The Best Sour Candy

Buying Guide for Sour Candy

Why buy sour candy?

For kids and adults alike, sour candy is a pure delight. They’re the perfect treat for holidays, birthday parties, or sleepovers. And they’re great to have stocked up in the pantry for whenever your sour-loving sweet tooth hits.

What should you consider in sour candy?

• Flavors: Sour candy comes in a variety of flavor options. Some are more than one flavor per candy, taking you through a fun taste journey. Others are flavor pure. Not all sour candy sticks to citrus flavors, so you can find them in watermelon, apple, strawberry, peach, cherry, blue raspberry, and other fun and amazing flavor combinations.
• Shapes: This is where sour candy can be the most fun. Many of us love the traditional sour gummy worms. Some come shaped like belts, fruits, or animals. Some are simple spheres or cubes.
• Consistency: While some sour candy is nice and soft, others have a hard candy shell. Others still have a tougher gummy texture, similar to Swedish Fish. You may want to understand the texture of candy before eating it, especially if you have dental work or braces.

What makes sour candy taste sour?

The science behind sour candy is actually pretty fascinating. The tart taste in sour candy is due to acidic ingredients, most commonly citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, and fumaric acid. Citric acid is especially popular and is naturally found in citrus fruits. Many sour candies contain acidity in a coating on the outer layer of the candy so that it hits the tongue and gives off the tartness and then ends with a sweeter finish.

Our Picks for the Best Sour Candy

Pros: This bright and colorful brand-name gummy candy is soft without being too soft. They’re the perfect texture. They err on the sweet side, which is great for people who love just a touch of sour and not a full-on puckery sour flavor. This is a five-pound bag, so you get a lot of bang for your buck. Plus, you can get any of the four most popular flavors of candy from this brand: original sour, very berry, octopus, or the delightful peachy o’s.

Cons: The resealable bag doesn’t always reseal appropriately. You may consider transferring the remaining product into ziplock-style bags.

Bottom Line: These traditional sour gummy worms are a fan favorite. They’re perfect for snacking or adding to desserts like dirt ‘n worms. All in all, this candy is fun for the whole family,

 

Pros: These candies are a healthy alternative to sour skittles. They have a hard candy outer shell with chewy insides. Unlike sour skittles, the initial burst of sour flavor from these candies is more intense, so sour lovers will really enjoy them. They’re non-GMO, vegan, and have zero artificial dyes or flavor additives. Plus, they’re egg-free, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, and dairy-free, and they never come into contact with fish or shellfish.

Cons: These candies can become stale quickly. They should remain in their individual packs until you’re ready to consume them. Also, they’re more expensive than traditional candy.

Bottom Line: You can satisfy your sugar cravings with these healthy candies. They’re a great alternative for kids with special dietary needs or allergies. And there are sweet or sour flavor options, which both taste great.

 

Pros: Jolly Rancher lovers unite! If you love hard candy without dealing with the sticky, unpredictable nature of hard candy, these sour soft candies are a fantastic find. It’s a huge 5-pound bag, plenty to share if you’re feeling generous. This bag includes the five classic flavors of sour apple, cherry, grape, watermelon, and blue raspberry. And the bright, eye-catching colors make these gummies a fantastic centerpiece for parties of all kinds.

Cons: Because it’s such a big bag with so much candy, the candy can go stale quickly, especially if it’s exposed to heat or too much sunlight. It’s recommended to portion these out into smaller, sealable bags and keep them stored in the pantry.

Bottom Line: These gummies taste just like original Jolly Ranchers, and they come in fun fruit shapes. The consistency is more like Swedish Fish than softer Haribo gummies, so be aware of the chewy texture, especially if you have braces or other dental work.

 

Pros: These sour patch favorites are now in a bigger size for bigger fun. They still have the same soft texture as the smaller ones, with the same sour then sweet flavors, too. They’re sealed separately for freshness, so you can keep them in the pantry for special occasions without worrying about their consistency. They’re great for party favors, movie nights, sleepovers, piñatas, brown bag lunches, or passing out for holiday fun!

Cons: There’s only one candy per individual pack.

Bottom Line: This candy brand is known for its mischievous and sweet spirit, making its candies so much fun to munch. While these individual packs have a lot of practical applications, they add a lot of extra plastic packaging.

 

Pros: Sour lovers be warned: these sour belts are very sour. They come in large, resealable packs designed to preserve freshness. Also, they come with little tongs to remove the belts from the container. The consistency is wonderful, and they have a super sour layer before the belt becomes sweet. There is a quality to each flavor that you can’t get in a generic brand. And the company is climate pledge friendly, so they’re a great option if you care deeply about the environment.

Cons: These are not gluten-free.

Bottom Line: If you love all things sour and you’re tough as nails when it comes to extremely sour candies, these may be exactly what you’re looking for. There are several yummy flavor options.

Final Thoughts

Enjoying sour candy releases serotonin into our brains, giving us a sensation of satisfaction. So get happy with our top picks for sour candy you can conveniently buy online.