Monday, July 4, 2011

Aftertaste Of Orange: Jelly Belly Orange Sherbet Is One Jelly Belly To Not Bulk.

Orange Sherbet Jelly Belly Jelly Beans - 10 lbs bulk
Click to buy directly from Jelly Belly!

The Good: Environmentally responsible bulk, Nothing particularly bad in the ingredients
The Bad: Not terribly nutritious, Does not taste particularly like orange sherbet.
The Basics: Even the environmentally responsible bulk of this ten pound box cannot save the tasteless beans that are Orange Sherbet Jelly Bellys.


It is funny how actually evaluating something objectively for reviews compels me to rethink things which I might otherwise take for granted. I love Jelly Belly jelly beans, for example. I always have and I probably always will. And for as long as I have been eating these little wonderful confections, I have found myself enjoying most all of their flavors, including Orange Sherbet.

But as I sit to evaluate these bright orange beans, I have discovered . . . this might be one of the most disappointing flavors of Jelly Belly jelly beans. Cursed with a bulk box (ingenious marketer that I am I had been selling little favors for the local sports team, the Syracuse Orangemen, utilizing these beans) as I work my way through the leftovers, I am discovering that Orange Sherbet is actually one of the real letdown flavors of Jelly Belly's. This is an exception to a rule in a candy line that includes such flavors as Bubble Gum, Green Apple, Soda Pop Shoppe assortment, and their signature flavor, Buttered Popcorn.

Basics

Orange Sherbet 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 Orange Sherbet, not just orange, and they are probably the most erratic flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans I have yet reviewed. Some taste solely like sugar and gelatin, other actually have a bit of sherbet flavor to them. Most of them, at least, have an aftertaste of orange sherbet.

Orange Sherbet 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 some might wonder why anyone would need a ten pound box, and I'm one of them. With many, many other Jelly Belly flavors, why go with one of the flavors that is less rich? The business opportunities for bright orange things do not outweigh the fact that this is a mediocre, at best, jelly bean that falls well below the standards of the usual Jelly Belly.

The Orange Sherbet Jelly Belly is easily differentiated from other Jelly Belly jelly beans by its bright orange color. This is a neon orange jelly bean that is easy to separate from the Orange Juice flavored Jelly Belly's.

Ease Of Preparation

These are jelly beans, not finding Osama bin Laden in the hills of Afghanistan. Preparing them is as easy as opening the box and popping one (or several) 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. Then again, using them as some form of game where you toss them into a friend's mouth might net you hours of entertainment as well; eat them however you normally eat jelly beans!

Taste

If only Orange Sherbet was one of the best flavors, it would taste like orange sherbet or a creamsicle. As it is, this is one of the beans that has no real scent to it, even in bulk, which is somewhat disconcerting when one opens the ten pound box. As a result of not having any olfactory indicator, Orange Sherbet gets off to a rough start.

At best, the Orange Sherbet Jelly Belly jelly beans have a vague fruity flavor. Dominated by a sugary, waxy coating, the Orange Sherbet flavor is dulled. Even the center - which is usually flavored like the named flavor of the coating - is remarkably tasteless and sugary. Here one almost wants to give the bean the benefit of the doubt and suggest it is the creamy aspect of sherbet, but it's just blandly sugary.

Another severe drawback to the taste of Orange Sherbet Jelly Belly's is in the consumption of many of them at the same time. Unfortunately, if one decides to pig out on Orange Sherbet-flavored Jelly Belly's, this is one of the flavors that quickly becomes more sugary. In fact, this might be the worst Jelly Belly in that regard because it pretty much starts out tasteless. However, even the vague orange sherbet aftertaste of this bean fades quickly leaving it tasting . . . well, pretty much like any other brand's jelly bean.

Nutrition

Again, these are jelly beans, so anyone looking to them for nutrition should consider that not even the fine people at the Jelly Belly Candy Company believe humans can or should live on these jelly beans - and they have a vested interest in people buying them! 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.

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 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 places or an amphibian's mouth is likely to make the beans stick together and be gross. Kept in a cool, dry place, the beans retain their flavor perfectly (if only Orange Sherbet had more flavor!).

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, let the world water shortages be damned!). I've never had Orange Sherbet Jelly Bellys stain anything.

Overall

Orange Sherbet Jelly Belly jelly beans are one of the worst flavors of Jelly Bellys, which is something I never took the time to consider until I was sitting opposite a very big box that was now half empty and I realized I was not at all looking forward to finishing them off.

For other Jelly Belly flavors reviewed by me, please check out:
Sour Grape
Caramel Corn
Sunkist Lime

2/10

For other food or drink reviews, please click here to visit my index page on the subject!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

No comments:

Post a Comment