Gummy Madness!!

It's hot and it's summer so that can only mean one thing: Extreme Gummy Invasion! I received lots of gummy samples lately, so No-Nuts and I got down to business. I'd like to say beforehand that I really do appreciate that more and more companies are trying to make better-for-you candy, particularly in the area of colors and flavors. Less artificial junk, more real stuff. That's a good thing. We took that into account when we taste-tested these gummies and gave extra points for healthiness, but flavor was definitely important.
On a side-note, I took the Sugar Baby to a little seaside candy shack a few weeks ago. I figured I'd let him pick out a few little pieces of candy. Holy cannoli, what a scam. The cheapest thing in the place was a regular-sized Hershey bar with Almonds for $1.50. The lady tried to sell me on a tiny bag of gummy worms for $4.95. She kept telling me they were made with 30% fruit juice. Apparently she didn't know who she was dealing with. Anyhow, enough of that. Onto the gummies.

Goody Good Stuff Tropical Gummies:
No picture available because we ate them without thinking. The gummies came in cute shapes, including a bunch of bananas and a palm tree. 

No-Nuts:

"The first one I tried was banana-flavored and good, especially because I don't like banana-flavored things
Raspberry/strawberry-flavored: Okay, but definitely not my first gummy choice
Palm tree: I don't know what flavor it was but I didn't like it. Too much tropical, but with no specific fruit flavor. Probably palm tree flavor."

Me:
"I was impressed with the banana ones, as banana is a difficult flavor to do well. I have to agree with No-Nuts about the Palm Tree. I'm thinking it was probably papaya or some other stinky tropical flavor like that." (Addendum: we finally figured out it was supposed to be coconut.)

Conclusion: These gummies are all-natural, dairy-free, gluten-free, gelatin-free and fat free. In addition, No-Nuts would only buy them if they were free.


Goody Good Stuff Sour Fruit Salad

These are fruit-shaped gummies with a sour citric acid dusting.

No-Nuts: "They reminded me of Peach-O's, but not anywhere near as good.
The pear flavor was different, and I liked it but ... you know."

Me: "The grapefruit was good, but I like grapefruit flavor in general. The thing with these is I was waiting to be hit with "SOUR," but they were really just like fruit slices that you'd buy at CVS for 2 for $1."

Conclusion: I was ready to give major points to these for their natural ingredients, in particular the spinach. The first ingredient is corn syrup, but it's candy for cryin' out loud. A little corn syrup never hurt anyone.
Overall, three stars out of five.

Surf Sweets Sour Berry Bears

These are little gummy bears, all red and orange. They're all-natural, made with organic fruit juice, no corn syrup, gluten-free, vegan. That covers a lot of bases.

No-Nuts: "They were pretty good."

Me: "I really liked these. They had the sour punch I was looking for."
Overall, four out of five stars.



Welch's Tangy Fruits
These are jam-packed with artificial colors, flavors and other suspicious ingredients.
No-Nuts: "I love these. Four stars."
Me: "I hate these. One star."










 Gimbal's Sour Lovers

A giant, 11-ounce bag of cute heart-shaped gummies in 12 (TWELVE!) flavors that are thoughtfully listed on the back.
No-Nuts:
    " Fuji apple :)
     Blueberry: very sour
     Watermelon: +++"
Me: These were yummy.
Four out of five stars. Would've been five out of five, but the artificial colors drop it down a notch.

Natural Vines: A Healthy Twist on Licorice

All-natural candy has perhaps been the biggest trend in candy over the last few years and it's come a long way, baby. It used to be that you'd walk into a health food store and find some sort of date/fig/nut ball concoction that was trying to pass for "candy." Not any more, thankfully. With more and more people (read: concerned parents) looking to eliminate artificial colors and flavors out of their diets, candy makers have had to step up their game and get innovative. I've written about different products before (including the wildly successful Qbel bars, which I just saw for sale in Stop & Shop) and now there's another one to add to the list.
American Licorice Company, famous for Red Vines, has come out with a new product: Natural Vines. They come in black and strawberry and here's what you get:

Black Licorice twists: Molasses, wheat flour, sugar, brown rice syrup, cane syrup, caramel color, licorice extract, palm oil, natural anise flavor, salt.

Strawberry Licorice twists: Wheat flour, cane syrup, sugar, brown rice syrup, palm oil, malic acid, natural strawberry flavor, beet juice (a natural color), glycerin, licorice extract.

Pretty cool, huh? I received some samples from the company, but it was right before Halloween and I was inundated with candy. (As you might recall, I had candy stuffed into every nook and cranny in the house. Funny, most of it seems to have disappeared.) So I thought I'd have some fun and have the licorice experts-- my parents-- do the tasting.
They loved the packaging. Whoever designed it should get an award, because it truly is outstanding. As for the candy, they liked it, but said it didn't really taste like "licorice," which is surprising since, unlike many other licorices, these actually contain licorice extract.
Have you tried Natural Vines? Let me know what you think.

Yummy Earth: Organic Candy That Tastes Good

One of the moms at the Sugar Baby's new school found out I had a blog. Not only does she have a 3-year-old, but she also just gave birth to a brand new baby just a few weeks ago. I figured if anyone needed a special treat, it was her. So I shared some of the candy love that was sent to me from Yummy Earth. I like this company, because it was created by two dads who wanted their kids to have a natural candy that tasted good. All of their products are USDA and EU Certified Organic and are gluten-free, peanut-free and tree-nut free and don't contain any type of corn syrup. And yet amazingly, their candy still tastes really, really good. Honestly!
While the gummy bears and worms may not be as bright and colorful as traditional brands, they taste really good. The other mom commented on how juicy they were. Yep, they have a nice, fresh fruit flavor with a good sweet/sour balance. What I particularly like is that these have the same dense chew as a regular gummy. Oftentimes, gummy products can be too soft or gumdrop-like. These were definitely chewy.
As for their hard candies, I tried the Roadside Root Beer drops which were just as tasty as an old-fashioned root beer barrel, only drop-shaped, which I like better since it didn't slice up my tongue. I plan on giving out their Organic Lollipops for Halloween, so if you're in the neighborhood, stop by!
I tip my hat to this company because I know a lot of parents out there who are concerned about artificial colors and flavors. These prove that you can make a great tasting candy from nature's own delicious sources.

Fair Warning: This Ain't Pretty

It's been a way busy summer here at the old Yum Yum headquarters, so I've had to dole out some of my stash to the wee Von Schokolats to review. First up, Tung Toos, Candy Tongue Art. I think this might be one of those candies that, in 30 years, people will be saying, "Hey, remember those tattoos you'd put on your tongue?" And someone will respond, "Oh yeah! I remember those. What were they called?" Kinda like Garbage Pail Kids or Freshen Up gum.
In any case, these tattoos are cherry, watermelon, lemonade, raspberry, strawberry and apple-flavored and come in different designs such as sports balls, princessy things like castles and wands, and the ever-popular vehicles of war (tanks and planes and helicopters and such).
First of all, let me just say that when I read the ingredients, I wasn't thrilled. They are:
Natural and artificial flavors, citric acid, edible ink (otherwise known as artificial colors) and aspartame. Now I know, a lot of candies are made with these ingredients. It's just that, I don't know, all that artificial stuff without at least something nutritionally beneficial seems a bit wrong. But I suppose wax lips and Nik-L-Nips never did any damage to us as kids, so there you go.
On to the reviews.

Gretl: "It's sour and it tastes bad"

Liesl: "It's sour first, then sweet. Good flavor."

The Baron: "Though the picture looks like a turd, it's supposed to be a football. It is burning my tongue, YUCK!"

No-Nuts just put a blue raspberry boat on her tongue and said, "It tastes good. For a second. Now it tastes totally fake."

These would probably be a fun party favor at the kids' next sleepover or your college-student's next kegger.

New Wonka Gummies: No Artificial Colors or Flavors!

I was pretty psyched earlier this year when I found out that Wonka would be releasing two new products: Sour Puckerooms and Sluggles Gummies. These sounded like just the kind of fun candy the market has been lacking for a while, because, let's face it, gummie worms and bears can only excite and amuse for so long.
The Sour Puckerooms are little mushroom shaped gummies with a sour dusting, similar to Sour Patch Kids. The flavors are cherry, grape and lemon/orange.
In contrast, the Sluggles are sweet and come in bug shapes (but not gross bug shapes, thankfully). The flavors are orange, grape, lemon and strawberry. I found them at Target.
I tossed the bags to No-Nuts and she went for the Puckerooms first. "These are good!" she said. I agree. They are good. Not too sour, but just puckery enough to have you reaching for another one. I like the contrast of the rough sour stuff against the smooth, chewy gummy.
The Sluggles are good, too, although I always prefer sour. These have a dense chew and a slick surface.
My overall thinking was, these are good. But how are they any different than any other gummie candies? One look at the ingredients will tell you: no artificial colors or flavors. Very cool. This is a big deal for parents of kids who have sensitivities to artificial ingredients, so yay for Wonka!