Gimbal's Sour Lovers

My candy stash has been woefully low for the past month, and my blogging has suffered as a result. Well, this review is just the thing to recharge my blogging spirit. Not long after posting a review of the highly disappointing Nobel Blueberry Sours, a PR representative for Gimbal's candy offered me samples of Sour Lovers gummies. In other words, the product in this review was provided by a PR company, but I promise that I treated it just like any other candy I review.

I had never seen Gimbal's products in stores and only vaguely remembered reading a review of earlier products on Candy Blog, but now that I've had Sour Lovers, I'm afraid I'm hooked. Sour gummies have been one of my favorite candy categories since I was a kid, and Gimbal's did an amazing job. There were 12 distinct flavors, and I liked every single one of them.


Meyer Lemon was tart and tangy, with just the right amount of sour - enough to make you pucker just a tad, but in a pleasant way. The flavor had a zesty, citrus feel without tasting at all like a cleaning product.

Georgia Peach had a distinct peach flavor, and while it was sour, it was a bit sweeter and fruitier than many of the other flavors.

Watermelon had that classic watermelon candy flavor (real watermelon never tastes that intense), charged up with a nice sourness. That's another great thing about these candies - they are sour throughout, not just in the outer sugar coating.

Bing Cherry fell somewhere between real cherries and cherry Kool-Aid. It had a nice, rich flavor and a great sour/sweet balance.

Mango was one of my favorites of the bunch. It reminded me so much of real mango that it almost seemed pulpy.

I'm not sure why Sour Blueberry was named as it was; all of the flavors are sour! But anyhow, this one was tart and just a bit bitter (but in a good way, like real berries). It was a good blueberry, but if I didn't know, my guess would have been raspberry.

Strawberry Daiquiri had a lovely sweet strawberry flavor, and it felt pretty authentic. It seemed to have some citrus as well, making it extra sour.

Fuji Apple tasted a lot like apple juice. It was sour and fruity, but if I had to pick a least favorite flavor, this would be it. I didn't have any trouble eating it, though.

Baja Margarita tasted just like margarita mixers from grocery stores. To give you an idea of the flavor authenticity, if you are nursing a hangover, you may want to skip this one until you feel better. It definitely packed more than just lime flavor!

Pomegranate had an earthy, juicy flavor that was richer than the cherry. It was the least sweet of the bag, but I'm afraid it's been so long since I've had pomegranate seeds that I can't comment on the flavor well.

Tangerine was extra sour and extra citrusy. It had that classic vitamin C-laden flavor I used to crave as a child and still enjoy. This was another top flavor.

Grapefruit was sweeter than the real thing. It was tart, but less so than Tangerine or Meyer Lemon. It had just enough grapefruit bitterness to give the right effect.

I'm so glad I got to try these. As a sour candy lover, I can say Sour Loves definitely got it right. The texture of the gummies was thick and sticky, a bit like a fruit gem. I found that about 6-8 gummies at a time hit the spot, so I took several days to review these properly. Every single time I tried them, I was impressed.

I should also mention that both Gimbal's Sour Lovers and the Gimbal's factory are free of just about every common food allergen (peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, gluten, soy, fish, and shell fish), and Sour Lovers are kosher pareve.

The only minor annoyance was that they got stuck in my teeth, making me want to brush. I can certainly forgive that - it's candy, after all. Everyone I shared these with (my husband, my father, my boss, and some coworkers) enjoyed them - though my husband wanted me to leave the bag open and let them get a little stale because he claims it improves the texture. Honestly, once the bag is open, I'm not sure I could make them last long enough to get stale!

A

Gimbal's Fine Candies website

Orbit Positively Pomegranate Gum

In my quest to try every flavor of Orbit gum, I've never had so much difficulty tracking down a flavor as I had with Positively Pomegranate. Once Amanda mentioned it in a comment on the Stride Sweet Berry review, I knew I had to try it. It was nowhere to be found at Target, Walgreens, or Kroger, and I couldn't even find it online! Finally, I found a mention on a blog of someone getting it at Wal-Mart. I don't really go there often; oddly enough, it's not conveniently located near my apartment. But I finally made it out to Wal-Mart and lo and behold, found the gum!

I wasn't expecting the box to be white, but I suppose a pomegranate color would have been too easily confused with Raspberry Mint. After the surprising box color, the second thing I noticed was that this gum packs a powerful scent. I could smell it through the plastic wrapper, and it was almost sickeningly sweet. This was very concerning. However, after removing the wrapper, I was relieved to find that the box smelled better, fruitier and less oppressive. In fact, the scent was almost a dead ringer for Bath & Body Works Midnight Pomegranate (floral notes included). I actually didn't try the gum right away, so it sat for about 30 minutes while I finished my tea. My whole apartment smells like this gum. This scent is strong.


The gum itself is a nice pale purple, although I was hoping for a darker color. The taste is actually pretty good! Fruity, tangy, and although it's been a long time since I've had a pomegranate, it tastes like Midnight Pomegranate smells (minus the floral notes), so I'm guessing that's good. There's no mint in here, so that's a plus if you're not a fruity/minty combo fan.

Once thing I didn't like was the texture. It's not very springy as gum goes. In fact, it's stickier, softer, and gooier than gum should be. It doesn't bounce back when you chew it. I don't know if that has to do with how they flavored it or what, but it is kind of disappointing. I'm not the only one who thinks so (1 2 3 4, etc.).

So, it doesn't top the list of Orbit gums I've tried, but it's not at the bottom either. I would have liked it more if it didn't scent my apartment and had a better texture.

Now, my Orbit count is up to 14/16 flavors tried.

C (because of the texture thing)

Orbit Website

Balsamic-Braised Cipolline with Pomegranate

Can you believe I've never plucked and eaten a fresh cherry from a tree? I have eaten a less commonly found in backyards fruit, the pomegranate, straight from the tree. The house I grew up in had a much neglected and improperly sited pomegranate tree (large bush, really) under a towering tree in the backyard. No one cared for this fruit tree, and I remember myself being the only one excited when the tree produced a handful of fruits each year.

Cracking open this strange fruit, plucking all the ruby jewels nestled together in membrane-divided pockets, gently biting down on a handful of seeds to release the tangy, sweet juice of the flesh surrounding the seed, and then, of course, spitting the seeds from the porch in a contest with my best friend made for at least thirty minutes of fun to fill my carefree, youthful days.

Pomegranates make an appearance this time of year, and I usually indulge in at least one. Eating a pomegranate is time consuming and somewhat meditative – the opposite of how I generally eat food. The way I like to eat a pomegranate is a few seeds at a time, biting gently down to release the juices, then spit the seeds out. You can eat the seeds, but it just feels wrong to me.

These gems are appearing more and more on salads, and other foods, like the balsamic-braised cipolline onions with pomegranate recipe in the Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appètit, ever since being proclaimed a super-food. I gave Bon Appètit’s Thanksgiving menu another try, and this time it was a success. Except the pomegranate seeds.

If you enjoy crunching and swallowing pomegranate seeds, leave them in the recipe. Spitting seeds out table-side is not allowed, so for those who are pomegranate seed-spitters like me, save the pomegranate for contemplative solitude (spitting contest).

I will name him George, and I will hug him, and pet him, and squeeze him.

Cipollini must mean cute-as-a-button, because that’s what these small, flat, sweet bulbs are. How could I resist these when I spied them in the store? Actually not onions, cipollini are the edible bulbs of a grape hyacinth, Muscari comosum.

Onion or not, cipollini taste like onions, and caramelized onions are like candy to me, so I could not pass up this recipe. I ate these with this year’s Thanksgiving faux turkey (turned out well; details soon), but meat-eaters should try these braised cipolline with beef. Having eaten a grilled steak once a week until the age of 15, I do know what beef tastes like!

Balsamic-Braised Cipolline with Pomegranate
Adapted from Bon Appètit

2 pounds cipolline onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

• Blanche cipolline in boiling water 1 minute. Drain, cool briefly, trim ends, and peel.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.Add cipolline, salt and pepper to taste, and sauté until brown, 12 minutes.
  
• Add vegetable broth, wine, vinegar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
• Increase heat, and boil until cipolline are tender and the liquid has thickened, stirring often, 5 to 15 minutes depending on amount of liquid left in pan.
• Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.
• *Crème fraiche was omitted from this recipe, but, if you like, add 3 tablespoons of crème fraiche or heavy whipping cream to the cipolline right before removing from heat and transferring to serving bowl.