Katjes Wonderland – Pink Edition Gummies
I definitely have a bias when it comes to European gummy brands, mostly Haribo. But there are other brands that do gummies the way I like them – firmer and more of a jaw workout. I don’t know much about Katjes but I have seen them around for quite some time, so I figured now is as good a time as any to dig into them.
Something worth noting here is that these are vegan. When it comes to gummy candies, being vegan means they do not use gelatin. Most vegan or vegetarian gummies will rely on pectin to try and emulate that gummy flavour that gelatin does very well. It also means texture is not quite the same so that’s something that will impact the texture. While I tend to prefer gelatin, there have been a few non-gelatin gummies I enjoy despite it not being as firm or bouncy in texture.
There are four flavours, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and cherry. Interestingly, some of these gummies have what appears to be two colour to them, so I wonder if that means they are multilayered too, or its just colouring.
The texture of these reminds me of fruit snacks I had as a kid, not quite bouncy and more of a jelly, but also not as quick to melt away. Some weird middle ground like a slightly softer jujube, but just as sticky. I can’t say I’m surprised, as that’s generally the case with vegan gummies.
The light pink looking one is to my knowledge, raspberry. It tastes kind of like someone took a flower petal and added a bit of sugar. It’s mild in flavour, but not really in a good way. Has a weird, almost herbal after taste to it as well. This one’s a little out there for me. The reddish pink one should be cherry. This one is different from what I was expecting, since most cherry flavours taste like cherry cough drops. These went in a more floral direction and similar to raspberry is kind of nondescript. If you didn’t know it was going for cherry, you would likely only be able to guess that it’s berry adjacent.
The purple one is blueberry and reminds me of those fruity blueberry candy canes I had as a kid. It’s got that distinct artificial blueberry flavour which while fake, is kind of enticing in a way. The clear one is strawberry, and reminds me of those old strawberry had candies that had syrup in them and came in the instantly recognizable foil wrap. You know the one, the candy you would find in dishes in homes of grandmas all across the land. The also taste similar too, which again, while fake is very enticing and leave me wanting more.
As far as i can tell, the piece with two colour on them are still one flavour, which makes sense but is ever so slightly disappointing. Most of the flavours are more what you expect from traditional artificial candy flavours, which is hit or miss depending on your preference.
For me the blueberry and strawberry are great, but cherry and raspberry leave a bit to be desired. While I think the idea is fun and cute, I don’t know that I would get this again. That being said, I am intrigued to see how they handle other flavour mixes, so at the very least I want to try more from Katjes.
