Top Banana Jelly Belly Jelly Beans - 10 lbs bulk
Click to buy directly from Jelly Belly!
Click to buy directly from Jelly Belly!
The Good: Delicious, Environmentally responsible bulk, Smells and tastes like banana!
The Bad: No real nutritional value, Eaten in bulk they seem to lose the flavor some
The Basics: Another exceptional flavor by Jelly Belly, Top Banana satisfies those who love jelly beans and bananas!
We all have favorites when it comes to . . . well, everything. For me, for non-chocolate candy, it would have to be Jelly Belly Jelly Beans. And among those, one of my favorites would have to be the Buttered Popcorn flavored Jelly Bellys which is where I started my reviews of the confections. Continuing again with the bulk packs of Jelly Belly jelly beans - why limit oneself?! - I decided to tackle a flavor that is equally good as my arguable favorite: Top Banana. And why not start with the ten pound pack so I don't have to complain about the terrible environmental impact of the lesser packages?
For those who might never have had Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, these are easily the best jelly beans on the planet, packing a lot of flavor into a very small size. Unlike most jelly beans which are only vaguely flavored and are more based on colors, Jelly Belly jelly beans have a wide variety of actual flavors, like pina colada, orange sherbet, Dr. Pepper, or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.
Who needs ten pounds of Top Banana flavored Jelly Belly's? Anyone who loves banana flavored things - like bananas - but doesn't want the hassle of the peels. Or anyone who loves jelly beans and is sick of yellow jelly beans that taste like yellow.
Basics
Top Banana is a flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans. Jelly Belly jelly beans are approximately one half inch long by one quarter inch wide and they are roughly bean-shaped. These little candies are marketed to taste precisely like banana and they live up to that well.
Top Banana flavored Jelly Belly's are available in a wide array of quantities, but the largest quantity available is the ten pound bulk case. This is a decent-sized box with a plastic lining and while some might wonder why anyone would need a ten pound box, it's hard not to go through these when they are around. The Top Banana flavor, especially, is one that is so delicious that once one starts eating them, one needs to come up with a reason to stop. I have taken to jarring these babies up when I get them in this extreme bulk just to help ration myself.
Ease Of Preparation
These are jelly beans, not homemade won tons. Preparing them is as easy as opening the box and popping one (or a handful) into your mouth. In the case of the ten pound box, one might want to put them in a candy dish of some form as opposed to always going into the box, but who am I to dictate how you eat them?! You can eat them off the belly of a naked Scotsman for all I care*. Eating them out of the box is fine!
Taste
Top Banana flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans has a few real advantages when it comes to taste. The first is that they are based on something that has about the same texture as a jelly bean. Yes, banana flavored jelly beans make a great deal of sense because bananas are about as squishy in one's mouth as a room temperature jelly bean. Moreover, Top Banana jelly beans have a bouquet! There is a scent a banana emits when it is just a little warm and that is the exact smell of Top Banana Jelly Belly jelly beans.
This flavor is accurately titled, as each jelly bean tastes like a banana. The incredible thing is this does not taste like a banana muffin or a banana milkshake, but an actual banana. As well, the flavor is not simply in the coating, but all the way through the bean. Every lick or bite of this bean embodies the flavor of banana!
Nutrition
Well, these are jelly beans, so anyone looking to them for nutrition needs to take remedial Home and Career Skills because this type food is not a fountain of nutrition. Jelly beans, even Jelly Belly jelly beans, are not a legitimate source of nutrition. These are a snack food, a dessert, and are in no way an adequate substitute for a real meal. A serving is listed at thirty-five beans, with each Jelly Belly jelly bean having approximately four calories. This means that in a single serving, there are 140 calories, which is 12% of your daily recommended intake.
Top Banana flavored Jelly Belly's may taste like banana, but they do NOT have the vitamins or potassium that a banana has.
Jelly Belly jelly beans are not as bad as they could be in the nutrition area. They have no fat and no protein, but for those who have ever dated a Vegan, these are Vegan compliant because they contain no gelatin! They have only one percent of the daily sodium with 15 mg and they are gluten free! The main ingredients are sugar, corn syrup and modified food starch, so it's not like this is an all-natural food, but they could be far, far worse.
Storage/Clean-up
Jelly Belly jelly beans have a shelf life of approximately one year and I have yet to run across a stale Jelly Belly (though that could have something to do with a package never surviving a year around me . . .). They remain freshest when they are kept in an airtight container (the bag in the bulk box is sufficient if it is kept closed) and they ought to be kept in a lukewarm environment. Storing them in hot or sunny places is likely to make the beans stick together and be gross. Kept in a cool, dry place, the beans retain their flavor perfectly.
As for cleanup, unless one allows the Jelly Belly to get hot to the point that the waxy coating on the bean melts, the dyes on these do not bleed or denature, so there is usually no cleanup necessary, not even washing one's hands after eating them. I've never had Top Banana Jelly Belly's stain anything. That said, it's pretty wild to be able to eat something that tastes so much like banana and not have to clean those stringy, sticky things banana peels have off one's fingers afterward!
Overall
Jelly Belly jelly beans might just be the best candy on the face of the planet and Top Banana is an exceptional flavor to use to help prove that. And the ten pound box, while not necessary, sure goes a long way to convincing some of us we're keeping fruit in our diet when we just don't want to be bothered with peels!
For other Jelly Belly flavors reviewed by me, please check out:
Sour Watermelon
Crushed Pineapple
Lemon
*be sure to check with the Scotsman first!
10/10
For other food reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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