Biscuit Chocolate Orange Marmalade Lobes

So, the way I've  named the product in the title sucks, but I can't read much of anything on this box and am flying blind here, so, give me a break, okay? You try to translate Cyrillic without having any experience whatsoever with the language and see how far you get in figuring out company names. Harrumph.

My husband and I picked these up because we love jelly slices and these looked very appealing indeed with their large sugar crystal coating. One might think "sugar-coated" = cloyingly sweet, but the sugar on these has more of the effect that powdered sugar has on donuts or waffles. It adds a light exterior sweetness rather than an enormous wallop of sugary overload.

Though the center is not super sweet, they are still very tasty. The orange flavoring is strongly reminiscent of orange juice, though that is not one of the ingredients. The ingredients list includes "flavour" (orange) and citric acid. I'm also pleased to note that this does not contain artificial colors and is dyed with curcumin. If you are keeping up on dietary supplment fads, that's a hot one right now.

The slices are a little hard on the outside, like a slightly crispy sugar shell and quite soft on the inside. They are not like a gummy, but rather like a pate de fruits inside. This is a splendid combination. You also get good crunch from the sugar granules. There could be a touch more of a citric acid bite for my tastes, but I'm not complaining.

The company that makes this, Biscuit Chocolate, makes a fair number of confections with a much heavier focus on chocolates than this type of fruit candy. They do make jujube, which is a lot like these slices except in a different shape. They offer a lemon slice version in addition to this orange one. I'd try the lemon one in a heartbeat if I can find it. Note that this uses pectin and agar to jell the candy, so I'm guessing it may be safe for vegetarians. It uses egg white though so it's a no-go for vegans.

I found these for $3.49 at a market in Palo Alto that specializes in Eastern European and European food (a lot of it is Ukranian). I found them on Amazon without a price in different packaging, but they are definitely the same thing though the Amazon one is a mix of lemon and orange. If you like pate de fruits and are looking for something more low rent than what is generally available at the types of stores that sell it (which tends to be the expensive kind), then I recommend giving these a try. They'll satisfy your desire without hitting your wallet too hard.