Purchase Sunkist Orange Slices directly from Jelly Belly.com by clicking here!
The Good: Sweet and tastes like oranges, Presence of vitamin C, Reasonably priced
The Bad: Overwhelming sugar coating, No bulk (yet!)
The Basics: Opening up to a wider array of Jelly Belly products, I try the new Jelly Belly Sunkist Orange Slices . . . and find them to be delightful!
Whenever companies that produce products I like – and like to review – come out with new products or product lines, I get excited. My enthusiasm only grows when it is a company with whom I have a relationship. The Jelly Belly Candy Company is one of the few companies I actually have a relationship with and whenever they contact me to let me know that they are sending me a package of new products to review, I get thrilled. So, when the package from Jelly Belly that I had been anticipating arrived yesterday, I opened it up with a real sense of enthusiasm.
When I saw the contents, I got very nervous. There were no jelly beans in the box! This made me instantly terrified: would I like these new products I had been sent? If I don’t, will Jelly Belly cut me off and never send me delightful products ever again? Whenever I have gotten a package from Jelly Belly in the past, I have made a point to pick out a product I would be predisposed toward to review first (figuring that it is a reasonable show of gratitude to try for a positive review right out of the gate). But as I looked down at the package that had fruit slices, fruit gems and an assortment of (oh my!) Gummi Pet Cockroaches, I had no frame of reference to even start with.
So, figuring that I had at least reviewed Sunkist Orange Jelly Belly Jelly Beans (here!) before, I decided that I would try the Sunkist Orange Fruit Slices as my first non-jelly bean Jelly Belly review.
I have never been impressed, wowed, or even particularly interested in fruit slice candies. There are so many great, flavorful candies out there – chocolate, Jelly Belly jelly beans, etc. – that fruit slices never interested me before. Having just devoured the whole 3.1 oz. when I promised myself I would share some with my wife after I finished the review, I am compelled to add that “before.” Jelly Belly Orange Slices are that good.
Basics
Sunkist Orange is a flavor of Jelly Belly fruit slices. Jelly Belly fruit slices are approximately three-quarters of an inch long wide by one quarter inch thick and shaped like a little orange wedge. These little candies are marketed to taste precisely like oranges and they live up to that once you get by the sugar crystal coating.
The Orange Slices from Jelly Bellys are still very new and thus are only available in small packages like a 3.1 oz. and 6.6 oz. package. This is terribly unenvironmental. To its credit, Jelly Belly has universally bulked every successful product it has made, so one assumes that after the “trial period” for the Orange Slices is up, they will start releasing a ten pound box that will allow people to stock up at a more affordable and eco-friendly way. I cannot wait for that!
Ease Of Preparation
These are fruit slices, not trying to make fresh orange juice without your hands getting sticky! Consuming these is as easy as opening the bag and placing them in your mouth. There is no additional prep needed. There is, however, restraint needed to keep one from just consuming these as soon as they taste their first two!
Taste
I knew I was in trouble the moment I opened the bag and smelled the Jelly Belly Orange Slices. The small plastic bag erupted with the scent of fresh-cut Mandarin oranges. This is an exceptionally important distinction to make; this did not smell like a candy, they did not smell like what we are conditioned to think of as an orange or citrus smell. Instead, Jelly Belly Orange Slices smell precisely like real oranges and they made my mouth water.
Placing the Orange Slice on my tongue, I was greeted by a familiar, sugary taste of the sugar coating. It might seem obvious, but it is worth noting. Of course the outer coating would taste like, essentially, licking a sugar cube. I suppose I thought that with the scent of the Orange Slices being so distinctive and fruity, maybe Jelly Belly had found a way to infuse the flavor even into the outer sugar (if anyone could, it would be Jelly Belly!). Alas, that was not the case. On the outer layer, this candy – assuming one had not smelled them first – could be any old gumdrop.
Which is why you should get by the outer sugar as fast as possible. The Orange Slices are so supple that the tongue can easily push right through them. When the sugar coating is gone, the Jelly Belly Orange slices erupt with their full flavor potential! The Orange Slices, once the sugar coating is gone, taste delightfully like oranges and they are sweet and distinctive and embody the full flavor of sweet oranges. Jelly Belly nails the flavor perfectly.
Nutrition
Again, these are fruit slice candies, not actual fruit, but the Orange Slices come with 10% 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 fruit slices, even Jelly Belly fruit slices, 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 thirteen slices, with each serving having 130 calories. Supposedly, the 3.1 oz. package has “about 2” servings, but mine had a full 3 – thirty nine pieces, which, I suppose, makes me seem even more of a pig for enjoying the entire bag!
Jelly Belly Sunkist Orange fruit slices 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 30 mg and they are gluten free! The main ingredients are sugar, corn syrup and orange juice from concentrate, so it actually lives up to its claim of being made from all natural ingredients. These are made in a peanut free factory, as well!
Storage/Clean-up
Jelly Belly Sunkist Orange fruit slices have a shelf life of approximately one year, though mine did not last a full half hour after I opened the bag (two very different problems!). They remain freshest when they are kept in an airtight container (the bag is sufficient if it is kept closed and tightly resealed) and they ought to be kept in a lukewarm environment. Storing them in hot places is likely to make the slices stick together and be gross. Kept in a cool, dry place, the Orange Slices retain their flavor perfectly. The bag I received yesterday had an expiration date of July 9, 2013 and, had I not opened them today, I am sure they would have lasted that long.
As for cleanup, unless one allows the Orange Slices to get hot to the point that the sugar coating on the slices melts, there should be no cleanup necessary; the sugar did not even come off these in a way that necessitated cleaning up!
Overall
Sunkist Orange Jelly Belly fruit slices are surprisingly good and more than enough to make me eager to see the product line succeed . . . if for no other reason that to see what Slices come next!
For other Jelly Belly flavors reviewed by me, please check out:
Beanboozled Jelly Bean Assortment
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Dips Jelly Beans
Strawberry Dips Chocolate Covered Jelly Beans
8.5/10
For other food or drink reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
Purchase Sunkist Orange Slices directly from Jelly Belly.com by clicking here!
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