The Good: Amazing taste, Environmentally responsible bulk, Taste does not fade
The Bad: Only seasonally available!
The Basics: Of all the creative, wonderful flavors of Jelly Belly jelly beans, Candy Cane stands out above the rest as the best, perfect flavor of jelly beans!
For the last few years, I have reviewed Jelly Belly jelly beans and I love the brand. About two years ago, I finally discovered a place where I could get every new, obscure flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans. Last year, I learned very late in the year that Jelly Belly had a seasonally available, exclusive Candy Cane flavored Jelly Belly. But, given that the shop that sold all of the obscure flavors is almost four hundred miles away from where I live in Erie, PA, right off Lake Ontario, I could not justify going that far for them. When one drives a little, light hybrid, driving through lake effect snow for jelly beans is hard to justify. Since then, I've made contacts at the Jelly Belly corporation who have been supplying me with the last few flavors I need in order to have reviewed each and every Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor. They supplied me with the Candy Cane Jelly Belly jelly bean, which has just come available again this year.
Now I wish I had driven out to Erie last year for them!
Candy Cane Jelly Belly jelly beans are, without a doubt or fear of hyperbole, the best Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor the company has created. I love mint flavored things and Candy Cane Jelly Bellys are incredible. These are worth driving seven to eight hundred miles away for, but fortunately, most people will only have to order them online!
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 Fruit Punch Sport Beans, Orange Jelly Bean Dips, the Snapple Assortment, or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.
Jelly Belly jelly beans have several flavors that have been rated perfect (10/10) by me, but the Candy Cane flavor is the best. Anyone who might like Candy Cane Jelly Belly jelly beans will likely find that this is the best way to get them in ten pound bulk in an environmentally responsible way for the least amount of money.
Basics
Candy Cane 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 Christmas peppermint candy canes and they live up to that exceptionally well. In fact, they embody those flavors perfectly, which is why I am buying more of these beans now that I have exhausted the supply Jelly Belly sent to me.
Candy Cane 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 ask, "Why eat sticky, breakable gross candy canes when you can get the flavor in jelly bean form?!” I suspect that for most people, a ten pound case is a year's supply of these jelly beans, though one might want to get two or three ten pound boxes in order to ensure that they have enough of these Jelly Bellys for when they are no longer available after Christmas!
Candy Cane flavored Jelly Bellys are remarkably easy to recognize and distinguish from other Jelly Bellys, except in low lighting when they might be mistaken for Tutti-Fruitti. Candy Cane Jelly Bellys are light pink with blue, green and red splotches.
Ease Of Preparation
These are jelly beans, not keeping transporting candy canes around the world on a sleigh in one night! 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, there is no law against eating them right from the box, though anything that will keep them from spilling would be advisable. Eat them from the box if you so desire.
Taste
Candy Cane Jelly Bellys do not have a strong scent at all. What surprised me when opening the bag was that there was no discernible odor. This made me feel anxious, as the very best mint flavored-items have a menthol scent which opens up the nostrils and invites the flavor in. These do not.
What is a pleasant surprise, then, is that Candy Cane Jelly Belly jelly beans taste like exactly what they are supposed to. When placed on the tongue, these Jelly Bellys taste sweet and strong. The flavor is icy and minty exactly like what one expects from peppermint candy canes. Crushing them with one's teeth, the full menthol flavor is revealed and it is enough to make the mouth water and it opens the sinuses right up!
As well, Candy Cane flavored Jelly Bellys do not diminish in taste when you eat vast quantities of them. These taste like peppermint candy canes bite after bite, never fading and that only adds to the value of the ten pound case. In fact, this adds additional value to the limited edition flavor.
Nutrition
Again, these are jelly beans, so anyone looking to them for nutrition needs to understand they based upon something that is not inherently nutritious! 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! So long as your Vegan does not mind beeswax, these are Vegan compliant. 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 these limited edition ones I received this year with an expiration date of August 22, 2013, did not last a week). 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 (even if they don't melt!). I've never had Candy Cane Jelly Bellys stain anything.
Overall
Candy Cane Jelly Belly jelly beans are an amazing flavor and the real crime of it being so good is that it only has limited availability. This is THE flavor to order while you can!
For other Jelly Belly flavors reviewed by me, please check out:
Pineapple Pear Smoothie
Candy Corn (limited edition!)
Very Cherry Jelly Bean Dips
10/10
For other Jelly Belly jelly bean reviews, please check out my Ultimate Jelly Belly Review index page!
© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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