Sep
Frutips Blackcurrant Pastiles
Frutips, which come from China, are round candies about the diameter of a dime, and about half as high. They come in both Blackcurrant and Mixed Fruit, in little plastic bags which contain three rolls. These are very dark purple, almost black, and sanded with a coating of white sugar.
These have a juicy, strong, earthy flavor, but not overwhelmingly so. They’re really not all that sweet, which is nice, and contain 3% fruit juice. Happily, the taste is very natural and not an artificial candy flavor.
In the US, my guess is that this would mostly be consumed by adults. Blackcurrant is sadly underutilized in American confectionary, especially given how popular it is in many other places of the world. I remember getting Skittles when I went to England, and thinking the purple pieces were really wierd tasting. I was used to grape, and got blackcurrant. I’ve tried to find English Skittles since then, but have not yet found a good place to order them.
That tangent over, Frutips are a nice way to get a fresh fruit flavor. They’re a dense chew, but not rubbery, like a dense gumdrop. I had no problem finishing mine.
SCORE: 8 out of 10
Purchased at: Saraga, Bloomington, IN
Price: ?
I had those in lychee flavored before, they tasted very good, like eating a real lychee. I agree with the article.
December 23rd, 2006 at 8:06 pmI fell in love with blackcurrant flavor on a recent trip to Malaysia – I also have never have seen it in the U.S. Well, I found Frutips today at World Market, but they’re pretty stale, I’m afraid. (I guess not many people buy them.) I was expecting chewy, but got something closer to the texture of hard candy that has gotten old. Well…they still taste quite delicious, and I was happy to find them.
June 2nd, 2008 at 1:25 pmThey already ran out of Black Currant in the Uwajimaya’s store in Seattle. All they had left today is Strawberry. They are distributed by Nestle USA through Glendale, so I’m wondering if there is a local or online distributor that we can buy them from?
I was going to buy a whole box today, but sadly they were out.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:54 pm