Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sunbursts Natural MixEver since I tried my first candy-coated chocolate sunflower seed, I was hooked. (And I wondered why these haven’t been around all my life.) Kimmie Candy offered to send me their new varieties of All Natural Sunbursts, including their new dark chocolate version. Kimmie Candy is rather new to the candy game, founded in 1999, they focus on panned candies. Based in Reno, Nevada (Free factory tours if you’re in the area.), they seem to have found a niche with some novel products and “better for you snacks.” Their original Sunbursts come in a huge array of colors and are described as a candy coated, cocoa covered sunflower kernels. So yeah, it’s a mockolate product. I’ve had them, and they are pleasant, but I’ve been on the prowl for something that parents can really get behind for their kids. All Natural Sunburst (shown above) fit that bill. They come in a mix of seven colors which are made from all natural colorings, plus the chocolate coating is real milk chocolate. At the center is a flavorful sunflower seed. Watch a video tour of how they’re made. The colorings aren’t quite a vibrant as the unnatural varieties, but are definitely eye-catching and don’t feel muted and old like some candies can. The yellow, green and brown are especially nice. The pieces vary in size quite a bit, just like most nuts and seeds do. The shell is sweet and has a light crunch. The milk chocolate imparts a slight dairy flavor but not much of a chocolate punch, just a creamy background. The highlight is the sunflower flavor, which is bright and fresh - I didn’t come across a bad seed in the handfuls that I ate. Their newest product (not even listed on the website) is Sunburst Natural Mix Dark Chocolate. This blend came with two colors in it, green and yellow. I really liked the combination, as it of course reminded me of sunflowers. The smell upon opening the package was of brownies, toasty hot brownies. On the tongue the candies have a slight bitter snap to them, but like the milk chocolate counterpart, the shell is sweet and crunchy. The dark chocolate coating is quite strong with smoke and coffee tones to it - they’re rather intense. The roasted nut flavors come through nicely. But the candy is really different from the milk chocolate variety. The Kimmie Candy website sells direct to consumers and has some excellent prices (especially if you’re willing to take a chance on their “oops” items). They also make ChocoRocks and other panned candies. The original Sunbursts have a wide variety of package options (single serve to 8 ounce bags) at retail stores. I hope they’ll ramp up production of these and maybe do the snack sized portion package in large bags for Halloween. It might actually make them a trick-or-treat item that doesn’t break the bank but satisfies both picky parents and picky kids. Michelle G of Candy Addict has a write up of the ChocoRocks & regular Sunbursts with photos. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 8:39 am |
||||||||||||||||||
ABOUT
FEEDSCONTACT
EMAIL DIGESTCANDY RATINGSTYPE
BRAND
COUNTRY
ARCHIVES
|
Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
|
Mm, those little sunflower things are one of my favorite candies. Never had the dark chocolate kind, though.
Seven out of ten, though? I would think these would rank higher.
(By the way, you said: “Michelle G?s Candy Addict has a write up of the ChocoRocks & regular Sunbursts.” I think you meant “Candy Addict’s Michelle G has a write up of the ChocoRocks & regular Sunbursts.”)
Jeni - you’re right they probably should be a bit higher - but at the moment they’re sold in bulk and I’d really want some packaging of some sort to monitor portions.
Thanks for letting me know about the typo, I’ve fixed it!
again, this pic is way burnt out…
I’m allergic to sunflowers and so are my kids. I can’t buy any products that have sunflower oil or seeds because we come up in hives. I’ve noticed alot of new products have sunflower oil in them now to be “healthy” but we can’t eat them anyway.
taste great
embean - thanks for the comment, I’ll keep working on it.
Skittler - I sympathize, it must be very hard for you to find not just safe treats, but also safe food in general.
lilggotm - You’ve tried them?
Next entry: Hot Tamales Black Licorice Jelly Beans
Previous entry: Ferrara Dark Chocolate Covered Biscotti