The Natural Confectionery Co. – Fruit Salad
During my travels to Asia, I came across a brand that looks very non-Asian and is definitely more of a European looking brand. As it turns out The Natural Confectionery Co. is an Australian brand that has been around for some time, and is now owned by Mondelez. Is there anything they DON’T own?? What really caught my eye though, apart from the clean, simple packaging was the candies themselves. It’s been quite some time since I’ve had fruit salad candy, and I figured now is as good as any to dive back into something I loved as a kid.
These fruit jellies are soft and visually remind me of the fancy fruit jellies I would see come in a cardboard box. Sort of like the fancier version of jellies that they would do with chocolates coming in a similar shape and sized box. These also smell really good, and really fruity. No doubt some of that is more akin to fruit snacks and the level of sweetness that kids love. I guess part of it that draws me in is the nostalgia of a simpler time.
The lemon is really sweet, and while it does have a lemon flavour to it, reminds me more of a flat lemon soda than a lemon gummy. Maybe it’s because it’s tickling my nostalgia from my childhood fruit snacks, but I kind of like this. Orange reminds me of an orange lollipop where it is distinctly orange, but it leans more on the juice side than the peel side. There’s not a whole lot of zest or tang, but enough to let you know what it’s supposed to be. Peach is reminding me of a peach tea with no tea flavour, so basically juice. It’s more on the sweet side than the floral side, but still tasty enough that I want more.
Raspberry is very floral with a strong berry flavour, but again, quite sweet. I might enjoy this one if it wasn’t nearly as sweet, but the notes of raspberry are all present so that you wouldn’t confuse it for another fruit. Apple is a vibrant green apple flavour to it, not surprisingly because apple juice seems to be the easiest to help recreate the apple flavour. Something about apple makes it a very easy and strong flavour to emulate, so it comes through the strongest of all the fruits. Blackcurrant is yet again my favourite flavour, with it’s distinct, tart berry flavour. This one also feels a bit on the sweet side, and overall would have benefited from a little less of the sweet. But the key notes of blackcurrant are there, and enough so that it remains my favourite.
If you’ve never had a fruit jelly, it’s sort of like a fruit snack but instead of being sticky, it has a sugar dusting on the outside that ends up crystalizing, making the outer layer ever so slightly harder than the center. These particular ones are actually quite chewy, and put up a little resistance on the first bite. It gives way to a jelly inside which isn’t sticky, but does have a little bit of a bounce as you chew.
I’ll be honest here and say that nostalgia is probably a big part of why I enjoyed this, but let there be no doubt that these are quite sweet, and definitely not for everyone. I suspect I would be inclined to get these again, and it’s probably the longing for simpler times talking.
