Wednesday, April 5, 2006

Lifesaver Gummies

Lifesavers are known for being highly-flavored hard candies. If there were a candy model that Jelly Belly might have gone off of, it was probably Lifesavers - here is a hard candy, a little smaller than usual, but super-flavored and in a huge variety. Lifesavers got into the gummi game a while ago and I tried them when they first came out, but didn’t think much of them. I decided to revisit them, especially since they changed the flavors out on the five flavor tray.

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The 5 Flavor variety bears little resemblance to the hard candy rolls that have been around since 1934. The flavors in this roll are Cherry (an original flavor), Watermelon, Green Apple, Blackberry and Strawberry. No orange, no lemon, no pineapple. Drat! The candies are much larger than the hard version, they’re soft, if a little greasy on the outside to prevent sticking and are positioned upright on a clear plastic tray inside the wrapper.

The Cherry is just as you’d expect it, great woodsy cherry flavor with a good tart bite. I’m not fond of cherry flavored stuff, but I actually find Lifesavers rather acceptable, probably because the flavor doesn’t seem as artificial as many others. The Green Apple, the lighter of the two green flavors, is rather mild, not too sour but good overall flavor. Watermelon is a darker green and bears little resemblance to real watermelon flavor but has a nice tart bite to it without that overwhelming fragrance that many watermelon candies have. Strawberry was a bit disappointing. It was sweet and had only the slightest hint of a berry flavor to it. I’d tell you about the Blackberry, but this roll had none. I think they’re dark purple. I’ll hazard that it’s the same blackberry flavor in the Wild Berries below.

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The Wild Berry mix held more promising flavor for my tastes: Cherry Berry, Strawberry, Red Raspberry, Black Raspberry, Blackberry and White Grape.

The colors are a little bland, but I guess when you’re making a dozen different flavors you’re going to run out of primary and secondary colors. The White Grape was my favorite. Soft and delicate, it’s just a bit tart and has none of that artificial grape note that I only seem to like in Tootsie Pops and SweeTarts.  The Cherry Berry was remarkably similar to the Cherry in the 5 Flavor, but I’m not complaining. The Blackberry is the only one that seemed opaque, a lustrous dark purple it was tart and fragrant but hardly had a flavor different from the other berries. The Strawberry was the same as above. The rather lavender looking one was, I think, Black Raspberry. It was sweet and tart like the others and much more perfumed, as raspberries tend to be. The lightest red one was probably Red Raspberry and was similar to the Black Raspberry one, but perhaps a little tarter.

The good thing about this mix is that the flavors all blend together well, you can eat them one after another without the flavors fighting or combine them if you’re so inclined.

I like to eat gummies when my throat is bothering me, and I’m just getting over a cold (so if my tasting is a little off, it’s some sort of leftover malaise). They’re soothing and not too sour, so I don’t have to worry about burning my tongue like I often do on my overdoses of SweeTarts. I bought these in a Christmas Storybook on an after-holiday clearance for 98 cents ... so I certainly got my money’s worth for five packages of these.

While these flavors all have merit, I’d really like to have my favorite Lifesavers flavors - Lemon, Orange, Tangerine, Banana, Pina Colada and Pineapple. Actually, I’d be game if they wanted to try a Butter Rum gummi, too!

Name: Lifesaver Gummies - 5 Flavor and Wild Berries
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Lifesavers (Kraft)
Place Purchased: Ralph's
Price: $.20 (on clearance)
Size: 1.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 87
Categories: Gummi, United States, Kraft

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:39 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. I TOTALLY agree that the white grape is the best one!

    And isn’t the yellow in the 5 Flavors roll misleading (lemon)?

    Aye aye to the butter rum idea! =)

    Comment by Kirsten on 4/05/06 at 11:44 am #
  2. err… the yellow ON the wrapper.  It leads one to believe there is lemon INSIDE.  Just clarifying. =)

    Comment by Kirsten on 4/05/06 at 11:45 am #
  3. Cybele's avatar

    You’re right Kirsten ... it is misleading to have the yellow stripe on the wrapper like that. I wonder if Wint-o-Green or Pepp-O-Mint gummis would be any good?

    Comment by Cybele on 4/05/06 at 12:20 pm #
  4. When I was a kid, they had these in the original five flavors and they were called Gummi Savers.  (This wasn’t so long ago, I’m only 14.)  I really don’t like the idea of the new Lifesavers flavors at all.  I miss the old, traditional five flavors (especially pineapple).  Back when the gummis were in the old flavors, I remember them being truly exceptional.  The flavors were just as good (if not better) than the hard candy, but they were delivered in a different medium.  However, the berry flavors sound good.  I might have to try them.

    Comment by Alex on 4/05/06 at 6:03 pm #
  5. Ah GummiSavers! They were the one candy my mom would keep around the house—probably because I wouldn’t eat them all in one sitting. To me, the gummis had a sort foul neutral taste when you first put them in your mouth. I’d find myself sucking viciously to get past the initial flavor and get to the good parts. This led to many inadvertantly swallowed GummiSavers. Or, and this is a travesty in my candy world, I would CHEW the gummis. I’ll have to try the new repackaged ones that Cybele just reviewed and see.

    Comment by DoomGoober on 4/11/06 at 2:52 pm #
  6. has no one noticed that in the package of gummisavers wild berry there are 5 colors and six flavors? does this not disturb anyone else? it’s a travesty and i for one think we should rebel until it is fixed!

    Comment by ellen on 6/19/06 at 7:00 pm #
  7. I personally prefer the lifesaver gummies tangy fruits flavor.  You know in the green package.  They are really hard to find in any size other than the individual packs.  I don’t much care for the berry flavor so this fact is particulary disheartening.  Does anyone know of a site that I can order these?

    Comment by Susan on 1/01/07 at 4:05 pm #
  8. Does anyone remember a short lived version of gummi savers (maybe it was something else) that was carbonated? Every time i have gummi savers i remember this taste and sensation of something very similar, but kinda fizzy. Anybody remember anything like this, or did i have a stroke or something?

    Comment by Cyno01 on 6/28/07 at 4:10 pm #
  9. I love the gummie gushers so delicous!

    Comment by Jack of all gummies on 7/31/07 at 1:21 pm #
  10. What type of Gelitan (made of what?) in the Lifesavers gummies.

    Thanks,

    Tommy

    Comment by Tommy on 11/27/07 at 12:10 am #
  11. I want everyones bunny and eggs gummies. I will buy them

    Comment by Floyd Fever on 3/30/08 at 3:04 am #
  12. Something strange.

    I recently bought a bag each of the 5 flavor and wild berry gummies. Having eaten from both bags, having had them before, I realized that the gummies that were supposed to be blackberry in the 5 flavor bag actually seemed to be the black raspberry from the wild berry mix (translucent purple as opposed to opaque which blackberry is supposed to be). The package itself still says blackberry, so it’s not a flavor change. Is it a fluke? Has black raspberry replaced blackberry in the 5 flavor? Or is it just my bag? Did something get messed up at the factory? Did anyone else get black raspberries instead of blackberries in their 5-flavor bag?

    Comment by Trish on 4/13/08 at 7:27 pm #
  13. Also, Apple is the darker green and watermelon is the lighter green, not the other way around as indicated in this review.

    Comment by Trish on 4/15/08 at 6:11 pm #
  14. I remember when Gummi Savers came out in ‘94 when I was around nine years old and eating tons of them. LifeSavers seemed to have a resurgence of sorts during the 90s with the gummis, holes and creme varieties.

    Comment by Ange on 12/21/08 at 4:55 am #
  15. I came across your lifesaver Gummies, fruit explosions in a vidio rental store. I would like to know where I can purchase the 6 oz bag or larger elsewhere in Palmdale or Lancaster, California

    Please Advise

    Fred Sarciaux

    PS-Might be interested in purchasing quantities for business reasons-

    Comment by fred sarciaux on 1/01/09 at 5:34 pm #
  16. They’ve just come out with “Island Fruits”, which are the best flavors yet!  I wanted to email them and thank them, but candystand.com is blocked at work. :(

    Comment by Nathan on 4/10/09 at 9:18 am #
  17. I have always loved these Gummies and I agree with Nathan the new island fruits are the best flavors yet

    Comment by bace on 6/17/09 at 4:02 pm #
  18. Hello I usually purchase your lifesaver Gummies because they are the best. I grew up eating them, and when I purchased a bag of them they were hard and I was very dissatisfied with my product.

    Comment by Janasia Parker on 8/11/09 at 5:30 am #
  19. You havcen’t mentioned the RAT flavor that is evident in just about every bag of these Mexican made candies.  That sort of bad breath flavor that you get when two gummies are stuck together from the rat’s urinating in the vat.  I just sent them an actual skull of a tiny baby rat that I was unlucky enough to find in one of the bags.  Yes indeed, you can look at the ingredients and wonder with that where in the world the flavor comes from but there’s no mistaking one flavor not at all mentioned here or (and I find it odd) anywhere I CAN FIND ON THE INTERNET.  That peculiar RODENT for the more discerning pallet I guess.

    Comment by Andrew Piotrowski on 9/29/09 at 10:57 pm #
  20. Cybele's avatar

    I’m calling bull on you Andrew.

    There are so many factual errors in your statements that cause me to dismiss your entire story.

    But perhaps you’re well versed in rat urine flavors.  And perhaps your story would be better bolstered by some proof of your finding in your bag - such as a photo or point to an open letter posted on your website.

    Comment by Cybele on 9/30/09 at 5:16 am #
  21. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, and I know I sound like an extreme OCD case, but did anyone read all their gummies.  I ate about half of a bag of the 180g LifeSavers Gummies bag, when I looked at the writing on one of them and it was a little different then usual.  Instead of saying Lifesavers it said L8R.  So then I put it aside and kept going and reading all of them and I found:  OIC, BRB, OMG, W2G, and BFN.  Has anyone else noticed this??

    Comment by Cerial Killer on 11/28/09 at 10:28 pm #
  22. Hey, we just noticed our life savers had one that said OMG and BFN….thought it was weird and decided to check the net for any clues….have you heard anything more?? Wondered why this might be?

    Comment by Jo on 12/27/09 at 2:40 pm #
  23. Cybele's avatar

    Cerial Killer & Jo - yes, LifeSavers has been running a promotion.

    Here’s a photo of one of the packages and the actual candies with different text messages.

    There was a contest going with them.

    Comment by Cybele on 12/27/09 at 2:48 pm #
  24. Finally, an answer! I found a “bfn” on a wild berry gummie and have been googling the topic for the past few months. Thank you for answering that, Cybele. Since it was a contest, is there still any benefit from finding one?

    Comment by Alex on 12/31/09 at 6:39 am #
  25. like Alex above I had gummi savers years ago and they seemed kind of expensive but had intense flavors.  i just got some life savers gummis and am really disappointed.  i wanted to show my girlfriend an old favorite and i told her nevermind, it’s not like it used to be.

    i feel they must have changed/cheapened the recipie

    Comment by jw on 1/15/10 at 8:35 am #
  26. Why can’t find fruit explosions anywhere anymore?
    O K used to carry them but now they never to be in stock! Albertson’s carried them but now is a discontinued item. I log on to lifesavers web site and only get info on starbursts. granted I did get a picture of lifesavers fruit splosions on the site, but no way to find them . My sister is addicted ,and needs a fix! Starburst gummi bursts just don’t do the job!

    Comment by Anne Rose on 10/28/10 at 12:17 am #
  27. I like all of them equally! I ♥♥♥ those gummies!

    Comment by Miciah Hogan on 3/10/14 at 9:20 am #
  28. I found a purple grape shaped gummie in my bag of lifesaver gummies today

    Comment by candyaddict on 2/08/15 at 9:15 pm #
  29. I love lifesavers candy and their great. I did find a gummy bear in my bag though and that was kind of odd. Anyone else had this happen to them? It was straight up a gummy bear in my lifesavers sours bag.

    Comment by Liz on 3/14/16 at 8:32 pm #
  30. I found a white grape flavoured gummy inside my original lifesavers gummies package, found it weird it wasn’t on the package so i had to look it up i ate it anyways tasted like white wine lol

    Comment by Braydon on 4/01/16 at 2:46 pm #
  31. For me its smells bad but it tastes good

    Comment by Me on 11/03/16 at 10:21 pm #
  32. You think that’s strange finding a funny bear in your five flavor lifesavers gummies ring shaped candy, well peep this, I found a gummies put in mines and I never even heard of or seen gummy pigs,until this any advice hit my email, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

    Comment by Cornell Peeples on 12/12/16 at 6:16 am #
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