Sometimes Foodie: Starburst By The Foot

Fruit by the Foot Starburst - Target

I found them! I was really excited when I saw photos of these online and I finally found a box when I ran to Target the other day. I'm a big fan of Starburst, and after having the Jolly Rancher Fruit Roll-Ups a while back, I had high hopes that these would be equally delicious. Let's jump right in!

Quick note, there are four different flavors in the box, but you get 6 rolls. That is slightly worrisome math. Hopefully I get one of each flavor inside because I've been burned by items like this before.

When opened, the wrappers all look the same, the only way to tell which is which is to look for the black digitized printing saying who's who. Thankfully I got one of each and dupes of both cherry and strawberry.

I just so happen to have original Starbursts on-hand, so let's do a side-by-side comparison to see how accurately these taste.

Cherry (red): Off to an interesting start, this is cherry-ish, but something about it tastes generic and off. It lacks the distinct tanginess of an actual cherry Starburst, but somehow it actually tastes more like a real cherry? There is also a faint apple flavoring, the go-to filler fruit, that makes this feel more like a fruit leather than a candy. It's not bad, but as far as representing cherry Starbursts, this is a fail.

Strawberry (pink): Okay, starting to get a little worried here, this also does not taste like it's Starburst counterpart at all. Pink is the best Starburst (fight me!), and it's so popular you can buy all pink packs, but this is an imposter. (Sus!) Starburst-pink is a sweet, lightly floral, cotton-candy-like confection. This Fruit by the Foot lacks the sweet cotton candy notes, and actually I feel like it lacks a lot of flavor in general. It has the same apple fruit leather flavoring as the cherry, but this time whatever fruity flavoring there is to be had isn't bold enough to overpower it. If blindfolded I probably would never be able to guess that this was strawberry anything. VERY disappointed in this one.

Orange (orange): Finally, something that doesn't reek of apple! The orange is sweet, juicy, and a little zesty. It's not as juicy as the actual orange Starburst, which is very juicy, sweet and tangy, but it's not as off as the others. Still, this Fruit by the Foot version is zestier and had a slightly bitter finish, like when you bite too close to the rind, or if your orange has a lot of pith. So far this is the best flavor in the box but it's still not accurate.

Lemon (yellow): Okay this is the rare instance where the Fruit by the Foot may actually be better? Lemon Starbursts are great, creamy, zesty, and pair beautifully with the rest of the flavors, but this? This is tangier, more like lemonade, and while it doesn't taste like the Starburst, it's so yummy that I don't mind. I take it back, orange isn't the best, lemon is.

If I'm being honest, these were a huge let down. Other than being close in color, none of these flavors came close to their candy counterparts. The pink in particular was really poorly executed. A few weeks ago I reviewed the Jolly Rancher themed Fruit Roll-Ups, and those knocked it out of the park.

The only real positive here are the citrus flavors, with lemon in particular being a stand-out, but even then it still doesn't taste like a lemon Starburst. If you are a big fan of Starburst, like I am, skip these. They'll just make you sad.