Green apple jolly ranchers
The Jolly Rancher moniker is pretty random, when you think about it. Neither descriptive of the shape or the flavor of green apple jolly ranchers candy itself, how did anyone stare down the small tubular delicacy and think of such a name. According to History of Candy, the origin story of the name “Jolly Rancher” is actually pretty simple: in 1949, Bill and Dorothy Harmsen thought it would elicit friendly and distinctly western vibes, making their candy distinct and attracting consumers. And, seemingly since the moment they pulled the trigger on that name, their instincts have proven correct.
There’s no real question that the name worked and the concept itself continues to be pretty darn popular. In fact, the only thing left to really wonder about today is, when you crack into a bag of Jolly Ranchers, where do you begin? There are an awful lot of flavors, after all, so how do you know you’re getting the best? Read on for a definitive ranking of the most popular Jolly Ranchers flavors, listed in order from worst to absolute greatest. By name alone, this could be a winning Jolly Rancher.
While perhaps slightly redundant, it gets the point across. This Jolly Rancher is genuinely hot, spicy, and has no qualms about anyone knowing exactly what it is. Unfortunately, if we were to offer any advice on this flavor, it would be to keep specifics to a minimum. It’s a deep rouge, so could easily pass as something berry — and maybe, if the color reflected a sweet flavor, that would result in more people giving it a chance.
Because, although the name is absolutely interesting, it’s simultaneously a warning flag. Jolly Ranchers do a lot of things well. Do they need to do any more than that? So, why the addition of cinnamon and heat? When we unwrap the signature plastic casing that twists around the candy, we are not looking for anything more than exactly what we’ve come to expect. And we certainly are not looking for a glorified Hot Tamale. Not to be rude, as we’re sure the orange Jolly Rancher flavor is trying its best, but this is a variety that we simply did not need from the small sticky candies.
The taste triggers vivid memories of pulpy orange juice, vitamin C gummies, and the Emergen-C drinks that we ferociously chug every fall cold season. Now, it’s not that the orange flavor is bad — in fact, it arguably tastes too accurate to its orange candy predecessors. The orange flavor can be found in the “Fruity Bash” Jolly Rancher pack, as one of five admittedly innovative flavors that The Hershey Company released with the promise that the mix would “transport your taste buds to the tropics. Here’s another Jolly Rancher flavor that is just doing simultaneously too much and not enough. Let’s start with the positive, here: the “too much. The lemon flavor is ambitious, at least, taking the experience of eating one up to a semi-sweetened and elevated dessert kind of taste, if you will. When it comes to the category of fancy dessert options, however, Jolly Ranchers simply do not make the cut.
