WE can’t get enough of childhood confectionery.
Nostalgic sweets are back on trend with Jelly Babies being the most popular.
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But how do supermarket brands compare to traditional favourite Bassetts?
Laura Stott tried – and counted – a selection and marked them out of five.
Asda – 190g, 84p (44p per 100g), Asda.com 32 sweets
★★☆☆☆
QUITE compact looking confectionary, there seemed to be a lot of small jelly babies squashed into this budget bag with a heavy flour coating so the overall look wasn’t that delicious.
A generic mix of colours including yellow, green, red and orange although no fruit flavours are specified or mentioned on the ingredients list either, only plant concentrates.
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If you don’t mind forgoing the real fruit, you will still get a decent sugar hit but beyond that the chews are a little bland.
The price is certainly sweet enough, though.
Marks & Spencer – 225g, £1.55 (69p per 100g), Ocado.com 37 sweets
★★★★☆
A MOUTH-WATERING generous bag of sweeties from M&S with plump, squishy, sugar coated babies with chunky limbs, big podgy bellies and large heads – perfect for those who like to start by decapitating their childhood candy.
Made with blackcurrant, lime, lemon, orange and strawberry flavourings.
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There is no mention of concentrate on the ingredients list but the taste is good, although perhaps more mellow than the Bassetts ones.
Very satisfying, almost gooey, to eat, especially enjoyable if your preferred method is to nibble.
Haribo – 175g, £1.25 (71p per 100g), Poundland 17 pairs (of hand-holding) sweets
★★☆☆☆
THESE baby-shaped bonbons are noticeably different to look at in the packet as they lack the powdery coating of all the others.
So, if that is your least favourite part of the traditional style sweets, this is the bag for you.
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They also come joined up in pairs “holding hands”, which I found unappetising, but other sweetie scoffers might think charming.
A slightly different mix with more tropical flavours including cherry, banana, mango, apricot, rhubarb and apple and elderflower to pick from, all in rainbow colours and made with concentrates.
Firm to eat and flatter, more like a child-shaped chew, but really fruity, tangy with a strong sweet-shop aroma.
However these aren’t traditional, so may divide the crowd.
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Taveners – 165g, £1 (61p per 100g), Iceland.co.uk 40 sweets
★★★☆☆
WITH the traditional blackcurrant, strawberry, raspberry, orange, lemon and lime flavours, this British brand’s babies are good value for money – although there is no mention of fruit concentrate on the packet, only flavourings.
These sweets really did resemble tiny newborns complete with mini eyes and a nose so don’t overthink it if you like to bite off their heads!
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There is not much coating around the outside, which I preferred, but others may dislike.
They also had quite a tight, firm texture.
Perfectly pleasant, if a little small individually, and gives you the retro sweetie experience at a good price.
Sainsbury’s – 225g, £1.35 (60p per 100g)
40 sweets
★★★★☆
YOU get an awful lot of confectionaries per bag for your cash with this Sainsbury’s packet – containing 60g more sweets than the Bassetts Jelly Babies.
So there is more to go around, perfect for avoiding squabbles on long car journeys.
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But the packet doesn’t specify what flavours the different coloured goodies are and there’s no mention of real fruit juice either, just natural flavourings.
So you have to guess, but you get a mix of orange, green, purple, red and yellow candy and, generically, they do taste good.
Extremely sugary and sweet with a thick coating of starchy powder on the outside and firm in the middle.
They did hit the sweet spot.
Maynards Bassetts – 165g, £1.50 (91p per 100g), tesco.com and all major retailers, 25 sweets
★★★☆☆
THESE classic best-selling sweets were first made in Sheffield in 1918 and introduced as Peace Babies at the end of the First World War, then relaunched as Jelly Babies in 1953.
A retro favourite that has stood the test of time for a reason.
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The plump, starch-dusted, gelatine-based treats are made with concentrated fruit juices, equivalent to 5.5 per cent a bag with apple, lime, orange, strawberry, blackcurrant, lemon and raspberry flavours on offer.
Chunky, squashy, and very satisfying, whether you like to behead them, nibble off the arms or just wolf in one.
Juicy, tasty morsels but more rubbery than I remembered.
Morrisons – 190g, £1.35 (71p per 100g) 32 sweets
★★★★★
MORRISONS’ own jellies looked rather unassuming in the packet but when I tried them they delivered a powerful taste punch.
Made with concentrate in the flavours of strawberry, pear, blackcurrant, lime, lemon and orange, these sweets tasted vaguely like their fruit namesakes – possibly more so as the starchy coating around the outside was less generous.
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These jelly babies are smaller and chewier than some others, a bit more akin to a wine gum when you bite one.
A bit different in both texture and taste but the essence of the original is there and, as someone without a particularly sweet tooth, I really enjoyed them.
Tesco – 250g, £1.10 (44p per 100g) 42 sweets
★★☆☆☆
A MONSTER bag of the sweet-shop favourites from Tesco.
This packet was almost twice the size of the big-name brand, and comes at a cheaper price offering some serious tasty-tot value for money.
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The ingredients listed on this bag are almost like for like with the Bassetts confectionary and also contain fruit juices from concentrates, although the amount used is not specified.
However the flavours differ in this, offering a pear chew instead of a raspberry option.
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Squidgy in texture and soft, almost mushy in the mouth but, aside from sweetness, the taste is a bit diluted and the yellow chews in particular lacked and fruity bite.
A pity considering the great price and size.
