I hope my dentist can't see me eating these! (Haribo Tangfastics Sour Mix)

Member Name: ian22

Product:	Haribo Tangfastics Sour Mix
Date:	10/03/06 (1255 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very chewy, sweet, sour; addictive

Disadvantages: Bad for teeth

I don't know what's come over me...Today I did something that no adult would willingly want to admit to: I bought a packet of Haribo Tangfastics! I don't know what made me succumb to this most childish of snacks but I just couldn't resist them. How sad is that?! Anyway, they were calling out to be eaten, so it would have been rude for me to ignore them, wouldn't it?

The packet in question was purchased from my local Morrisons store for 97p. It has lots of mad-looking cartoon creatures on the front and is bustling with activity and full of colour. A clear window into the packet reveals a multitude of sugar-coated sweets. It is jam-packed full, and I am salivating at the mere sight of them. As I scan the packet, I come to a short blurb which, reassuringly, says that children and grown-ups alike both love Haribo. Maybe I'm not so sad then after all...?

Haribo Tangfastics Sour Mix - to give them their full name - come in all shapes and sizes. There is a strange mix of cola bottles, crocodiles, dummies and cherries and all are soft jellies, covered in a sprinkling of sugar. According to the packet, they are 'sweet, sour and fizzy' all at the same time. I can't wait to open the packet to find out! So without any further ado, I shall now try them for myself....

As I open the packet and have a good sniff, I am hit by a sweet, fruity concoction of aromas. It is a weird smell - quite synthetic, although rather alluring at the same time. The smell of cola comes through quite strongly, but some of the other smells are not quite so easy to discern. This is probably because the packet contains more cola bottles than anything else!

As I place my hand into the packet, it should come as no surprise, then, that the first sweet I pick out is a cola bottle. After an initial hint of fizz, there is a sweet, cola flavour, although this isn't as nice as I was expecting. The cola bottle's jelly-like composition makes it incredibly chewy and it takes quite a bit of chewing before you can swallow.

The next sweet to emerge from the packet is an orange and yellow key-like specimen. It smells a bit like candy floss, but tastes nothing like it. It is less sour than the cola bottle and has a distinctive orange flavour.

The next jelly out is the 'bunch of cherries'. This is one of my favourite types because it is sweet and has a real cherry flavour.

Next up is a green and white, animal-like creature, which I believe to be the crocodile! The top half (the green jelly layer) is fizzy and this contrasts well with the bottom half, which is soft and sweet. There seem to be several varieties of 'crocodile' in the packet, all of them different colours and varying slightly in taste.

After eating a few more Haribo jellies, I am ready to stop - for the time being, that is! I find that eating too many can easily upset my stomach, because the jellies are quite rubbery and the sweet and sour flavours can prove sickly after a while. So let's now go back to the packet and have a look at the nutrition information. That should be good for a laugh!

Per 100g, Haribo Tangfastics contain:

Energy 340 kcal (340 calories)
Protein 6.3g
Carbohydrates 78.3g
Fat 0.2g
Fibre 0.3g

Well I did warn you! The jellies contain a lot of carbohydrates as well as the artificial colourings, E104, E110, E124, E132 and E142. This makes them particularly bad for your teeth. On a brighter note, the packet states that they are acceptable for gluten free and cows milk free diets. However, there is no mention of their suitability for vegetarians or sufferers of nut allergies. Because the jellies contain gelatine, it is unlikely that they are suitable for vegetarians.

Despite their obvious bad points, I cannot help but like Haribo Tangfastics. I wouldn't advocate eating too many at a time, but in moderation, they are certainly very tasty and quite addictive. I particularly like their sweet/sour contrast, although adults would probably appreciate this more than children. If you have a sweet tooth, you will love these.

Distributed by Dunhills Haribo UK, P.O. Box 1, Pontefract. WF8 1NJ.

www.haribo.com

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