Sunkist fruit gems

Im not a big fan of sweets but my all time favorite candy are Sunkist fruit gems, which used to be available everywhere. I checked everyplace I went into for almost a year until I finally found them at olivia's grocery in bucktown.

funny thing is that I was dragged in here by a friend who said she knew I would like it (I knew I wouldnt and didnt find it to be anything special) but it was a pleasant surprise to finally find some red and white gem's. What happened to these things?

I don't know about what happened to them in stores, but they are made by Jelly Belly & can be ordered directly from their online store (jellybelly.com)

I get them at the Mac Kelly's on Madison near Clark, which has them individually at the checkout counter for 5 or 10 cents.

I think I've had the Sunkist product, thought I don't remember it distinctly. I've tried Trader Joe's version of fruit gems, which they often have on their checkout counters for customers to sample, and I thought they were pretty good. I don't remember, however, if the TJ variety includes red and white gems. I feel like I always get orange.

At our synagogue, it is customary to throw candy at the bar mitzvah child after they read from the Torah. The candy of choice is Sunkist Fruit Gems (because they don't hurt as much when you throw them!).

You can find them at GFS Food Stores all over Chicagoland.

Suzy

Suzy -

you must go where our cousins do - in Flossmoor-ish area?

I've been a big fan of these since I was a kid, but they've become harder to find over the years. Recently, I found them in a large tub in the "Breakroom Supplies" section of the Office Max in Lake Zurich, of all places.

They used to claim that they contained real fruit juice (how much, who knows!) but I didn't see that claim anywhere on them anymore, and they were a little more artificial tasting than I remembered them being. You'd think, if they were being made by Jelly belly now, that they'd still contain fruit juice.

Either way, it's all about the texture for me- the softness, the granular sugary surface.

I love the synagogue usage and I agree that there seems to be a inordinate amount of orange ones, the only flavor I won't eat!

It is interesting to me that you found these in a "Breakroom Supplies" section of an office supply place because I first found them at work, about 19 years ago. We used to keep candy dishes on the receptionist's desks (back when the law firm I worked for had a receptionist on every one of our six floors). I knew the person with the key to the candy closet and we would raid it on occasion for our personal use, picking out the fruit gem flavors we liked the best!

I'm a big fan of the orange and the lemon.

Suzy