dustribute under various guises.)

    Comment by SZA on 1/29/09 at 7:24 am #
  5. Mmm, those sound delish! Candy that comes in little metal containers always taste ten times better than if you buy it in a cheap plastic bag. :D

    Comment by Keno on 2/01/09 at 3:55 pm #
  6. I just stumbled upon these at Cost Plus last weekend.  I bought them because of the tin.  I was so pleasantly surprised.  I bought the pink grapefruit and they are delicious.  Only down side is they are expensive and my kids love them.  So much for the special treat for mommy!  I need to stock up on my next visit.

    Comment by Sheila on 2/14/09 at 7:05 am #
  7. This is so sad,  I was excited to learn that Cost Plus World Market was carrying these, but I guess I learned about it too late. :(  I went there yesterday and they only had a few lemon tins left and I asked about them and the girl said they were discontinued. How sad. They obviously sold if there were only a few left so, why discontinue them?  I like them because they have no artificial flavors or sweetener like the majority of the candy mass made in this day and age.

    Comment by akatma on 11/09/09 at 10:15 am #
  8. Ye Dr Doolittle’s Wild Berries Pastilles are the bomb they tast so frigen good i alwayse buy them when i pass by the pharmasy thay have alot there.

    Comment by Jack Nelson on 7/08/11 at 4:00 am #
  9. I am looking for a retail source for Dr. Doolittle’s Finest Pink Grapefruit Pastilles.

    Please let me know where I can buy them in or near Oakland, CA.

    Comment by B. Westheimer on 12/29/15 at 1:48 pm #
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