Skittles Sour Candies

Before going to see "Where the Wild Things Are", we went to Wal-Mart to pick out some movie candy (Shh, don't tell!). My daughter picked "Skittles Sour". At less than a dollar for a 3.6 oz box, these were a pretty good deal, especially compared to the candy prices at the theatre. I tried some and they were great!

"Skittles Sour" come in a bright lime green box. The "i" in "Skittles" is shooting out a wavy rainbow speckled with an assortment of Skittles candies, echoing their "Taste the Rainbow" ad campaign.

In the lower left hand corner there's a little "what's inside" box that tells us that each of the box's 3 servings has 140 calories (or 7 percent of the daily value). This seems a bit high, but not too bad. On the back of the "Skittles Sour" box, this information is repeated. Additionally, we are told that a serving of

"Skittles Sour" contains 1.5 grams of fat (2 percent of daily value of fat, and 8 percent of the daily value of saturated fat) We are also told that "Skittles Sour" contains no sodium, but contains 25 grams of sugar (quite a lot, even for candy). However, the back of the box also claims that "Skittles Sour" is an "excellent source of vitamin C". A side panel holds up that claim in telling us that a serving of "Skittles Sour" has 30 percent of the daily recommended value of vitamin C. Very nice!

The back of the "Skittles Sour" box also shows individual pictures of the flavors to expect: red strawberry, orange orange, purple grape, green lime, and yellow lemon. Sounds like a pretty good, if basic, mix.

If you aren't a big fan of sour candy, here's your warning: "Skittles Sour" has real pucker power! It's easy to guess that most, if not all, of the Vitamin C resides in the sugary-looking powder that coats each Skittle. (The final ingredient in the list is ascorbic acid, and I have a feeling this makes up most of the coating.) If you let the sour powder melt off, you will find that the remaining Skittle is more sweet than sour, like a regular Skittle, but still very good. Melting too many that way can make your tongue and the roof of your mouth a little sore, so you may want to chew them instead.

"Skittles Sour" candy is great if you like sour candy. All the flavors are good, though strawberry and grape are my favorites. I think three servings per box is actually an underestimate, as this is a candy best enjoyed one by one. Besides, if you eat that many you may get more than a bit of heartburn due to the acid content. On the bright side, cutting down the serving size cuts down the calories!

I recommend "Skittles Sour" for sour candy lovers, but those who are just looking for a sweet treat might want to try one of the tamer Skittles varieties.

Enjoy!