Cantaloupe Jelly Belly Jelly Beans - 10 lbs bulk
Click to buy directly from Jelly Belly!
Click to buy directly from Jelly Belly!
The Good: Great realistic flavor, Environmentally responsible bulk, Taste does not fade
The Bad: No real nutritional value
The Basics: Jelly Belly creates a surprisingly wonderful flavor with their Cantaloupe jelly beans, much to my surprise!
You know you have a truly great product, at least as far as food products go, when the flavor a product mimics is more enjoyable than the thing upon which it is based. I will admit, I am not a huge fan of cantaloupe. In fact, when it comes to fruit salads, I tend to pick around the cantaloupe for the pineapple. The only flavor less inspired than cantaloupe (which often tastes like little more than water) is green melon; it just tastes like cold. So when a ten pound box of Cantaloupe Jelly Bellys reached my front door (part of my ongoing scheme to merchandise around the local Orangemen teams), when I began eating them I was surprised by how good they actually were.
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 Cotton Candy, Watermelon, Sour Watermelon, or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.
Who needs ten pounds of Cantaloupe flavored Jelly Bellys? I think they are ideal for anyone who likes the taste, but not the texture of cantaloupe. Or those who like the taste of cantaloupe and want a concentrated version of it. Anyone who might like Cantaloupe Jelly Belly jelly beans will likely find that this is the best way to get them in bulk in an environmentally responsible way for the least amount of money.
Basics
Cantaloupe 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 Cantaloupe and they taste not just like wishy-washy common cantaloupe, but the Alpha Cantaloupes. These are the Cantaloupes that kick the other cantaloupe's rinds!
Cantaloupe flavored Jelly Bellys 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, I say, "Wouldn't it be cool if fruit salad had jelly beans instead of actual cantaloupes? Well, once you try it, you can't go back!" I suspect that for most people, a ten pound case is a year's supply of these jelly beans.
Cantaloupe flavored Jelly Bellys are fairly easy to recognize and distinguish from other Jelly Bellys, though they are similar in color to the Orange Juice Jelly Bellys and the Tangerine ones. All three are a translucent orange color and . . . actually, I have no idea how I do tell them apart, though the Tangerine ones are more a dull (pale) orange and the Orange Juice just appear somewhat more orange. They can be distinguished from the Orange Sherbet ones easily, though, as these are translucent, while they are a bright, opaque orange.
Ease Of Preparation
These are jelly beans, not supercondensing cantaloupes to make a mutant Alpha cantaloupe without the aid of genetic engineering or radioactive spiders. 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. The box keeps them fresh, though and it's not like one has to worry about the Jelly Bellys biting them, so taking them from the box ought to be fine.
Taste
Cantaloupe Jelly Bellys actually have a pretty solid cantaloupe scent. Indeed, smelling these Jelly Bellys en masse adequately prepares the consumer for the flavor they will be enjoying in moments. In fact, one might be surprised to recognize that such a bland flavor as cantaloupe does have a recognizable aroma, but these instantly evoke memories of cantaloupe.
Cantaloupe tastes like cantaloupe, so it is the highest, simplest honor I can imagine for a Jelly Belly jelly bean to say that Cantaloupe Jelly Bellys taste exactly like the fruit whose name they bear. These have a fruity, slightly sweet, mellon-y taste and even that slight taste of water in each and every bean. It might not be the most inspired flavor, but they sure get it right!
As well, Cantaloupe flavored Jelly Bellys do not diminish in taste when you eat vast quantities of them. No, these taste like Super Cantaloupe bite after bite, never fading and that is quite incredible. The enduring quality of the taste helps make the ten-pound case have added value, though one does not recommend eating them all in one sitting. But if you did, they would all taste as good . . .
Nutrition
Again, these are jelly beans, so anyone looking to them for nutrition needs to understand they are based upon something that is bland but it does not bare the nutrition of the melon upon which it is named. 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. These have none of the vitamins or other good properties of actual cantaloupes.
The thing is, 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. Actually, some of my Cantaloupe Jelly Bellys did go stale and all that changed was that their shell became harder than usual; the flavor was still perfectly retained! These might, for some reason, be susceptible to going "bad" quicker. 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 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 (always wash your hands before eating Jelly Bellys, even ones that taste like something that usually tastes like water!). I've never had Cantaloupe Jelly Bellys stain anything.
Overall
Cantaloupe Jelly Belly jelly beans are a perfect embodiment of a bland fruit and were it not for the slightly stale element to some of the ones in my box, these might have been perfect. I would never have guessed!
For other Jelly Belly flavors reviewed by me, please check out:
Pomegranate
Coconut
French Vanilla
9/10
For other food and drink reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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