Thursday, October 18, 2007

Zachary Candy Corn & Jelly Pumpkins

Zachary PacketsSince All Candy Expo this year was so close to Halloween, there were a lot of Halloween treats on display. One booth, Zachary Confections, had a huge table with bins holding these little packets of goodies: Indian Corn and Jelly Pumpkins. What sets them apart from other individual packets of ordinary sugar candies for the Trick-or-Treaters is that these have cute little black & white Halloween-themed designs on them: black cats, witches, ghosts, bats and skeletons.

Zachary is one of those candy companies that kind of flies under the radar of most people. They make a lot of “house brand” candies, as Joanna at Sugar Savvy found out, they’re the ones behind Target’s candy corn. But I’ve never been terribly aware of their products as a whole, mostly because so many different companies make candy corn, jellies and chocolate covered nuts in bulk.

Zachary Indian CornAfter Joanna named Zachary the best candy corn in her taste test, I thought maybe I should give it a try. Unfortunately I didn’t grab any of the traditional candy corn, instead I got some Indian Corn. Indian Corn is usually chocolate flavored on the bottom.

This candy corn wasn’t quite as dark looking as most others I’ve tried. In fact, it looks a little wrong, the orange is kind of peachy and the brown a little watery instead of dark and dense.

But taste? The Zachary candy corn is very smooth. It doesn’t have any graininess at all to it, just a stiffness that melts pretty well after a couple of chews. The flavor is lightly honey ... no different than a regular candy corn, it lacks those toasted notes that the Indian Corn usually has. I liked it well enough to eat two small packets over a couple of weeks. I still prefer Brach’s because I enjoy the slight grain and the stronger honey notes, but this is definitely high quality stuff.

Pumpkin JelliesI wonder how many kids like little sugared jelly candies. I have to admit that these are super cute. The little Pumpkin Jelly shapes have a green stem and little fluting on the side like real pumpkins.

They’re lightly orange flavored. Not a vibrant flavor, just sweet and slightly zesty. It doesn’t have any of the tangy elements you’d find in a Sunkist Fruit Gem. I’ve always been a huge fan of Orange Slices (and Spearmint Leaves), so these are a great harvest-themed version. Even better, they fit in my mouth in one bite, instead of Orange Slices that are usually two bites. It’s not easy to find individual packets of Orange Slices, so they get major points on that front.

Zachary is based in Frankfort, Indiana and they have a factory store ... anyone ever been there?

Related Candies

  1. Candy Corn Kisses
  2. Milk Maid Caramel Candy Corn
  3. Gourmet Goodies Candy Corn
  4. Brach’s Autumn Mix
  5. Halloween Treats at I-Mockery
Name: Indian Corn & Orange Jelly Pumpkins
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Zachary Confections
Place Purchased: All Candy Expo samples
Price: unknown
Size: 1 ounce
Calories per ounce: unknown
Categories: Jelly, Fondant, United States, Halloween

POSTED BY Cybele AT 7:56 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. Hey!
    Great posts lately. I have a request for you. Last year you had a post on what you were handing out for Halloween, what’s on tap for this year? I’m in a tricker treater heavy neighborhood (they truck them in! I’m serious!) We went through about 20 bags in 2 hours last year with the average of 2 or 3 pieces per kid so I estimate about 200+ kids. So my candy will most likely be based on economy rather than fantasy (No Valarie skulls for each little princess and elf) So, let us know what you are giving out since you set a pretty high standard! That I usually strive and fail to emulate.  Thanks!
    Beth

    Comment by Beth on 10/18/07 at 9:31 am #
  2. Cybele's avatar

    Beth - first, a lot of the candy I give away are leftover freebies. So the full-sized Wonka stuff I gave away in ‘06 was from a photo shoot. Because I go candy shopping a lot, I’m also able to pick up stuff when I see it on sale.

    I’m also at a huge advantage that there aren’t that many kids in my neighborhood. I figure about 30-45 per year. (It seems to be dwindling as the kids on my street grow up.)

    I haven’t made all my purchases yet, but I got some Reese’s & Skittles already. Because I don’t mind if I have some of those leftover!

    Comment by Cybele on 10/18/07 at 9:39 am #
  3. mmm indian corn, i like how these are in small packages, i usually buy a larger bag but they spoil before i can eat them all :/

    the factory store is really close to me o.O as in, it’s only about 25 mi away. and i never knew :o ! i’ll have to hit it up one day when i don’t have class

    i’ve been enjoying all the marshmallow candies you’ve been doing :3

    Comment by Erica on 10/18/07 at 9:53 am #
  4. Those little jelly pumpkins are adorable. I don’t think I’d want to eat them though - I don’t like orange flavoring in candy. I could definitely use them as decorations though!

    Comment by Hillary on 10/18/07 at 11:36 am #
  5. I like orange slices a lot, too, but Sunkist Fruit Gems are the kings of jellies to me.  I feel a little strange going to Staples just to buy candy, but there isn’t a dud flavor in the bunch.

    Comment by Dave on 10/19/07 at 2:40 pm #
  6. I use to love it when I got those little cello-packs of candy corn in my trick-or-treat bag. Well okay, I really preferred full sized candy bars, but cello-packs of candy corn were a nice change. But I never see them for sale in stores around here!

    Note to Beth: we’re in a big T-or-T neighborhood, too. This year I noticed the dollar spot at Target had 15 packs of glow bracelets - so that’s just over 6 cents each. We’re giving those out (with some cheap candy). We’ve given out glow bracelets or necklaces before, and they’ve always been a big treat. If you have storage capacity and will remember to check, you can buy Halloween novelty items (pencils, rings, tchotckes like that) on clearance in November and give them out next year. I have kids, so I know that they enjoy the occasional change from yet-more-candy (although pencils are kind of the least desirable - plastic tchotckes that seem useless to most adults are a big thrill for some reason. At least for the 10 and under set!).

    Comment by Tricia on 10/21/07 at 4:02 pm #
  7. I saw the bag of autum mix with the pumpkins and candycorn and I am trying to find the Valentine ones with red, pink and white hearts and arrows. Is that a Brach or Zachary product? I have looked everywhere and tried most of the candystores on line and no luck.Can someone help me out here please. I would much appreciate it. Thank you in advance.
    Prissy

    Comment by priscilla ringler on 3/12/09 at 4:24 pm #
  8. Cybele's avatar

    priscilla - you’re not the only one missing those Valentine’s ones! I got an email a couple of weeks ago from a reader looking for them. I found this place still has them in stock (I don’t know who makes them): George Howe Valentine’s Mello Cremes.

    Comment by Cybele on 3/12/09 at 4:37 pm #
  9. I am in the north suburbs of Chicago, and got a container of Zachary’s jelly pumpkins at my local jewel weeks ago.  They didn’t get any more shipments in, and I’m interested in finding out if anyone knows where I can get them close by.

    Comment by julie on 10/27/09 at 2:45 am #
  10. Cybele
    Thank you so very much. You made my daughters day. I has just about given up.

    Comment by Priscilla on 10/27/09 at 9:11 am #
  11. Have always bought Brach Brand candy corn until
    I noticed it is now made in Mexico.  Will not buy
    food not made in USA.  Thanks Zachary for keeping
    your production in the US.  Now I go out of my
    way to look for Zachary brand.

    Comment by Faye on 12/09/09 at 11:28 am #
  12. Ok….this is terrible….I’m a 63 year old “Nana” and bought a 5 pound bag of the Zachary Candy Company Orange Jelly Pumpkins and ate every last one myself.  I got them at the beginning of October and just finished them.  They’re delicious.  They sort of have that citrus “bite” at the beginning then meld into a nice sweet orange flavor - much better than orange slices - in my opinion.  I’ve got my name in to be notified when they’re back in stock.  I LOVE your blog, as I’m a “candy-aholic”.  Anna

    Comment by Anna L Giberson on 12/18/10 at 1:58 pm #
  13. I didn’t realize that Brach’s candy corn was now made in Mexico.  I’ll start looking for Zachary now too.

    Comment by Tara Lidell on 9/24/12 at 10:08 am #
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.

Next entry: Reese’s Pieces

Previous entry: Peeps Monster Mash Ups




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABOUT

FEEDS

CONTACT

  • .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
  • Here are some frequently asked questions emailed to me you might want to read first.

EMAIL DIGEST

    For a daily update of Candy Blog reviews, enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

CANDY RATINGS

TYPE

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.

 

 

 

 

Facebook IconTwitter IconTumblr IconRSS Feed IconEmail Icon

COUNTDOWN.

Candy Season Ends

-2537 days

Read previous coverage

 

 

Which seasonal candy selection do you prefer?

Choose one or more:

  •   Halloween
  •   Christmas
  •   Valentine's Day
  •   Easter

 

image

ON DECK

These candies will be reviewed shortly:

 

 

image