Okay, admittedly, this one is kind of a stretch--it's a bit questionable that today's topic is labeled as being "exotic," since it comes from a U.S.-based company. However, the candies were actually made in Thailand, at an alternate manufacturing plant. So, I'm counting it, barely. Anyway, today's post is about Jelly Belly gummies.
As a refreshing change, the official Jelly Belly website had a good amount of information about the products offered, and a decent amount about the company's history. On that note, our story begins over 150 years ago. Gustav Goelitz left his native Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1866. Three years later he started a candy business in Belleville, Illinois. He was assisted by his brothers Albert and George. The Goelitz company flourished, and continued through many of the family's generations. In 1898 the business started making a new type of candy, called mellocremes (aka butter creams), along with their version of the later Halloween standard candy corn. (Goelitz didn't invent candy corn though--they just did their take on an established candy.) The sugar rationing during World War II forced Goelitz to make other kinds of candy, such as mint wafers. By the 1960's the business started making mini jelly beans. In 1976 another candy manufacturer, David Klein, collaborated with Goelitz to revamp their jelly beans, including 8 new flavors, into the new Jelly Belly line, named after famous American bluesman Lead Belly. These new beans were hugely successful, and the 1980's the number of flavors offered was in the 40's. At around the same time Goelitz began to export to other countries--to Canada in 1977, and to the U.K. in 1982. The Jelly Belly brand got a major boost in fame and popularity due to one of its biggest fans. A former actor, then California Governor, and finally U.S. President Ronald Reagan was noted for scarfing down tons of this candy. There were more famous consumers, too. Jelly Bellies were the first jelly beans taken into space, going up in the space shuttle Challenger in 1983. (Tragically, this was the shuttle that exploded in 1986, killing all the astronauts on board.) In 2001 Goelitz changed its name to the Jelly Belly Candy Company. The company has shown an almost ridiculous willingness to experiment with different Jelly Belly flavors, too. The buttered popcorn one, developed in 1989, was billed as the first savory jelly bean. Jelly bean sours came about in 1993. Then, in 2000, an agreement was forged, and Jelly Belly flavors were made matching a character from the "Harry Potter" series. These Bertie Botts' flavors were intentionally revolting-sounding, such as skunk spray, earwax, dirt, and even vomit. Special carbohydrate-infused Jelly Bellies were developed in 2005 for athletes. To date there are more than 50 Jelly Belly flavors--from the traditional, regular fruit ones like lemon and orange, to more complicated ones like orange sherbet and chili mango, on to more collaborations with other products, such as an A&W Root Beer-flavored kind. Plus more repulsive flavors such as booger and rotten eggs. Aside from the flagship Jelly Belly jelly beans, the company also markets chocolates, candy corn, licorice, and, obviously, gummies. The business's headquarters are now in Fairfield, California, where you can visit the museum, ride the train, have a wine and candy tasting event, and tour the factory. Their Thailand plant opened in 2008.
Jelly Belly gummies, lemon flavor: These were bean shaped, yellow in color, and had the standard "Jelly Belly" embossment on them. They had the usual soft, chewy, and sticky gummy texture. Decent lemon flavor. Good gummy. Not awesome, but tasty.
Jelly Belly gummies, berry blue flavor: These were the same size and shape as the previous, with the company name stamp, and a light blue hue. Same texture, too. Good berry flavor. Again, not great, but more than solid.
Jelly Belly gummies, very cherry flavor: Identical size, shape, embossment, and texture as the others. Purplish-red color. And again, good but not great. Decent cherry flavor.
Jelly Belly gummies, orange flavor: Same size, shape, embossment, and texture as the rest. Orange hue, clearly. Recognizable orange flavor. And once again decent but not spectacular.
Jelly Belly gummies, green apple flavor: Same old drill. Only difference was that these were light green in color. And not to be a broken record, but as with all the others, I could detect the billed flavor, and it resulted in a solid, but not great gummy experience.
I should say that historically jelly beans weren't a big deal for me. They were the kind of candy that I'd eat if it was available, but they weren't my favorite or anything. I don't even recall what brands I tried growing up--they didn't make a strong enough impression on me to remember. That admitted, I don't really recall seeing Jelly Bellies on the shelves--maybe they weren't commonly sold in the Mid Atlantic States, and were instead more of a Mid West or West thing, given where their factories were located. But I definitely will buy the jelly bean forms of Jelly Bellies if I see them available, to get the full company effect. I'd particularly like to try their gross flavors, out of morbid curiosity. I wonder what the vomit and earwax and dirt ones taste like--surely it's not like the real thing, right? And if not, what non-nauseating flavor approximates these? I imagine very weird and spirited arguments about this going on in the flavor laboratories. When I get these culinary experiences I'll of course update this blog post.
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