![]() ![]() (For now whenever I see the Jelly Belly booth at a trade show I pick a half a dozen grapefruit jellies out of their sample bin and move along.)Ĭhange: New owners (Jelly Belly) and smaller package I was hoping when Jelly Belly took over that they’d sell the jellies in individual flavors like they do with their famous jelly beans. The only real difference here is that you get only 2/3 as much as you used to. It’s still a nice, soft and flavorful fruit jelly without too much of a granulated sugar coating. The change in manufacturing location and ownership, as far as I’ve been able to tell, has made no difference at all for the actual candy. The package is also similar to the old one and actually includes images of grapefruit (though the text clearly says which flavors are in the package). Seeing how Sunkist is known as a citrus company, the fact that they made an assortment the neglects one of the citrus fruits and includes a berry is beyond me. The old package was 2.4 ounces, the new one is only 1.35 ounces. The flavors included now are: Orange, Lemon, Lime and Raspberry. (What is it about grapefruit disappearing lately? Is it because of the news that grapefruit juice interacts with some prescription drugs?) This is not to say that the Sunkist Fruit Gems don’t come in grapefruit any longer, just not in this particular package. Worst part of this news? The grapefruit one was missing. UPDATE : An alert reader let me know that the little “single serve” trays are back on store shelves with the Jelly Belly logo on them, but instead of holding six fruit jellies, they now only have four. Unless I see them in the tub at Trader Joe’s and it’s all citrus! As it is, there are only three flavors I really liked here (orange, lemon and grapefruit), so I’ll probably continue to pass on these. And with the little see-through package, I might be more likely to pick up a citrus-heavy package. Starbursts and SweeTarts are variable, so you might get a lemon-heavy pack. My biggest complaint with these is that like Lifesavers, there is no variation in what you get in the pack. The Jelly Belly jellies are vegan (they use beet sugar instead of cane sugar), so it’s possible that Sunkist Fruit Gems will also become vegan as well (it’s hard to know whether they are or not right now). Jelly Belly has its own line of fabulous Fruit Pectin Jellies that I was blown away by last year. Jelly Belly will start making these soon, I’m not sure if they’re going to leave them alone or not. Again, it had a little bitter aftertaste, like the color red. ![]() ![]() Raspberry - floral with only the slightest sour bite. Grapefruit - not that strong and with a slight bitter note that makes it believable. (Oddly enough, the package makes no mention of Cherry on the package, just a list of the other flavors.) There was a long-lasting aftertaste with severe bitter notes. Not terribly vivid, more like pleasant.Ĭherry - very cherry, kind of medicinal tasting. Orange - it is tangy, nice rounded orange flavor. They don’t sparkle quite as much, but then again there’s no little bits of sugar left in the package or crumbling off when you bite into them like you might get with Spearmint Leaves or Orange Slices. Instead of having a rough outer coating, these are practically smooth, with the sugar mushed against the jelly center. What’s really interesting about these is how they differ from other jellies covered with sugar. When you’re branding something with the Sunkist name, I’m expecting a tangy juice. Chuckles are all essence and no juicy tang. I figure the Gems are a bit like the West Coast version of Chuckles. I used to buy them from Trader Joe’s in little tubs, but then I discovered the chocolate covered nuts and never went back. I came across the Fruit Gems at Rite Aid and thought I should give them a go again. They aren’t known for much in the chocolate realm except for Christopher’s Big Cherry and in the sugar world, the Sunkist Fruit Gems. You may not have caught the news recently that Ben Meyerson Candy Company was purchased by Jelly Belly. ![]()
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