Candy Blog

1. starburst are definitely in my top 10 all time favorite candies. the fruit and cream ones are good, but the originals are the best in my book

   Comment by mel on 4/19/07 at 9:38 am

    

2. Ah, I too love Starbursts! Who doesn’t? I didn’t know about the gelatin and not being kosher, that’s kinda bad for me. Well… I’ll decide if I want to have some again, but I’ll reminisce about them now. I like to mostly let them dissolve in my mouth, but I also like to slowly squish them between my teeth, then quickly pull my teeth apart. An excellent way to pull out fillings.

   Comment by Kai on 4/19/07 at 10:34 am

    

3. Berries and cream!  Berries and cream!  I’m a little lad who loves berries and cream!

   Sorry, couldn’t resist.  That commercial makes me laugh every time I see it. 

   And I just had to look up the flavors for Starburst Baja California.  Aztec Punch, Limon, Strawberry/Watermelon, and Dragonfruit.  Punch, lemon, strawberry...why did they bother, really?

   Comment by Lesley on 4/19/07 at 10:57 am

    

4. I don’t like Starburst much, but then again there’s probably a difference between the UK and US flavours. I thought I’d get a mention from you here, Cybele, for shame!

   Comment by Terry on 4/19/07 at 11:53 am

    

5. Also I think it’s a little unfair to say they were road tested in Europe. They were a staple confectionary (and still are) at that point for 16 years, that’s hardly a road test.

   Comment by Terry on 4/19/07 at 11:54 am

    

6. In EATS, SHOOTS AND LEAVES, the best-selling grammar book, the author talks about her regret that Starburst dropped the original name of her favorite candy, which was “Opal Fruits.” It’s possible that they were in Europe much longer than 16 years, unless I’m mistaken.

   Comment by DanielK on 4/19/07 at 2:28 pm

    

7. Starburst have come evenly distributed for at least as far back as I can remember (mid-80s-ish). Being an obsessive color-sorting eater, I paid attention to this, because not only are they evenly divided in flavors, they always go in the exact same order (at least within a given bar).

   Things like this matter when you eat the orange only so you can look forward to the cherry in exactly three candies.

   Comment by Fluffernutter on 4/19/07 at 3:02 pm

    

8. Ah yes, the gelatin. Luckily I ate a huge bag of these before I read the ingredients. Well, one can only hope they take it out.

   Comment by B.J. on 4/19/07 at 3:18 pm

    

9. Strawberry Starburst are among the finest candies ever created.  I’m more than willing to share any of the other candies, though I will eat lemon and orange if I’m desperate enough.  I refuse to eat cherry Starburst as they taste exactly like Robitussin.  I think my dislike of all things cherry may come from these horrid little red things.  I’ve been known to pick every single strawberry Starburst out of a bulk bin at mall candy stores.  I’ve never found them to be evenly distributed in the packages.  You’re right about there always being far too many cherry.

   Comment by Erin on 4/19/07 at 3:55 pm

    

10. I LOVE Starburst! It was favorite candy (still is) of mine as a kid. I always got friendship points for taking everyone’s lemon pieces, the least popular flavor in my social circle.

    I also love the Baja California and Tropical flavors. Yum! I wonder what “Reto” flavors are? Hmmm.

    Comment by Sera on 4/19/07 at 8:11 pm

     

11. I’m pretty sure they used to be randomized, too… they standardized the number of colors a few years back.  More recently, they’ve made the actual candies smaller, but they still have the same number.  I’m still sore about it.  Starburst have been one of my favorite candies for as long as I can remember, I definitely didn’t like the “baja california” flavour set, though!  The blue ones were nasty.

    Comment by Sara on 4/20/07 at 12:16 am

     

12. Am I crazy or didn’t the original at one point also contain grape and pineapple? Because I remember them being REALLY good.

    Comment by Jamie on 4/20/07 at 8:30 am

     

13. Wow...all the hate on the Baja ones. I think it might be my favorite!

    Comment by Mrs. Jones on 4/20/07 at 10:07 am

     

14. mel - I’m in complete agreement (well, so far, I haven’t had the Baja yet).

    Mrs. Jones - I’m reserving judgement on Baja ... limon sounds right up my alley.

    Terry - I’m not done with my series yet.

    Jamie - You might be thinking of Laffy Taffy or possibly Mambas (which definitely used to come in Pineapple, but I don’t think Grape).

    Sara - I’ll have to check on the shrinking of the candies. It seems that way to me too.

    Sera - Retro goes like this: melon, mango, berry & lime ... sounds earth shattering, eh?

    Erin - I should just follow after you at the bulk bins! Then I’d only have to pick out the cherry ones!

    BJ - I don’t think there’s much as it’s after the oil, which the package lists as 0 grams of fat.

    Fluffernutter - I never noticed the ordering! I always knew how it worked with Lifesavers though.

    DanielK - I’ll have to dig out my copy of the book!

    Lesley - see today’s review with youtube links and everything for the Berries & Creme!

    Kai - I’ll check on the UK versions to see if they’re Kosher (no gelatin the last time I heard though).

    Comment by Cybele on 4/20/07 at 2:51 pm

     

15. The UK ones have the same texture as the US ones but the flavours are subtly different (the ones that cross over). I prefer the uk selection for the standard flavours but the US has the cooler alt. versions.

    Comment by newmiyamoto on 4/21/07 at 3:39 pm

     

16. For those loving Starburst but disturbed by the gelatin for religious or vegetarian reasons (or anything else), there’s hope: if you buy the candy in Europe (I’ve only seen it in the UK so far) it has no gelatin (and also features Blackcurrant flavor). The same goes for Skittles and Mentos (both of which I believe had gelatin in them in America last I checked), though those are available everywhere.

    Comment by Adam on 4/24/07 at 3:09 am

     

17. thanks for the link! that made me happy.

    Comment by Sam on 5/06/07 at 10:48 am

     

18. what kind of gelatine do they use?

    Comment by maahnur on 8/24/07 at 8:10 pm

     

19. gelatin is pigbones....almost always.  even the kosher kind can be, b/c rabbinical regulations don’t consider the bone/marrow of the swine to actually be the same as the flesh.  sometimes it can be cow or fishbones, but there’s pretty much no way to tell, so you have to take a company’s word for it, & 9 times out the 10, they won’t even know what kind of gelatin they’re using.

    sorry to make it sound so ominous, but it’s true.  it’s a shame, cuz some of the best candies have gelatin.  for now though, i’ll be importing my starbursts, thanks.

    Comment by bup! on 10/04/07 at 2:51 pm

     

20. all arabic people starburst is made out of galetin.

    Comment by maher alsawaf on 11/04/07 at 10:14 am

     

21. (ASA)—Bro. Maher Arabic people are not the only group of us that is concerned about the pork gelatin in Starbursts.  I am a Muslimah and I am very much concerned about any type of pig by products in my food.  I am just glad my daugher mentioned it me before I opened the candies to eat them.  There are other religious groups as well as vegetarians who are concerned about the gelatin.

    Now where can I purchase the ones from the UK with no gelatin here in the states??

    Comment by Zaafirah on 1/31/08 at 1:10 pm

     

22. does anyone know what kind of gelatin starburst uses? vegetable or pork. i love the candy but i dont eat any pork products

    Comment by luis on 3/28/08 at 6:15 am

     

23. The source of gelatin according to the company is beef.  I called the number provided on the back of the packaging and a recorded message in their phone tree said all their products (including Skittles)containing gelatin are derived only from beef.  Call it yourself for verification.  My kids were buying Skittles at their school (which is an Islamic school) so I had hoped they weren’t made with pork gelatin.

    Comment by Jamil on 5/15/08 at 2:30 pm

     

24. Jamil, while the gelatin contained in Starbursts maybe made from beef, I am still not totally satisfied.  You see I only eat halal meats.  So even though it is beef gelatin—if it is not halal I still choose not to eat it.  A word to the wise should be sufficient.

    Comment by Zaafirah on 5/15/08 at 10:25 pm

     

25. Hey guys, I have a question.  I have been trying to find out if starburst sells bags of just one flavor at a time.  I’m tired of being left with nothing but yellow and a couple of oranges after my bro gets done picking out his favorites!  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

    Comment by sam on 5/23/08 at 1:29 pm

     

26. Sam - no, though you can buy Starburst in bulk bins sometimes, you can’t just buy a single flavor. (Which is odd, because you can buy single color M&Ms;… and they don’t even taste different!)

    Comment by Cybele on 5/23/08 at 1:33 pm

     

27. i love starbursts yummmm

    Comment by Briley on 5/26/08 at 6:29 pm

     

28. im talking about like what can you make it out of for an example a candy train what can you do with starburst.

    Comment by someone on 7/16/08 at 10:43 am

     

29. but is da beef gelatin kosher????????????

    Comment by Anne on 7/22/08 at 5:15 pm

     

30. Anne - no, Starburst aren’t Kosher as I mentioned at the end of the review. (I have a tagging system here on Candy Blog and if a candy is certified kosher, I’ll tell you.)

    Comment by Cybele on 7/22/08 at 5:24 pm

     

31. wow u guys dont have a life im doin this for a project

    Comment by sad on 11/17/08 at 8:03 pm

     

32. My wife swears that there was an elusive “all strawberry” pack of Starburst in the early eighties. Can anyone confirm or deny this rumor?

    Comment by Aaron on 11/20/08 at 7:42 pm

     

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