Gokigen Banana Candy

I'm a hard sell when it comes to taffy, gummies, and banana flavored things. My hatred of Runts has been made abundantly clear on the blog, specifically the banana ones So, it surprised me when I ordered these banana gummy slices from Candysan oh so long ago. Surprised me so much in fact that I let them sit around in my Candy Drawer of Shame for a long time. I'm trying to whittle some of these less interesting bits down so I can make another order of Candy Drawer of Shame filler.

A gluttonous spring cleaning if you will. I know I would.

I thought I might as well get these banana taffies out of the way, and I was encouraged by my husband who is a big fan of banana flavored things. Ah, yin to my yang. The packaging is some of the dullest I've seen from Japan, but it has it's charm. The smiling banana hunk is likable enough, and there is a 100 of something in there. Other than that, it doesn't really sell itself. I wonder who this candy is meant for?

Seeing as how they're individually wrapped, I contend that perhaps they're meant for kids lunchboxes. The inner packaging is very cute, and the variation also makes me think it's meant for children to get excited about while in the lunchroom. "I got the blue pack! I'll trade you for a clear-with-view-of-taffy!"

Ha, the clear one is the best one - good luck.

They smell very strongly of the tangy variety of artificial banana, and that was just from opening the first layer of packaging. There was a time where I hated that smell, the smell of Runts...the smell of Halloween left overs...but here I am now, nearly 10 years since the last time I trick or treated (don't do the math on that if you want to have any respect for me) and I'm feeling it. It smelled like banana yogurt and I wasn't recoiling!

Still, there was the problem of the potential Laffy Taffy texture. Good taste is one thing, pulling out all my fillings is another. When I chomped and braced myself for a grim chew I was pleasantly surprised by how soft the 'taffy' actually was. I could best compare it to a less sticky Fruit Roll-Up, but in li'l sheet form. As someone who doesn't much care for chews, this was a great find.

It did taste like a tangy banana yogurt, which went quite poorly with the super crunchy and extremely sweet Runts, but goes nicely with a slightly less sweet and soft piece of candy.

Over all, the Gokigen Banana Candy was very pleasant & I'd be happy to try the other varieties which include plain yogurt and blueberry. For all I know, I have a couple more flavors in my drawer already.

Update: I do, in fact, have the yogurt flavor as well. I'm a candy hoarder.