IN for testing this time is a bag of Devona Jelly Babies. The same Devona that brought me nice-but-dry Toasted Tea Cakes last time. And from the same Brick Lane Sunday market stall. Though I’m sure you can get them from lots of shops too.
Being a Devona brand of bagged sweets, it looks much the same as every other bag of Devona sweets. That means very little writing or labels to get in your way. And that’s a good thing, because you can see exactly what you’re getting.
The print on the front and bottom-right corner suffers though. I’ts just too easily scratched off. Not as bad on this one, but Toasted Tea Cakes was almost impossible to read. This time, we can finally read that it comes from Appleton & Sons Ltd. And what’s more, they’re local, coming from Bow in E3. That makes these, and all Devona sweets, proper East End sweets, and that scores them bonus points.
The barcode and ingredients on the other side however are badly scratched off. Honestly, you’d think there was someone going over each bag with wire wool before they left the factory.
What I can make out is that this is a 160g bag. And that sugar, glucose syrup and gelling agent and lots of E numbers make up the bulk of these jelly babies.
What do they look like close up? Like this…
As far as I can tell, they’re bigger than the more mainstream jelly babies out there. I’ve counted five different colours. And each one is covered in a kind of sugar that leaves white marks on your fingers. Like the sort that icing for cakes is made out of. What’s it called? Caster sugar? Is that it?
So, what are they like? The sugary surface gets them off to tasty a good start. There’s an almost hard surface. One you bite through, you get a soft, moist jelly interior. It tastes a little of the colour of the jelly baby. But not much. Mild sweetness and mild jelly flavour are where the flavours and tastes end. These jelly babies are all about the funny texture.
What do I like about Devona Jelly Babies? Quite a lot more than any I’ve tried so far. They’re not too small. The combination of solid-ish body and squishy insides make them an interesting eat. They’re not too dry. And there’s nothing too strong to put off even timid sweet fans.
What don’t I like about Devona Jelly Babies? For a start, there’s not enough in a bag. You’ll polish them off in moments. They don’t have enough taste or flavour. There’s little to surprise you. No explosion of fizz, crackle, tang or sourness.
To sum up, Devona Jelly Babies are very edible little sweets. Not exciting. Just satisfying and tasty.
Have you tried Devona Jelly Babies? Do you work for Devona? Then do please leave a comment. What did you think of them? Got any requests, recommendations or places to buy?
Tags: baby, bag, devona, jelly, jelly babies, review, sweets
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