Sunkist Tangerine Jelly Belly Jelly Beans - 10 lbs bulk
Click to buy directly from Jelly Belly!
Click to buy directly from Jelly Belly!
The Good: Sweet and taste like tangerines, Environmentally responsible bulk, Presence of vitamin C
The Bad: Taste fades quickly
The Basics: Tasting good, but underwhelming – despite the presence of Vitamin C – the Sunkist Tangerine Jelly Bellys skate by with a bare “recommend” from this beaneater!
Call me jaded, and some will, but I think maybe Jelly Belly has sold out with its Citrus line of jelly beans. The reason for my thinking this way is quite simple: some of the flavors appear to be virtually identical to the standard Jelly Belly flavor they are supposed to emulate, save that they have been infused with Vitamin C and bear the Sunkist name. I am sure Sunkist paid a lot for that advertising and while usually this would not be enough to make me change my thoughts about a product, the infusion of Vitamin C into the Jelly Bellys makes it just enough for me to recommend the Sunkist Tangerine Jelly Belly jelly beans. Yes, the mild nutritional benefit makes these otherwise slightly-weak jelly beans worth buying and stocking up on. In a blind taste test my partner and I performed, we could not find any differences in taste or color between the Tangerine Jelly Belly jelly beans (reviewed here!) and the Sunkist Tangerine Jelly Belly jelly beans. For all we know, Sunkist and Jelly Belly could be pulling a fast one on us, though they claim the Sunkist Tangerine do have actual tangerine juice they are made with. Otherwise, they appear identical in every way.
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 Bubble Gum, Sunkist Orange, Strawberry Jam or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.
Who needs ten pounds of Sunkist Tangerine flavored Jelly Bellys? I suppose they are ideal for the people who would eat ten pounds of actual tangerines, but would rather not have all that vitamin C (whatwith vitamin C being an international conspiracy to get us all to eat more oranges). Anyone who might like Sunkist Tangerine 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
Sunkist Tangerine 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 tangerine and they live up to that well, though it is a pretty subtle taste difference between tangerines and orange.
Sunkist Tangerine 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 declare, "It's the only way to fight the conspiracy!" (I also use them as part of favors for parties involving local sports teams, a few teams called the Orangemen) I suspect that for most people, a ten pound case is a year's supply of these jelly beans.
Sunkist Tangerine flavored Jelly Bellys are easy to recognize . . . except in the assortments they are put in by Jelly Belly. In the Sunkist Citrus Assortment, they are virtually indistinguishable from the Sunkist Orange as they are both translucent orange jelly beans. The orange is just a little more pale than the darker Sunkist Orange. When placed beside the regular assortment, it is very hard to tell the difference between Sunkist Tangerine and Orange Juice and Tangerine. These Jelly Bellys are light, translucent orange, much like actual oranges. Of course, on their own in the ten pound box, there is nothing to confuse them with.
Ease Of Preparation
These are jelly beans, not taking on the Vitamin C Conspiracy alone, without proof or, truly, a clue as to who the players are (just think of well rested, generally healthy politicians and officers . . .); 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. Then again, you are free to enjoy them any way you wish! Don't let anyone tell you differently!
Taste
Sunkist Tangerine is a good Jelly Belly jelly bean. The beans do not have any sort of strong bouquet, so much of their taste comes from the actual taste, not the scent. They taste, as one might expect, just like tangerines. There is the sweet, vaguely citrus taste that spreads over the tongue and rewards the person eating them with the solid, fruit taste of tangerines. They lack the tang of pure tangerines in their unadulterated form, but they also lack the rinds, so it's a good tradeoff as far as I am concerned!
The drawback to Sunkist Tangerine Jelly Bellys, in addition to being a more subtle flavor than a straight out orange might have been, is that the taste of these jelly beans fades quickly. After eating a handful, these beans begin to taste generically sugary and vaguely fruity as opposed to precisely like tangerine.
Sunkist Tangerine Jelly Bellys, I have discovered might well be best in mixes of Jelly Bellys. They are a pleasant surprise and they taste good and mix well with other Jelly Bellys. But on their own, the taste does fade quickly and it is easy to tire of them.
Nutrition
Again, these are jelly beans, but the Sunkist Tangerine comes with 25% of one's RDA of Vitamin C and is made with real fruit juice in the recipe. Outside that, it behooves one to realized that 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 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, these aren't sticky, but you should wash your hands anyway!). I've never had Sunkist Tangerine Jelly Bellys stain anything.
Overall
Sunkist Tangerine Jelly Belly jelly beans are a good flavor that appears to be entirely identical to the Tangerine Jelly Bellys, save these have slightly more nutritional benefit. That makes these average jelly beans worth recommending.
For other Jelly Belly flavors reviewed by me, please check out:
Sour Apple
Strawberry Jam
Red Apple
6/10
For other food or drink reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!
© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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