Hey! These are Actually Pretty Nice!

Walgreens Nice! Jelly Beans

When it comes to house-brand jelly beans, the vast majority of them appear to be made at a factory in Mexico and then shipped to companies that package them for a given vendor. We’ve already seen a “Made in Mexico” message on the regional brand Sathers as well as beans packaged for WalMart and beans distributed by a help-the-disadvantaged company in Minnesota. They’re definitely not “gourmet,” and more to the point, seemed to be all the same. I say “seemed” because I happened to see that “Mexico” business on our latest find, but they aren’t quite the same: they’re Walgreens Nice! Jelly Beans.

I’d avoided trying these because, to tell the truth, I didn’t expect much. But they’re different: for one thing, there are just six colors: red, green, yellow, orange, purple and pink. There are none of those weird white (pineapple?) ones and no licorice. For another, the texture is a little chewy, much better than the somewhat grainy sugary center of the cheap ones. The flavors are pretty much what you expect:

Purple: Probably grape, though it’s hard to tell.
Orange: Orange-y.
Pink: Cotton candy? Strawberry? I’m not sure.
Red: Cherry. Definitely cherry.
Green: Not watermelon, as one might expect, but with a lime flavor.
Yellow: Faintly lemony. 

Like other inexpensive brands, the color and flavor are only in the candy shell. The interior is s somewhat chewy translucent whitish gel.

I don’t know whether these were just slightly stale (the sell-by date is a year in the future) or if the consistency means the recipe is slightly different, but the Nice! beans are a cut above the other inexpensive Mexican varieties. At about a dollar for a nine-ounce bag, I think they’ll do far better in a “pinch” than the house brands I’ve already tasted. If you find yourself craving some jelly beans and there’s nowhere nearby for the gourmet goodies, I encourage buying from Walgreens instead of WalMart.

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