Valentine’s Day is all about red. Red is the color of love and passion; candies for Valentine’s Day play upon the flavors that follow with red: cherry, strawberry, raspberry and cinnamon. The fruity flavors are usually easy to find, but cinnamon is a little less common.
I was excited to see this small bag of Ferrara Pan White Hot Red Hots Jelly Beans for sale at Walgreen’s in their Valentine’s candy display. What does White Hot Red Hots actually mean? The package doesn’t say, but the little window shows that the small jelly beans come in two colors: red and a red speckled pink. Any additional questions could be answered for a mere buck.
The beans are pretty and well made. They’re glossy, consistently shaped and I appreciated that the bag was sized appropriately for the amount of candy actually in it. (Sometimes bags are absurdly large but have very little candy in them.)
The white hot part, I think, means that these are very spicy cinnamon. Red Hots is just a brand of cinnamon imperials made by Ferrara Pan.
They’re a little larger than a Jelly Belly but smaller than the classic pectin bean. (Shown above with a Tic Tac.)
They are actually very spicy. I just ate a bag of Hot Tamales last week and I can confirm that these are just slightly hotter than those. The shape is good, it’s small and packs a powerful cinnamon punch. There’s a slight clove note to them and every once in a while I also got a little whiff of artificial watermelon, which may just be a manufacturing thing.
I liked them. It was easy to just pop a few as both a pick-me-up and a little breath freshener. They go well with coffee or tea. I’d definitely pick these up again especially because I like the smaller sized bag. Ferrara Pan already makes Lemonheads & Friends Jelly Beans but I would be curious to try a standard spice flavor array or maybe a mint blend. (Ferrara Pan is known for their Lemonhead and Atomic Fireballs, but they also do a lot of contract manufacturing for house brands and other major candy companies, so chance are you’ve had their jelly beans before.)
They’re made with confectioners glaze, so they’re not considered vegetarian (though there’s no carmine in there). They’re made in equipment that also processes dairy, soy, tree nuts and peanuts. No mention of wheat/gluten but “modified food starch” is listed as an ingredient without any indication of the source.
Related Candies
- Valentine’s Day Candy Spotting 2011
- Mentos Cinnamon
- Brach’s Cinnamon Jelly Hearts
- Heide Red Hot Dollars
- See’s Cinnamon (Hearts & Lollypops)
- Dots Elements: Earth, Air, Fire & Water
- Cinnamon Imperial Hearts
- Chewy Lemonheads & Atomic Fireballs
- Atomic Fireballs
Oh I hope I can find these locally!
Was there a major Red 40 taste, since they didn’t use carmine?
Bought two bags yesterday at my local Walgreen’s—tasty! Thanks for the tip.
I love, love, love these red hot jelly beans! I bought the only bag left right after Valentines day and have been looking for them ever since. Do they sell them ANYWHERE? Please help!
I would like to know were I can buy the white hot red hot jelly beans i love them and I bought a bag at Reems and would like to buy them all the time they are great.
I loved the red hot jelly beans!! Would love to get them year around. Not sure where to find them or whether you can even get them anytime?
I love these red hot jelly beans. Bought them for $1.00 a bag at HEB grocery store during Easter. Cant imagine why they are not carried year round. Am looking everywhere. Please help me find them. Bought 14 bags at last store that had them. Already out. Theyre addicting, my grandchildren even love them.
I searched everywhere for them and couldn’t find them, so I emailed Ferrara Pan and they said that they are only a ‘seasonal item’, which means only during Valentine’s Day. You’d think they would be out at Easter since they are jelly beans, but noooooooooo! I am so disappointed!
Larger bags of these are at Walgreens now-14 oz. I picked up two bags for $4.00. I didn’t need more jelly beans, but these are great. I couldn’t resist. I guess they are decided to make them available for Easter now.
Oh noooo. I am very disappointed the Walgreens no longer sale the white hot red hots, this candy is absolutely my Favorite candy, I really, really like the new jelly beans…......why wouldn’t they sale them as part of the candy family of jelly beans?everyone in my household just love this candy!! I have not been able to find this candy at any other store… Please make them available at another retail chain or online to buy.I kept a bag in the car, in my purse and at home, they really are so delicious… super great candy…. I’m so sad:(
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