Just as the Sluggles (read our review of sluggles) the Sour Puckerooms are part of the ‘Wonka’s Edible Garden” series of candy. What a fun idea – candy shaped like little mushrooms. I used to eat Malaco’s Skumkantareller (foam chanterelles) growing up, so it’s not completely new to me, but it’s still a little different. The puckerooms comes in three different flavors – cherry, grape and lemon/orange, and they have three variations of mushroom shapes. The shapes are a bit two-dimensional, but it’s just candy, after all.
The puckerooms feels a little bit harder than the sluggles, which might just be a result of the coating. They are not overly sour, and someone looking for a distinct sour candy might be disappointed.

Unfortunately, the taste does not quite live up to I’d say they are a step below their companions the Sluggles. They are definitely not bad, but I had hoped for a bit more.
 

Straight from “Wonkas Edible Garden” it’s Sluggles! How can you go wrong with a name like that?

Apparently, these have been around for about a year, but it is not until fairly recently that they’ve begun to turn up on the shelves here in the deep south. The sluggles are quickly becoming a favorite of mine. They come in four different flavors – orange, grape lemon and strawberry. They are shaped as snails, slugs, worms and a something that looks like a slug sitting atop a cushion of slime.

The sluggles are made with natural ingredients with 25% real fruit juice (mostly apple juice, it sounds like). The flavor selection sounds pretty solid – hard to go wrong with strawberry, orange and lemon. I was a little wary of the grape flavor, fearing that it might have the medicine/perfume taste of grape soda.

The gummies are fairly soft, I’d say a little softer than your run-of-the-mill gummy worms. None of the flavors really stand out in a good or bad sense, and I usually just eat these without caring much about what particular color I happen to pop in my mouth.

Strawberry – The flavor is not particularly pronounced, and they don’t taste all that strawberry-ish. They also look a bit faded and dull.

Lemon – These have a distinct lemon flavor that is not too overpowering. I like these, and the bright yellow color is nice too.

Orange – Nice orange taste. Not much of the bitter aftertaste that orange candies sometimes have. I like these.

Grape - I was a little wary of the grape flavor, fearing that it might have the medicine/perfume taste of grape soda, but these are much better than that. Though not my favorite, I feel no need to pick them out to eat separate from the rest of the bag.

Other products from the Wonka Edible Garden are Sour Puckeroom’s and Squishy Sploshberries. You can read those reviews separately.
 

Nerds are another of those candies I grew up enjoying-- but I've yet to get a solid answer on how the name originated.  What makes them so nerdy? 

Well, however they got their name, Nerds have been around since the early 1980s.  Back then, I think they usually came two flavors to a package in small boxes that were divided down the middle.  There were two openings at the top of the box, so that you could eat, say, strawberry nerds for a while, then switch over to the grape, or mix them in whatever ratio you preferred.  (It was all very scientific, I assure you.)

While Nerds are still available in that format, lately I see them more often like this-- Rainbow Nerds-- five flavors of Nerds all bouncing around together in a large box.  It's a bit chaotic.  I prefer my Nerds separated by color/flavor, because that way you get a stronger concentration of each individual taste (without the nuisance of having to pick through them by hand).  Still, I'll take my Nerds as I can find them. 

(Have you noticed that I'm using the name "Nerds" more than is strictly necessary?  It's just so darn fun!)

Packaging:  Colorful, bright, and covered in goofy little armless critters that one assumes are what Nerds look like when they've magically come to life. . . The box has a handy tab opening-- perfect for saving some for later.

That said, the little screed on the back of the box may be pushing things a little: 

"Greetings to you from Willy Wonka himself! Tremendous things are in store for you!  Many tasty treats await you!  Inside this Scrumdiddlyumptious package you will find MYSTIC & MARVELOUS SURPRISES that will Entrance, Intrigue & Delight you BEYOND MEASURE.  So don't just STAND THERE with your mouth open.  Go On.  Feed Your Imagination."

. . .Yeah. . . Maybe I'd be impressed if I were seven or eight.  At this point in my life, though, I question any candy's ability to entrance, intrigue, and delight me beyond measure. 

Appearance:  Again, bright and colorful.  Specifically, they are pink, purple, orange, yellow, and green.  The tiny bits of candy come in random shapes and sizes, with a nice touch of shine. 

One negative about Nerds is their habit of falling into nooks and crannies (such as computer keyboards and between couch cushions).  That's just a hazard you have to learn to live with.

Aroma:  There's not a strong aroma, but there is a faint whiff of fruity sweetness.

Texture:  They're crunchy, but not so hard that they hurt to bite.  They're meant to be crunched.

Flavor:  The flavors include strawberry, grape, sour apple, lemonade, and orange.  Each flavor is distinct enough to be recognizable when eaten separately, but if you eat a variety of them at one time, the flavors are somewhat lost in a jumble of sweet and sour.  In fact, each individual flavor is a pleasant mixture of sweet and tangy, though some are tarter than others. 

I'm not sure if my fondness for Nerds is based more on what they are or on nostalgia, but I'm sure I do like them.  They're just plain fun to eat!

Terry's Chocolate Orange has three main selling points for those seeking novelty:

First, it's spherical.  That is, it's shaped like a ball-- or an orange, if you insist. 

Second, it is (naturally) flavored with orange oil (and unnaturally flavored with vanillin). 

Third, it is the only candy I know of that invites you to give it a good, strong whack before partaking of the chocolatey goodness. 

I'm given to understand that (by the standards of some) this once unique chocolate is now nothing special.  (Now that it's been available outside of the UK for quite some time.)  Personally, I think it's still unusual enough to be a bit of a novelty-- but more importantly, it's tasty.  But now I'm getting ahead of myself. . .

The chocolate orange is packaged in a box with tempting peep-holes on three sides.  Once you've worked your way through that barrier, you find an orange and yellow foil-wrapped ball bearing a blue sticker.  "Whack and unwrap", the sticker instructs you. 

Go ahead.  Do it.  A solid whack against a flat surface ought to do the job.  (Don't you just love it when chocolate gives you a way to work out any feelings of aggression you may be suffering?)

If you've whacked sufficiently, you'll open the foil to discover a neat arrangement of separate chocolate orange slices.  (If you didn't whack firmly enough, you can always break the slices off individually.)

Each slice is stamped quite prettily-- but looks only take you so far. Let's get on to the important things-- aroma, texture, and flavor.

Aroma:   It's very sweet, with a light touch of the citrus.

Texture:  Melt-in-your mouth creaminess.  Very smooth.

Flavor:  Above all, the flavor is sweet and creamy.  It's not a bold chocolate flavor, but this is milk chocolate, so that's not surprising.  The orange flavor has also been added with a light touch-- just a hint of it.  Overall, it's a pleasant, mild, quite sweet flavor. 

This may not sound like a glowing review, but I'm actually very fond of them.  This is the kind of chocolate that can disappear very quickly, if you aren't careful.  Orange-flavored chocolate is addictive!

If you like creamy chocolate and haven't ever tried an orange-flavored chocolate, do give this a try. 

Jelly Babies have been around forever in Britain but have never really made it in the US, so I was a bit surprised to find this bag in my local store. Apparently Jelly Babies are made by several different companies, but this one-- Bassetts-- is the original that has been around since 1919.

The first thing that strikes me as I open the bag is that the little babies are covered in a white powdery substance. This makes them look old-fashioned and quaint, like some sort of Turkish Delight. I tried to make Turkish Delight once when I was a kid (after reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, of course) but it was not a big hit.

You would expect the powder on the surface to be sweet powered sugar, but it’s actually some sort of tasteless corn starch. I suppose it is just there to dry up the surface, and prevent the babies from sticking to each other. The centers of the candies are pretty soft jelly, while the surface is much harder and a bit crumbly. They are dangerously fast and easy to chew, and you can easily finish half a bag without even realizing it.

The Jelly Babies are made with natural colors and flavors, and they come in six different variations. Each color baby has a different shape and they have their own individual names.

Brilliant – Strawberry 3/5 The strawberry taste is very faint. These mostly taste generically sweet. Not bad, but not outstanding, either.
Bubbles – Lemon 4/5 The lemon flavor is fairly pronounced, but not so strong as to make these taste sour. Very yummy.
Boofuls – Lime 3/5 It’s a bit disappointing that Boofuls (what kind of name is that anyway?) is lime flavored and not green apple, especially when there is also a lemon and orange flavored baby in the bag. The taste is pleasant enough, though.
Big Heart – Blackcurrant 4/5 Black Currant is a flavor not often found in candies here in the US. It’s a very distinct flavor, and I like it. I do remember bringing a bag of Bassett’s Winegums to work after a trip to Europe and seeing someone spit the black winegum in the trash. I guess it’s an acquired taste. “It’s not horrible, at least” was my wife’s verdict. I think she was a bit alarmed by the black color, which usually means licorice flavor in American candy.
Bumper – Orange 2/5 Again, a pretty mild orange flavor, it tastes ok, but not my favorite. It has some slightly bigger after-taste that I don’t care much for.
Baby Bonny – Raspberry 5/5 Mmmm, this is definitely my favorite. I would not have guessed it, as I am usually neutral on raspberry flavored candies, but these taste good. The raspberry flavor is not very strong, but just enough to make it taste like something other than just sweet.

Conclusion: You can see why these have been a bestseller in Britain for almost a hundred years. They are very flavorful and fun to eat. I paid $3.99 for a 7.58oz bag, which is outrageously overpriced. But maybe that will change as Cadbury (who owns Bassett) was recently purchased by Kraft. At least one can hope that they would want to introduce a classic candy like the Jelly Babies to the American market. If you find a bag in the store, I would definitely recommend that you give them a try, especially if the bag is less than what I paid for mine.