Click here to buy a case of Jelly Belly Grape And Lime Pet Cockroach Gummi Candies!
The Good: Good lime taste, Presence of Vitamin C, Fun and whimsical.
The Bad: EXPENSIVE, Grape taste does not pop.
The Basics: Jelly Belly Grape and Lime Pet Cockroach Gummi Candies are not as distinctive as the other Pet Cockroaches and is a tougher sell.
Thanks to a timely package from the fine folks at Jelly Belly, I have been able to try the Jelly Belly Blackberry And Cherry Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy (reviewed here!) and Jelly Belly Blackberry And Orange Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy (reviewed here!) early, as they are shipping to most major markets now and aren’t expected to reach full market penetration until right before Halloween. Having (unexpectedly) enjoyed the Orange and Cherry flavors, I was eager to break into the Grape and Lime Pet Cockroach that would finish my experience with the new product line.
Meh. Unfortunately, the Grape and Lime Pet Cockroach didn’t do it for me. It’s not a bad candy, it’s just not as distinctive as the other two and for the $1.50 - $1.80 recommended price, that’s not enough to get a ringing endorsement from me, even if they are nutritious!
Basics
The Grape and Lime Pet Cockroach is a flavor of Jelly Belly Gummi Candies and part of their growing line of bug and creature gummi candies! Jelly Belly Pet Cockroaches are approximately three and a half inches long by two and a half inches wide by 9/10” thick and shaped like a big, Grape and Lime and black cockroach with six legs, two antennae, a head, carapace, and the tiniest little tail coming out the butt! Interestingly, the packages do not try to define the flavor, though online they are marketed as a Grape and Lime Pet Cockroach.
The Grape and Lime Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy from Jelly Bellys are still very new and thus are only available in individual 1.5 oz. packages, or cases of the same. This is represents a single serving and is pretty much how the entire candy industry produces their packs, so (for a change) I have no beef about the packaging. What is alternately cool and really freaky is that each Pet Cockroach comes with a little fact card. The fact card both protects the Pet Cockroach in transit and freaks out the consumer with basic information about the creature the candy is modeled after! The fact card does not appear to change between the flavors of Cockroach.
Ease Of Preparation
These are gummi candies, not eating real cockroaches on a dare! Consuming these is as easy as opening the individual package, sliding the card and Pet Cockroach out and consuming the candy. There is no additional prep needed, except responsible disposal of the packaging.
Taste
The Jelly Belly Grape and Lime Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy smells overwhelmingly of grape. There is not even a hint of citrus scent from the lime aspect of these Pet Cockroaches, which sets the consumer up for a very sweet, dry flavor as opposed to anything tangy and sour.
Jelly Belly defies those expectations with the green portions of the Pet Cockroach! From the moment the tongue hits the green legs or mandibles of the Gummi Cockroach, the tongue is washed in a very light, peppy lime flavor. There is almost no sour aspect to the flavor (that is replaced by sweet) and the citrus is distinctive.
I was about to write off the grape flavor, an irony considering how strong the scent of grape is when opening the package initially. However, the grape – which is muted and dull, generically sweet, at first – comes alive as a surprisingly robust aftertaste. It is only as an aftertaste that the mouth feels like it has just consumed a whole glass of dark grape juice! The flavor is there, but one has to wait for it. In bites that have both the grape and the lime, the lime overwhelms any grape flavor until the candy is swallowed. Then, as the tart lime dissipates, the dry flavor of grape manifests.
Nutrition
Again, these are Gummi candies, not actual cockroaches or fruit, but the Grape and Lime Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy come with 100% of one's RDA of Vitamin C and that makes it a worthwhile alternative to vitamins. Outside that, it behooves one to realized that Gummi Candies, even Jelly Belly Gummi Candies, 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 as a single cockroach, with each serving having 130 calories.
Each Jelly Belly Grape and Lime Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy is not as bad as they could be in the nutrition area. They have a negligible amount of fat (from Coconut Oil that is way down the ingredient list) and two whole grams of protein. These are not Vegan compliant because they contain gelatin! However, it is Kosher gelatin, so these do appear to be Kosher! They have only one percent of the daily sodium with 15 mg and they are made in a peanut free factory! The main ingredients are corn syrup, sugar, and Kosher gelatin. These are made in a peanut free factory, as well!
Storage/Clean-up
Jelly Belly Grape and Lime Pet Cockroach Gummi Candies have a shelf life of approximately one year, though mine did not last fifteen minutes after I opened the package! They remain freshest when they are kept in their package and they ought to be kept in a cool environment. Storing them in hot places is likely to make the gummi candy denature. Kept in a cool, dry place, the Grape and Lime Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy seems to retain its flavor well. The Gummi I received last week had an expiration date of June 25, 2013 and, had I not opened it today, I am sure that with proper handling, it would easily have lasted that long.
As for cleanup, unless one allows the Grape and Lime Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy to get hot to the point that it denatures and gets sticky, there should be no cleanup necessary.
Overall
The Grape and Lime Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy is not bad, but it is hardly as distinctive as the others in the line. Fortunately, it is still a far tastier way to get a whole day’s worth of Vitamin C than a pill, which at least puts it ahead of most candy on the market.
For other Jelly Belly flavors reviewed by me, please check out:
Sunkist Grape and Lime Slices
Beanboozled Jelly Bean Assortment
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Dips Jelly Beans
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment