That Conditioned Flavor Of Blueberry: An Average Jelly Belly Experience With "Blueberry."

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

The Good: Tastes good, Environmentally responsible bulk
The Bad: No real nutritional value, Taste fades quickly
The Basics: A good, but not great Jelly Belly flavor, Blueberry is a take-it or leave-it flavor that can be stocked up responsibly in the ten pound box.


Sometimes, the hardest things to write reviews about are the ones that fall right along the line of average. That's where I am today with the Blueberry Jelly Belly jelly beans I have sat down to review. The bulk pack is certainly environmentally responsible enough to appease me, but the flavor is that assumed blueberry flavor that we're conditioned to believe is blueberry, as opposed to the flavor of actual blueberries right off the bush. It is hard to fault Jelly Belly for that; real blueberries have a sour kick to them that makes them less than ideal for a jelly bean. But ultimately, this is one of Jelly Belly's more average jelly beans and they are certainly good, but they aren't much to write home about.

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 Cappuccino, pina colada, Cold Stone Ice Cream, or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.

Who needs ten pounds of Blueberry flavored Jelly Bellys? Smurfs with a suntan. Buffalo Bills fans who are trying to market something with jelly beans. Things a bowtie would say! Sorry, anyone who likes blueberry or the color blue and could use jellybeans in significant quantity will get something out of the ten pound box of Blueberry Jelly Bellys.

Basics

Blueberry 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 blueberry and they hit that very well.

Blueberry 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 while some might wonder why anyone would need a ten pound box, I say have you ever tried to sell jelly beans to Bills fans?! The Blueberry flavor is an excellent one. Even so, I suspect that for most people, a ten pound case is a year's supply of these jelly beans.

Blueberry flavored Jelly Bellys are easily distinguishable from other flavors of Jelly Bellys by their dark blue color. There are no other Jelly Bellys that are even close, save the purple Plum or Island Punch Jelly Bellys and the only way to mix them up would be if one has a blue/purple colorblindness.

Ease of Preparation

These are jelly beans, not the Bills winning the Super Bowl! 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, if you're taking them to a tailgate party, passing around the bulk box might be fine.

Taste

Blueberry Jelly Belly jelly beans are decent. The jelly beans do not have a bouquet, so that they are packed with as much flavor as they actually are is something of a small miracle. Unaided by any strong scent, Blueberry Jelly Belly jelly beans still embody the flavor of Artificial Blueberries. They taste like the blueberries in blueberry jam or blueberry pancake mix. Are they good? Sure. But they aren't realistically blueberry.

However, the taste fades remarkably quickly. More than a handful of Blueberry Jelly Belly jelly beans consumed at a time leaves the consumer with the vague taste of sugar in their mouth, not anything wonderful or as distinct as the initial flavor. Of course, if one can limit themselves to about half a cup of these little gems at a time, there ought to be no problem!

Nutrition

Again, these are jelly beans, so anyone looking to them for nutrition needs to remember that eating a ton of these will leave you the size of a linebacker. 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, even if you didn't have to pick these off a shrub in a bog!). I've never had Blueberry Jelly Belly's stain anything. That said, it's pretty wild to be able to eat something that tastes so much like blueberry and not have to clean juice off one's fingers afterward!

Overall

Blueberry is a decent, very average Jelly Belly jelly bean and the real unfortunate aspect of this good tasting jelly bean is that the taste fades so quickly. Outside that, it is worth stocking up on and this is a great way to do that!

For other Jelly Belly flavors reviewed by me, please check out:
Tutti-Fruitti
Sour Orange
Honey Bean

6/10

For other food and drink reviews, please check out my index page by clicking here! There's a lot more where this came from! :)

© 2010, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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