Friday, June 29, 2012

Even Better Than The Orange, Blackberry And Cherry Pet Cockroach Gummi Candies From Jelly Belly Are Worth Trying!


Gummi Pet Cockroaches 2/24-Count Pack
Click here to buy a case of Jelly Belly Blackberry And Cherry Pet Cockroach Gummi Candies!

The Good: Tastes like both Blackberry and Cherrys, Presence of Vitamin C, Fun and whimsical.
The Bad: EXPENSIVE!
The Basics: For sure, the Jelly Belly Blackberry and Cherry Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy appeal to a very small niche audience, but I am discovering that I might be in that demographic as I find them more delicious than disturbing!


Up until this week, it has been years since I last had gummy candies. In fact, I recall it very easily: my wife and I were going on a road trip to Las Vegas for the annual Star Trek convention there and we bought bulk gummies before leaving! However, I have since been compelled, through a generous grant of products from the Jelly Belly Candy Company, to try Gummi Candies again. After years without gummies, I tried the Jelly Belly Blackberry And Orange Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy (reviewed here!) and it was good.

So, I more eagerly broke into the new Blackberry and Cherry Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy I had. . . . and it was even better!

The Blackberry and Cherry Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy are expensive, even online where they range from $1.50 - $1.80, but they are otherwise quite wonderful and that makes them very easy to recommend!

Basics

The Blackberry and Cherry 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, Blackberry and Cherry 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 Blackberry and Cherry/Blackberry Pet Cockroach.

The Blackberry and Cherry 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 trying to train cockroaches to reenact scenes from Constantine! Consuming these is as easy as opening the individual package, sliding the card and Pet Cockroach out and consuming only the candy. There is no additional prep needed.

Taste

The Jelly Belly Blackberry and Cherry Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy smells strongly of sweet cherries. Whatever portion of the Pet Cockroach that is supposed to represent Blackberry to the nose is entirely sublimated to the red cherry legs of the Gummi! Even putting one’s nose right on the purple-black body of the Pet Cockroach (where, presumably, it is flavored like blackberry), the Cherry and Blackberry Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy smells exclusively like cherry.

On the taste front, though, the black/dark purple carapace of the Pet Cockroach tastes like berries, dark and delicious in a way that the legs do not. In fact, as one’s saliva touches the legs, this candy releases a pure, distinct wave of flavor that perfectly embodies sweet cherries! That is in very real contrast to the more mellow, less overtly sweet berry flavor of the blackberry body. The resulting taste of this delicious bug is a sweet treat whose sweetness never becomes overbearing, as it is muted by the flavor of the slightly more sour blackberry portion of the Pet Cockroach. The combination of flavors is actually quite delightful and fruity.

The effect of the contrasting flavors also serves to neutralize both tastes and leave the consumer without any significant aftertaste in the mouth!

Nutrition

Again, these are Gummi candies, not actual cockroaches or fruit, but the Blackberry and Cherry 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 Blackberry and Cherry 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 Blackberry and Cherry Pet Cockroach Gummi Candies have a shelf life of approximately one year, though mine did not last five 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 Blackberry and Cherry 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 Blackberry and Cherry Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy to get hot to the point that it denatures and gets sticky, there should be no cleanup necessary.

Overall

The Blackberry and Cherry Pet Cockroach Gummi Candy might look like a gross bug, but it tastes delicious!

For other Jelly Belly flavors reviewed by me, please check out:
Sunkist Blackberry and Cherry Slices
Beanboozled Jelly Bean Assortment
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Dips Jelly Beans

7.5/10

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.
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