You don’t have to celebrate Easter to enjoy the seasonal treat jelly beans. On the other hand, all jelly beans are not the same.
Over spring break, 10 VOICE staffers met via Zoom to blind taste test four popular brands of beans: Jelly Belly, Brach’s, Starburst, and Jolly Rancher.
NOTES:
First, the beans were about the same size for all brands, but each brand counted a “serving size” as a different number of beans. So we are listing their numbers and our recalculation for calories per bean.
Second, the ingredients for all of them are basically the same: sugar, cornsyrup, cornstarch, wax, and slightly different artifical colorings and flavoring.
Third, from what we could tell, all brands were made in facilities where milk, eggs, tree nuts, and wheat were used in other products. However, some did not indicate that on their labeling.
Finally, all the versions are vegetarian and vegan.
HERE ARE THE RESULTS
#4 JOLLY RANCHER
- Serving size = 30 pieces
- Calories per serving = 140
- Calories per bean = 4.6
Our reaction:
This wasn’t a matter of outright hate, the team just just found them boring. They smelled of “faint perfume” or like “cherry lolly pops. With the exception of one staffer, there was just a notable lack of enthusiam.
The one person who did vote for these, Art Editor Kristina Hontz, said eating them was like being “stabbed with goodness” and that she could “eat her way through the whole bag.”
#3 BRACH’S
- Serving size = 20 pieces
- Calories per serving = 110
- Calories per bean = 5.5
Our reaction:
Two people voted for Brach’s which is the oldest brand in the bunch, the standard, tried and true ones you’ve seen in every jar of beans you’ve ever been exposed to as a child.
Junior reporter Kyle Goldware said they “look like the rocks at the bottom of a fish tank,” Managing Editor Ashley Jackson described them as a “plump bean,” and Kelly Orlando, another junior reporter said they looked like “an exotic fruit dangling from a tree.”
Jackson, who was not a fan, said said they smelled like a “discount Hallmark candle,” but media adviser, Professor Matt Kochis said the orange ones tasted like victory after a soccer game when you have the fresh orange slices to keep up your energy.
#2 JELLY BELLY
- Serving size = 27 pieces
- Calories per serving = 110
- Calories per bean = 4
Our reaction:
Jelly Belly technically tied with Brach’s for second place with two votes, but we’re awarding them the number 2 spot just because. These beans are known for their highly specialized flavors including popcorn and toasted marshmallow. Because each bean is so different in flavor they are hard to eat by the handful.
Senior reporter Alex Gonzalez described one as tasting like “a scoop of Nesquick powder in your mouth.” Another student described a pink one as smelling and tasting like Bubble Gum tape (the kind that comes in rolls at the check out counter).
AND THE WINNER IS……
#1 – STARBURST
- Serving size = 20 pieces
- Calories per serving = 110
- Calories per bean = 5.5
Our reaction:
The hardest thing to fathom is how this brand won considering some of the negative things that were said about it, but it got a decisive five votes.
Here’s what the haters had to say, Photography Editor Alessandro Rivero said they tasted like “diswashing soap.” He added, “It makes me think about cleaning the bathroom on cleaning day.” Hontz (who you willl remember was a Jolly Rancher supporter) said eaching the Starburst beans was like “squirting Fabreez in your mouth.” Editor in Chief Elijah Parkman-Williams said these beans tasted like “the candy the bad kids get on Christmas,” and Gonzalez said they tasted like “cold medicine.”
However, the love was deep. Reporter Beryl Zonese said these had a stronger taste than the rest, and Gonzalez, who wasn’t a fan overall, conceded that the yellows tasted like a real lemon. Jackson said the beans tasted “like a correct answer on a math quiz.”
Even staffers who didn’t like the taste gave Starburst credit for appearance. Hontz described them as “bright, vibrant and eye catching.” Rivero, said the were like “the smooth pebbles at the beginning of the water, that touch your feet.”
Overall, all you can say is that the staffers found jelly beans to be a mixed bag.
