Monday, September 9, 2013

Starburst Original Fruit Flavored Candy Corn

Starburst Original Fruit Flavored Candy CornCandy Corn is brilliantly simple and captures the essential nature of corn itself very well. Corn (I mean dent corn, not the fresh-eating sweet corn) is ubiquitous and exceptionally versatile; it can be used to create oil, sweeteners, cereals, starches, feeds and even plastics.

Candy Corn reflects that versatility well, in that it looks like food, but it is much better at boosting the appeal of other foods as a decoration or merely a side dish to more appealing things. Like corn in our everyday lives as North Americans, it’s everywhere at Halloween. Candy corn is a fondant, and fondant is basically a butterless, chocolateless fudge. It’s just sugar and corn syrup, sometimes flavored with a bit of honey and sometimes held together with a bit of gelatin or egg white.It’s kind of sad that candy corn has become some sort of punchline to jokes about reviled foods, but it must have lovers or at least likers, or else candy companies wouldn’t make so much of it.

Wrigley’s seems to have latched onto the seasonal quality of candy corn for their new Starburst Original Fruit Flavored Candy Corn but discarded most of the other qualities of candy corn. They’re brightly colored, fruitly flavored unlike normal candy corn. The only thing that remains is the triangular shape and layering of colors.

Starburst Original Fruit Flavored Candy Corn

Each candy is three tiers of one of the Original Starburst flavors: cherry, strawberry, orange and lemon. All have white tips, light centers and dark bases.What’s particularly odd about them is that they’re flavored the same on all levels. At the bottom of the bag was a bunch of the little white tips that had broken off and they were absolutely just as flavorful as the colored bottoms. The other thing is they’re not a traditionally “flavored” mellocreme. The others that I’ve had are usually light - maple or cocoa flavored perhaps, or with mild fruit essences. The Starburst Candy Corn is going for true Starburst juicy flavor - sweet, fruity and tart.

Starburst Original Fruit Flavored Candy Corn

Cherry was the darkest red. It tasted quite strongly of that artificial cherry that Life Savers and Starburst share. There’s a sharpness towards the end and an overall pleasant tartness. The texture is good, it’s soft and though it doesn’t quite melt in your mouth, it’s smooth. The flavor lingered, again, medicinal and artificial.

Strawberry was pink and had a similar sort of medicinal quality like the cherry. It wasn’t floral or jammy, just artificial tasting.

Orange was like a creamsicle, sweet but tart enough that it had a sort of aspergum finish to it. This too had a lingering aftertaste, kind of like yogurt or soured milk.

Lemon was probably the most successful, but that’s not saying much. The lemon had a hint of zest but mostly was like a lemon sherbet flavor.

On the whole, I found them a pleasant experience, but I was left wondering why I was eating them. I didn’t like the flavor variety, the aftertaste was odd and the tartness distracted from what is usually a very mild and comforting candy. I think to celebrate the season, I’ll just form my regular Starburst Chews into little triangles and enjoy them that way.

Starburst has really extended their fruit chew brand in a lot of ways. There are or have been jelly beans, lollipops, drinks, gummis and now mellocremes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Starburst gum, red licorice type chew or chocolately Tootsie Roll styled product. Only time will tell.

The ingredients do not list any eggs or gelatin, which I found surprising. It does list confectioners glaze, which usually means shellac so it’s not a vegan product.

Related Candies

  1. Starburst Minis (Original)
  2. 6 Candy Corn Candies That Aren’t Candy Corn
  3. Starburst Crazy Beans
  4. Halloween Dots: Bat, Candy Corn & Ghost
  5. Brach’s Chocolate Candy Corn & Halloween Mix
  6. Milk Maid Caramel Apple Candy Corn
  7. Starburst GummiBursts
  8. Starburst and Jelly Belly Jelly Beans


Name: Starburst Original Fruit Flavored Candy Corn
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Wrigley’s
Place Purchased: RiteAid (Miracle Mile)
Price: $2.79
Size: 12 ounces
Calories per ounce: 100
Categories: Candy, Halloween, Mars, Wrigley's, Fondant, 6-Tempting, United States, Rite Aid

POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:24 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyReviewHalloweenMarsWrigley'sFondant6-TemptingUnited StatesRite Aid

Comments
  1. I adore candy corn! Who are these jokers reviling it??!!

    Comment by Anne on 9/09/13 at 1:29 pm #
  2. I loooooooove these.  Love.  I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve polished off two full bags already this year.  For me, candy corn is at least as much about the texture as it is about the taste.  I think the flavor is pretty true to starburst and the texture is pretty true to candy corn (maybe a little softer/wetter) so it’s like the perfect addictive little bad-for-you snack.  Ugh.

    Comment by Ruffy- on 9/09/13 at 2:46 pm #
  3. Hello, my name is Thomas and I am a candy corn addict. I surreptitiously buy a sack of candy corn every year and desperately try not to eat it all in the first week. Not having candy corn at Halloween would be like Chanukah without the chocolate coins or Christmas without the ravioli… what? (my extended family is Norther Italian)
    This year, I got S’mores Candy Corn. I’m three-quarters of the way through the bag (made it past the first week!) and I’m still not sure if it’s better than the straight stuff. Last year it was Caramel Apple flavored candy corn. It was… interesting.

    Comment by Thomas on 9/09/13 at 3:45 pm #
  4. I was eagerly awaiting this review!

    I work in a Kroger grocery store and manage the candy section - ours boasts a surprising variety over many other grocery stores and rivals wal-mart. One of my favorite things to do is find new candy coming in (that the shelf hasn’t been made ready for) and buy it before others get the chance.

    This year I saw these come in with the Halloween shipment and immediately grabbed a bag to try. I have to say I was expecting them to be more like a true starbust shaped like a candy corn instead of the traditional candy corn texture with starburst flavor. They were okay but in my heart I still wish it were starbust simply shaped and colored like candy corn. Who knows, maybe next Halloween they’ll do it! And I’ll be the first to try it when they do

    Comment by Sean the Candy Man on 9/10/13 at 1:08 pm #
  5. Starburst actually used to have a licorice-like product back in the mid-late 90s called Starburst Fruit Twists (Google for images/commercials) and they were DELICIOUS, yet discontinued. They are truly missed!

    Comment by Jessica on 9/17/13 at 7:17 am #
  6. Are the new Starburst candy corn gluten free?

    Comment by Merilee Newman on 10/12/13 at 7:43 am #
  7. Absolutely disgusting. Had to come to the Internet to vent.

    Comment by Spenser on 10/30/15 at 5:35 pm #
  8. Sadly, they’re not being made for 2016.

    Comment by Rich on 9/20/16 at 4:05 pm #
  9. I am absolutely jonesing for these once a year treat.  I have been waiting since last October for the candy corns and to My complete disappointment they are no where to be found.

    What is the deal with that?????

    Comment by AnnA on 10/22/16 at 12:38 pm #
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