Mars Starburst GummiBursts Flavor Duos

Yet another Mars review! It takes time for new candy to work its way into my local grocery stores, and it looks like all the Mars products hit at once. Again, it's a familiar product with new fusion flavors.

Starburst GummiBursts haven't been around as long as some other classic Mars fruit candies like Starburst fruit chews and Skittles, but they seem to be doing well. Flavor Duos is the third variety of GummiBursts (after regular and sour) I've seen, and there are probably more. There were four flavor combinations: Green Apple Strawberry, Cherry Fruit Punch, Strawberry Watermelon, and Lemon Cherry.


Green Apple Strawberry was dominated by the crisp, tart green apple flavor. It was good, but I could hardly taste the strawberry! The firm texture of the gummy part made for an enjoyable chew.

Cherry Fruit Punch had a yummy classic red fruit snack taste. It was both tart and sweet with a hint of a vitamin flavor. Also, the colors of this piece reminded me of a red blood cell.

Strawberry Watermelon was the star of the bunch. The watermelon center was sour and fantastic, and it went well with the fairly authentic flavor of the strawberry gummy.

Lemon Cherry had the same zesty lemon flavor as a regular lemon Starburst, but the cherry center tasted a bit medicinal to me. Still, this one was enjoyable, it just wasn't my favorite (and lemon flavors are usually a sure bet for me).

All in all, these GummiBursts were sweet but not cloying, tart but not sour, and the slightly firm, bouncy texture of the gummies was just right. The flavor combinations weren't all that new or exciting, but the Strawberry Melon and Cherry Fruit punch were particularly well done.

B

Starburst website

Tirol Wine

Even though I know next to nothing about wine, I do know that Wine is not a very descriptive name for a flavor. From the package, it can be assumed that this is a red wine flavored Tirol, but even that doesn't add much.

My favorite red wine is Shiraz, which can have a strong bite, but there is a whole spectrum of red wines ranging from sweet to dry and beyond. The mystery Wine Tirol was purchased from napaJapan (4 for $3.29 US) just before Christmas, and limited quantities are still available.


The dark chocolate was of decent quality and had a bit of a chocolate liquor flavor to it. In terms of texture, it had a good snap and a slow melt on the tongue. The jelly in the center was thick and sticky like a fruit gem, but didn't taste like wine. This Tirol was more like grape jelly in dark chocolate, and while it was very good, there was no hint of that "luxurious aftertaste" the packaging mentioned.

Maybe they were aiming for dessert wine, but even that has more bite than this mild Tirol. There was a slight sourness at the finish, but it lacked the rich, complex end note that distinguishes sweet wine from grape juice. Even though this Tirol was tasty, it was misleading, so I have to account for that in my rating. This could be a good thing for those who don't like wine, but I wish Tirol had taken the concept just a bit further.

B+

Tirol Website

Mars Starburst GummiBursts

Here is yet another fairly new product from a familiar brand. I heard about these sometime last year and had been seeing commercials for a few months before I actually saw them at a convenience store near work.

Having grown up loving Gushers fruit snacks, I imagined (hoped) that these GummiBursts would be like Gushers. It seemed weird to see these in the candy aisle, since they look more like fruit snacks, but maybe they are too sugary to be considered fruit snacks (not that those are all good for you).


The bag smelled exactly like fruit snacks that I used to take to school in my lunch. The pieces even had that waxy, firm, slightly sticky feel of fruit snacks. Also, I was really surprised how much juice was in each piece! The pieces may be small, but they are pretty packed. Here's what I thought of each flavor.

Orange was sour, sweet, and burned my throat a little. It didn't taste much like orange Starburst, but it reminded me of orange Dum Dum suckers.

Lemon had better tasting juice - nice and sour, but a little less sweet. The outside gummy didn't taste very lemony, though.

Cherry was the only flavor that genuinely matched its Starburst original cousin. The flavor was exactly the same. Also, it wasn't painfully sweet. I liked it best.

Strawberry had tasty fake strawberry juice, and even though it wasn't as good as a pink Starburst, it was still pretty enjoyable.

Overall, I would have to say that these were worth trying, but maybe not worth buying again. I loved how packed with juice they were, but the gummy part was a little too firm for my liking. Definitely took me back to the old days of lunchboxes, peanut butter and jelly, and quieting down in the cafeteria, though!

B

Starburst website

Hershey Pelon Pelo Rico Tamarind

One of my friends recently returned from Mexico (the same one who went to France last year, yes, I am so jealous), and she kindly brought me back a couple Mexican sweets to try! The first of two is Pelon Pelo Rico, a Hershey product. The flavor is tamarind, a fruit I don't see too often in the United States (just in Pad Thai).

If you look at the following picture, you might be reminded, as I was, of the Play-doh barber shop toy. Pretty fun concept for candy, too, but pretty messy. Definitely for kids.


The goo smelled like tamarind. The goo was also difficult to eat, and I ended up scraping it off the top with my teeth. If I was younger, I would have had no trouble just sucking it off. It was chewy, sort of like melted fruit leather might taste - sticky and pulpy. I have to say that the experience was pretty fun.

The initial flavor was very intense. It wasn't bad, but very foreign to my tongue (and I have had tamarind before). Once I was used to the flavor, it was better. My husband said the taste reminded him of mild peppers, and he liked it more than I did. I think tamarind is probably an acquired taste, and I think that if I had more exposure to it, I would have liked this candy more. It was a lot of fun to eat, and unlike any candy I've ever had before!

B

Hershey Pelon Pelo Rico website

Too Tarts Xtra Sour Goo Candy Gwape

A few years ago, my husband and I saw this candy on Unwrapped. We didn't think much of it until we saw the actual candy on the shelves at a zoo gift shop, of all places, but it must have made an impression because we were compelled to buy it. And yes, it's another one of those candies where the fruit would have looked cool in 1995. Also, why is it called Gwape? Is it supposed to sound tough?

The package says "smart choice" and, according to the back, there are only 36 calories in the entire tube. The first ingredient is water, and the second is fruit juice concentrate (apple and blueberry, pear, or strawberry). Apple puree is also listed, but (unfortunately) along with artificial flavors and sucralose (second to last on the list). Oh well, it's a pretty small tube, and that's how they keep the calories low.


The candy goo was an unappetizing brownish color (which came off looking nice and purple in my picture - don't be fooled), but I suppose you're not really supposed to look at it when you eat it. A little squirt onto my tongue, and I was immediately hit with sour. I wouldn't call it xtra sour, but it was pretty strong, especially for kids (but I would have loved it as a kid).

It definitely did taste like grape juice and not medicine. The artificial flavor and sweetener showed up as an aftertaste, but only mildly. Although the tube said it was 2 servings, neither my husband nor I can have very much of this at once. It's not bad at all, but maybe it's the sour factor. In any case, it does a decent job of killing cravings for sweet stuff, so Gwape is all right. Maybe next time, we'll try Blue Bewwy.

B

Innovative Candy Concepts website