Unsatisfied by actual food, we want our nourishment Wonka-fied and turned into candy we can share with friends so we finally have something to talk about aside from the woes of the world.
And Brach’s, with its team of brilliant food scientists, is more than happy to oblige. The newest offering from the company that brought you Thanksgiving dinner-flavored candy corn is a selection of jelly beans inspired by taco truck staples. I tried each and every one, from the mundane (churro) to the bizarre (beef taco). Here’s what I thought:
Let’s start with the best of the best: the Margarita bean. It doesn’t taste like a fresh-made Margarita but it does taste like quality Margarita mix—I even detected a hint of salt. The horchata was spiced with cinnamon and had a pleasant undercurrent of nutty almonds. The churro was fine—it tasted like sugar but so does a churro. The salsa was fascinating. It was garlicky and spicy with some zesty onion flavor. The guacamole was heavy on the cilantro and light on the actual avocado flavor. And the beef taco was truly wild. It tasted like Old El Paso taco seasoning (with sugar) and a hint of grease. Just think about the things the person who created that flavoring could have accomplished if they dedicated their time to something other than jelly beans. I’m not going to snack on these regularly, but I will force them on people to watch their faces as they register cumin in a jelly bean. And then we’ll finally have something to talk about that isn’t the world’s impending doom.
Justine Sterling is the editor-in-chief of Sporked. She has been writing about food and beverages for well over a decade and is an avid at-home cook and snacker. Don’t worry, she’s not a food snob. Sure, she loves a fresh-shucked oyster. But she also will leap at whatever new product Reese’s releases and loves a Tostitos Hint of Lime, even if there is no actual lime in the ingredients.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!
This looks like an absolute abomination and I want to try some right now!