Sometimes Foodie: Summer 2022's Watermelon-flavored Death Rattle

This time of year is bittersweet for a summer-loving Halloween-obsessed nerd like me. I'm excited for pumpkins and skulls and horror movies, but I'm not ready to let go of the long days, sunny weather, and summer treats just yet. Thankfully, it's not over yet. I'll cling to summer just a bit longer with this watermelon cotton candy.

I picked this up at Dollar Tree, which seems to be getting some interesting cotton candy flavors these days. (First Churro, then this?) Mass produced, foil bagged, cotton candy is not the same as freshly spun, like from a fair or the boardwalk, but it'll do in a pinch. And when it comes to grocery store cotton candy, Charms Fluffy stuff is probably my favorite.

Fluffy Stuff's texture is denser than fresh spun, probably for shelf stability and to survive transport, but it's the closest thing you can get to boardwalk cotton candy that's consistent in quality and available year-round.

When opened, this flavor smells sugary and lightly fruity, but in an artificial way. Like watermelon Dum-Dums lollipops. It's recognizable, and summery, but in a sterilized sort of way.

I popped a tuft into my mouth and it immediately melts away into sugary, sweet, watermelon nothingness. You ever see those cotton candy machines that just heat up normal candy and turn it into cotton candy? This tastes like you did that with watermelon Dum-Dum's. It's a sweet, mellow, artificial watermelon, not tart and tangy like Trolli or Jolly Rancher. This is almost sherbet-like, and creamy. It actually reminds me a lot of watermelon flavored Polish water ice, which, sadly enough, was the last thing I ate during my beach trip this weekend before I got punched in the gut by, what I am pretty sure was, food poisoning.

In spite of it being the last thing I was able to eat, I have no ill-feeling towards this creamy watermelon-y candy. In fact, this is making me want to go back to the beach and try again, one more time, before summer slips through my fingers.

For a dollar (Or a $1.25 now, or whatever it goes for at the new dollar tree prices), this is a pretty great product. It tastes like summer, is shelf stable, and thanks to some kind of science-y witchcraft, it doesn't deflate into a hard cotton-candy-raisin after you open the bag. I have been snacking on this in spurts over the course of a week, and it's as fluffy now as the day I bought and opened it. (Sorcery!)

If you're craving a taste of summer, and can't make it to the beach, maybe grab a bag of this. It's cheap, but that doesn't stop it from being full of nostalgia and perfect summer candy vibes.