Monday, August 27, 2007

Katjes Tropical Gummis & Yogurt Gums

Katjes Tropical GummisAs German candy makers go, in my mind Haribo is most associated with Gummi Bears and Katjes is most associated with Licorice.

So here are some Katjes products that are gummis ... I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about them, mostly since I’ve never felt the need to stray from my favorite brand (except of course in service of Candy Blog). But back at the beginning of the year I got an email though, from a reader name Charlene who suggested the Katjes Saure Ananas (Sour Pineapple) ... which sounds just like something I’d dig. Though GermanDeli.com carries them I usually just wanna hold the package in my hand, so I went off to Cost Plus after browsing their online ad and seeing that they had Katjes on sale at two packages for $4.00. While I never found the Saure line, I did find a few other items.

Tropen Fruchte sounded just my speed in the gummi department - based on the cognates and pictures on the wrapper, I decided these are Tropical Fruit. (Okay, okay, the back of the package had an English sticker that said Tropical Fruit Gummis.) What appealed to me most was the supposed grapefruit gummi that was to appear inside.

Katjes Tropical GummisI’ve gotta give them credit, there’s no need to ponder what the flavor are (once you translate them) ... they’re molded into each and every one: Grapefruit, Tropika, Exotic, Mango, Kiwi and Passion Frucht.

Regardless of what the candies actually said, they all tasted rather the same. Oh sure, the tropika tasted a little more like pineapple than the exotic, which tasted a bit more like passion fruit, but I felt the passion and intensity lacking in all of them.

And of course the grapefruit could not rival my other best pal, the Haribo Pink Grapefruit Slice. Katjes was more of a mellow lemon with a little grapefruit zest in it.

Katjes YogurtThe other item I picked up was the Katjes Yogurt Gums. I have no idea what I was thinking. It’s completely unlike me to ever get anything “yogurty.” As a dairy product, I think yogurt is fine but I don’t like it in other things or even the flavor of it in other things. It’s just a personal thing.

The flavors sounded interesting: Himbeere, Erdbeere, Birne, Heidelbeere, Zitrone and Kirsche.

When I first tried these I detested them. They were soft and felt rather like something for a baby.

However, after letting them sit in the bottom of my desk drawer, then being retired to “maybe someday when I’m feeling too lazy to take new photos I’ll review these” box I tried them again. No longer as soft, but oddly grainy like a pear is, I kind of dug them.

The flavor wasn’t terribly tangy in the “dairy gone bad” way, more in the natural tangy fruit way. The gums have real apple pulp in them, which is probably why the pear (birne) one tasted and felt so authentically pear-ish.

I can’t say that I feel like buying either of these again, but I’m pleased that they use no artificial colors and often have fruit pulp, natural flavors and fruit juices in the candies. But for now, I’m going to stick to their licorice or pounce on their sours when I finally find them.

Related Candies

  1. Sour Gummi Bears
  2. HiCHEW Grapefruit
  3. Gummi Lightning Bugs
  4. Dutch Licorice
  5. Lifesaver Gummies
Name: Tropen-Frutchte Gummi & Yoghurt Gums
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Katjes
Place Purchased: Cost Plus (Glendale)
Price: $2.00
Size: 7.1 ounces
Calories per ounce: 95 & 91
Categories: Gummi, Jelly, Germany

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:25 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. At the Cost Plus by me they sell Katjes Saure Johannisbeeren. They are quite tasty. Keep your eye out for them too.

    Comment by Karen on 8/27/07 at 8:05 am #
  2. This brand also makes those tropical gummies in a half fruit half licorice hybrid.  They look pretty much like those pictured, except they are half black.  There may be fewer flavors as well (I remember passionfruit, mango, and kiwi).  It seems to be the only type of product like that (half fruity gummy, half licorice gummy) on the market (I could be wrong), and I thoroughly enjoyed them.  I checked the website and see that they are called Tropen-Lakritz; Tappsy Fruchtlakritz also look delicious!

    Comment by Jessica on 8/27/07 at 2:55 pm #
  3. The brand Katje(s) is Dutch, not German. In case you didn’t know (trivia for the day), the J sound in Dutch is like the English Y. I’m in Holland (American expat) if yuo ever need some new candy to try! Just holler!

    Laura

    Comment by Laura on 8/27/07 at 9:17 pm #
  4. I recently bought a bag of yogi gums with fruit pulp inside, I really find them yummy!  Mine were from another brand though, named ‘Trolli’ (I think they are German too)
    They also have yogi fruitgums without the pulp, which I haven’t tried yet and ‘little cows’ and mice and other more ‘classic’ type of candy
    the ‘tropen fruchte’ look the same like English winegums.

    Comment by Oli on 11/14/07 at 8:51 am #
  5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwRz769hVks
    Heidi Klum making of Katjes publicity

    Comment by Oli on 11/14/07 at 9:00 am #
  6. My 4month pregnant freind bought a pack of yoghurt gums she offered me some, and i looked for the expirey date and it was the 122007, i was shocked. i went back to the shop and they said its the manufacturing date. the sad part is that on the pack there are no contact details for Katjes in South Africa and if this is an expiry date nobody will be held liable for this. i wish someody would contact me URGENTLY.

    Comment by Nobuhle on 2/11/08 at 11:01 pm #
  7. do you honestly believe you’re going to die from eating some candy that was 1,5 months overdate?

    You shouldn’t worry about that, candy in itself is already unhealthy you know.

    You are overreacting.
    You can complain to the shop owner though.

    Comment by Oli on 2/13/08 at 2:13 am #
  8. Hi

    Laura, you are wrong. Katjes is based in Emmerich Germany, just over the border from The Netherlands.
    The associated company is Katja in s’Heerenberg in The Netherlands, about 4 miles away.

    Katjes export all over the world and are renowned for producing top quality fruit gums and liquorice without any artificial additives, preservatives or colours.
    A real help for parents looking for sweets for kids who react to these substances.

    Regards
    Alimatha

    Comment by Alimatha on 2/27/08 at 10:20 am #
  9. That confuses me then… we’re right on the border so we go to Germany a lot and Belgium as well. Katje is a DUTCH WORD, not German… so I can only imagine it’s a German company if it’s someone’s last name who started it or someone like us who lives on the border and works in Germany. ANyone who can verify?

    Comment by Laura on 2/27/08 at 11:57 am #
  10. Cybele's avatar

    Laura & Alimatha - the company Katjes is most definitely German. According to the history page the company was named for the Dutch word for little kitten:

    http://www.katjes.de/en/

    It happens all the time, companies borrow words from other languages as the name of their companies or products.

    Ferrero, an Italian company, uses the name Kinder (children) for their milk-rich chocolate line.

    There’s an appliance company in Italy called Candy. Go figure!

    Comment by Cybele on 2/27/08 at 1:35 pm #
  11. I haven’t seen a review yet from the brand ‘Joris’, a Belgian candy brand, who still uses the same recipies from when they started out in the 1930ies with real arabic gum instead of cornstarch. I find their hard sour candy really yummy, the flavour is also a bit different from the every same haribo type of flavours.
    Here’s a link if you want to kow more: http://joris-sweets.be/

    Comment by Oli on 11/21/08 at 8:04 am #
  12. Mysore Fruit Products Ltd.(MFPL) is manufacturers & exporters of a various fruits products like Mango pulp, Fruit pulp, Guava pulp and Mango concentrates in India.for more details visit http://www.mysorefruits.com/

    Comment by Mango on 7/30/10 at 12:45 am #
  13. If you ever get a chance, try the Euro-Münzen Fruchtgummi, they are coin shaped gummis like the Euro coins and I fell in love with them when I was in Germany. And sadly haven’t been able to find them anywhere in the US, but I still get cravings for them.

    Comment by Maria on 8/31/11 at 12:03 am #
  14. I am facilitator of products to a select group of re-sellers. They can include retailers, specialized distributors and other non-traditional outlets.

    Is your product naturally gluten free??

    Please let me know who I can contact in the USA to represent your products.

    Thanks

    Comment by Rory Grabowsky on 6/07/13 at 11:29 am #
  15. Katjes sweets are our first choice because they are basically of synthetic colourants and flavourants.  Please give me contact details of distributors in South Africa (Gauteng area)

    Comment by Heather on 7/28/14 at 3:55 am #
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