Monday, March 26, 2007

Organic Surf Sweets

I thought I was done with the series of Easter candy, but then I remembered that I had these organic treats that I picked up at Show West.

Surf Sweets is a line of organic candies made by Santa Cruz Nutritionals. No artificial colors, no artificial sweeteners, non-GMO and gluten free but they look and taste just like mass-consumer brands.

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The treats I’m sampling are their Jelly Beans, Fruity Bears and Gummy Bears. Since their colors are natural, they look a little more muted than many other candies, but still very pleasant and sparkly. Surf Sweets are also fortified with vitamin C (though it takes half a package to get a full day’s supply).

Organic Jelly BeansThe jelly beans started off with a bang when I picked up the light yellow one and found it to be a tasty grapefruit. The beans are about the size of Jelly Belly, but a little less regular in shape. The shell was a little more grainy than many other jelly beans I’ve had lately, but very fruity with a good balance of sweet and tart. The other flavors, as far as I could tell were: Lemon, Orange, Cherry (no bitter aftertaste!) and Strawberry.

These are marked Vegetarian on the package, using fruit pectin as the gelling agent. They do have beeswax on them so some vegans may find them objectionable.

Organic Fruity BearsThese are called Fruity Bears but I was just calling them jelly bears. They’re not rubbery like gummis, just soft and chewy with a slight bounce to them. They also use pectin as their gelling agent.

The little sugar sanded bears are very cute. They seem to come in the same flavor set as the jelly beans: Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange, Cherry & Strawberry.

I liked these a lot. I liked them a lot more than the jelly beans because the flavor was in the jelly, not in the sugary coating. The citrus flavors were my favorite.

These are also marked vegetarian but contain beeswax.

Gummy BearsThe Gummy Bears honestly looked no different than any other gummi. The little bear shapes were rather like the Trolli with their well definted paws and eyes. The gummi texture was bouncy with excellent well rounded flavor - good sweetness, good fruit and good tart. The flavors themselves were a little muddier in their distinctiveness. There was a berry, lemon and orange. There may have been two berry flavors, the colors weren’t that different and neither were the flavors.

These were not vegetarian because of the presence of gelatin and not completely organic.

I found them online for $1.75 a bag, which is about $10 a pound ... a bit more than Jelly Bellies and other gourmet sugar candies. If you’re looking for a slightly more wholesome candy for your kids (especially for their Easter basket) that doesn’t look like a compromise to them (unless they’re reading the packages), this is a great option. The flavor and eating experience is exactly the same - so your kids won’t feel like they’re getting a compromise candy. Let’s face it, part of the appeal of candy to kids is the look of it, and these gummi bears, in the palm of your hand, look like gummi bears. They won’t miss the artificial colors.

Related Candies

  1. Super Sour Worms
  2. Chocolate Covered Gummi Bears
  3. Sour Gummi Bears
  4. Pure Fun & Yummy Earth Organic Hard Candies
  5. College Farm Organic Naturepops
Name: Surf Sweets: Jelly Beans, Fruity Bears & Gummy Bears
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Surf Sweets (Santa Cruz Nutritionals)
Place Purchased: samples from Surf Sweets
Price: retail $1.75 a bag
Size: 2.75 ounces
Calories per ounce: 102, 95 & 95
Categories: Jelly, Gummi, United States, Easter, Organic

POSTED BY Cybele AT 7:03 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. I love that you acknoweldge the vegan..ness or lack of in your reviews, and not just because I’m vegan myself.

    As always, great descriptions. =]

    Comment by Julia on 3/26/07 at 9:19 am #
  2. gummy bears used to be in the #1 spot with me, until I started hearing all about what’s inside them and how awful, blah blah blah.  wink

    my husband is a celiac, but since he isn’t into sweets I can’t claim this is perfect for HIM, I have to admit I would try it all for myself and not share either way.

    Comment by liz on 3/26/07 at 10:04 am #
  3. Thanks for the head’s up and the education!  Perfect timing!

    Oh… and hey… I gave you a shout out from my blog at doyouQ.

    I told people to check in with you for inspiration for a question I asked today.

    Thanks for doing such an incredible job!

    Keep up the great work!!!

    Comment by mitch matthews on 3/26/07 at 12:08 pm #
  4. We just came across your article on topgrubs.com and me and my wife are loving your blog!

    Comment by Zack on 4/03/07 at 8:46 am #
  5. Do this come in Nutrasweet forms as well?

    Comment by pilates class girl on 10/11/07 at 7:35 pm #
  6. Cybele's avatar

    Pilates - you mean with artificial sweeteners? I’m afraid I don’t do reviews of products with aspartame in them because I have a sensitivity to it.

    Comment by Cybele on 10/11/07 at 7:38 pm #
  7. I dont recommend gummy bears for celiac disease sufferers

    Comment by murat on 2/16/08 at 9:45 am #
  8. I tried these yesterday and they are SUPER yummy! I’m totally going to buy a supple.

    Comment by Dorothee on 8/19/08 at 4:02 am #
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