Sugar Savvy

Not too long ago I was standing in the danger zone — read: checkout lane — with my family, trying to figure out the best way to arrange my groceries on the conveyor so that the checkout lad could pack them in such a way that we’d get 12 out of 12 eggs intact at home and no battered bread or mutilated mushrooms. Distracted thusly, I didn’t notice that my kids, or more likely, my husband, had slipped a package of Chocolate Skittles among the groceries, until it was hurtling into a bag, on its way to maiming a package of lightbulbs.

I like Skittles in all their fruity incarnations, but I was a little dubious of Skittles chocolate-style. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have chosen to purchase the Chocolate Mix — a selection of five flavors including S’mores, Chocolate Caramel, Chocolate Pudding, Brownie Batter, and, inexplicably, Vanilla. But I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to sample them, so we tore open the bag and poured out the Skittles, passing them around.

First, I had the Vanilla. It had the familiar Skittles texture, but tasted like Vanilla, an odd but not unpleasant combination. Then, in succession, I tasted the chocolate flavors, ending with the Brownie Batter. Turns out that other than the Vanilla and the Brownie Batter, the others tasted pretty much alike to me. Which is to say, something like a very mild Tootsie Roll. Only the Brownie Batter seemed to have a little more chocolate character, but not by much.

All things considered, my husband and I agreed on a preference for Skittles in fruity flavors — these just weren’t chocolatey enough to satisfy. But to be fair, my kids enjoyed them as they were, even though my son typically prefers his chocolate superdark, a shade away from baker’s chocolate. Which leads me to believe that if you can suspend your expectations for a chocolate-chocolate experience, then you might find these more to your liking.