Friday, July 13, 2012

Sunkist Fruit Gems

Sunkist Fruit Gems (Jelly Belly)I reviewed the Sunkist Fruit Gems when they were made by a Los Angeles company called Ben Meyerson. Shortly after that, in 2006 Jelly Belly bought the rights to the candy and changed the flavor set. (Review of both versions here) Here it is, 6 years later and Jelly Belly has relaunched the Sunkist line using all natural ingredients (natural flavors including juices and natural colors).

While I like fruit jellies, I pretty much stick to orange slices or spearmint leaves (I know, not a fruit). The original flavor set was orange, lemon, lime, cherry, raspberry and grapefruit. Then the revamped flavor set (at the same price point but fewer candies in a package) was orange, lemon, lime and raspberry.

Neither thrilled me. Neither really lived up to the name of Sunkist, the citrus growers. Still, when visiting trade shows where Jelly Belly had samples, I always picked up a few of the citrus ones. I really wanted to like them more.

Sunkist Fruit Gems (Jelly Belly)

The new flavors are: lemon, orange, grapefruit, raspberry and blueberry. The colors, though natural, are still easy to discern and attractive.

The pieces are the same size as the previous versions, disks of soft jelly covered with large granulated sugar to keep them from sticking together. The sugar coating is just enough to keep them from binding, but not so much that there’s a lot of extra sugar in the bottom of the package. They really look like they should be sticky, but they’re not.

Sunkist Fruit Gems (Jelly Belly)

The pieces are flexible and soft, and made with pectin and starch to thicken them. Basically, it’s a vegan product, all vegetable products in there and nothing animal derived.

Sunkist Fruit Gems (Jelly Belly)The new version is an improvement. The flavors are zesty and fresh without any weird aftertastes from artificial colors.

I particularly enjoyed the citrus flavors, they’re distinct and have a lot of citrus peel notes, even if it does make them slightly bitter. The raspberry is quite floral and has a strong boiled jam flavor to it. The blueberry was probably the most disappointing for me, but I really only like fresh blueberries. It was sweet with a little tannic note like iced tea but not much else going on with it.

Overall, an excellent revamp for a classic line of candies. They’re pricey for fruit jellies, but much cheaper than classic artisan pate de fruit. So think of them as an in-between product.

They’re available in a few packaging formats. This particular box is nearly a pound and just had loose candies inside two separate trays. Just keeping the box closed kept them pretty fresh, even with our higher than normal humidity in Southern California lately. They also come in an individually wrapped version which is better for a candy dish. They’re gluten free and peanut free.

Related Candies

  1. Trader Joe’s Jelly Beans & Citrus Gum Drops
  2. Wonka Exceptionals Fruit Jellies: Grapefruit, Goji Berry & Red Apple
  3. Starbucks Assorted Gum Drops
  4. Gourmet Gumdrops
  5. Jelly Belly Sunkist Citrus Mix
  6. Revisit: Take 5, Sunkist Fruit Gems & Snickers Almond
  7. Sunkist Fruit Gems


Name: Sunkist Fruit Gems
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Jelly Belly
Place Purchased: samples from Jelly Belly
Price: $9.99
Size: 14 ounces
Calories per ounce: 92
Categories: All Natural, Candy, Jelly Belly, Jelly Candy, Kosher, 7-Worth It, United States

POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:45 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     All NaturalCandyReviewJelly BellyJelly CandyKosher7-Worth ItUnited States

Comments
  1. Looking for a sugarless gummy recipe with flour similar to a twizzler. Thanks, bill

    Comment by William Aperance on 12/12/13 at 8:35 pm #
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