The Best Starburst Candy You Didnt Know About

The best Starburst products should explode with fruity flavor. The original Starburst flavors have a way of saturating your mouth with their intensely sweet yet mellow candy taste. When tasting through Starburst’s jelly beans, gummies, gum, etc., I looked for the same fruity wave of flavor and toothsome, chewy quality. Read on to find out which five were the best Starburst candies. 

Let my tombstone read: “Danny Palumbo: Starburst guy.” I go to bat for these things, hard. The original Starburst are definitely in my top five candies, and they’re great to calm down your airplane anxieties, too. Plus, as far as brand guarantees go, I do think that Starburst makes good on their name. They literally burst with juicy flavor. But can that same concept apply to other variations of Starburst candy? Can gum be Starburst? Jelly beans? Gummies? We tasted a bunch of candy to find the best Starburst product, and we looked for those products to maintain that robust, exploding-with-flavor aesthetic that the originals so wonderfully deliver.

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Best of the Best

In which I finally show the proper respect to a classic. The original Starburst candy stands tall in the face of modern flavor innovations. Launched in 1960 (they were originally called Opal Fruits), these powerfully tasty candies possess the ideal fruit chew texture. They’re chewy, but not so soft that the flavor immediately dissipates. The word here is toothsome, and because of that quality, you are able to savor the wonderfully robust and long lasting fruit flavor of Starburst. What’s the best Starburst flavor? Well, people seem to love the pink (strawberry) Starburst, but what makes this candy so wonderful is the variety of flavors available in a pack. Lemon and cherry are fruity and tart, and the orange is sweetly refreshing. Write off the lemon Starburst all you want, but I personally believe that strawberry hits way better after you’ve had the lesser flavors. And is there a better packaging for candy than that of a classic Starburst? The gentle unfurling of the tightly packed wrapper makes for a calming unboxing. From the name, to the packaging, to the flavors—Starburst is a perfect candy. I think it’s the top five all-time.

Credit: Merc/Starburst

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Best Side Hustle

Starburst Jelly Beans came out in 1995 and were an instant success, becoming a perennially iconic staple in the candy aisle at grocery stores during Easter. Why do they work so well? Because all the amazingly fruity, chewy goodness of an OG Starburst translated seamlessly into a jelly bean. Simply put, the jelly beans taste like Starburst and nothing else. It’s flavor alchemy. Starburst Jelly Beans are tiny and delicious. There is, so much flavor packed inside of one little bean. It’s downright impressive. In addition to strawberry, cherry, lemon, and orange, Starburst Jelly Beans add grape and green apple flavors to the mix. You can shove 15 of these in your mouth at once for a mass flavor amalgamation or you can savor one at a time, it doesn’t matter. It’s not just one of the best Starburst products, but one of the best Easter candies on the market, too. They’re neck and neck with the original version. Bow down to Starburst.

Credit: Merc/Starburst

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Best Surprise

Like the jelly beans, Starburst injects their robustly fruity flavor into gum with ease. While most gum lacks punch and loses its flavor instantly, Starburst smacks you in the mouth and the fruity taste sticks around long after you’re done chewing. Everyone in the Sporked office loved it. It’s maybe the most flavorful gum I’ve ever had. Deeply fruity and sugary without being too cloying, Starburst Gum contains all the flavors of the original product. What I love about it is that you can mix two flavors together for a wonderful flavor combo. 

Credit: Merc/Starburst

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Mini

While I do like the concept of FaveReds and Minis as an option for people with specific tastes, I just think that without the wrapper, Starburst are too much for one person. Without a barrier, one can grab a giant handful of these mini Starburst and chew them until your jaw falls off. By taking away the pleasant wrapper experience, Starburst has also taken away people’s ability to control themselves. It’s hard to stop from reachinging into this bag/bucket hybrid of naked chewy, fruity Mini Starburst chews. And I will also once again say that Starburst Originals are great because of their range of flavors. All four red-hued flavors here—strawberry, watermelon, cherry, and fruit punch—taste quite similar. For me, this is too much of a departure from a regular Starburst. But if you’re picky about flavors and you hate lemon and orange that much, this is undoubtedly for you.

Credit: Merc/Starburst

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Pink Product

Starburst hard candy seems like it could be an unwelcome departure from the Starburst aesthetic, but these pink lollipops work. The distinctly sour strawberry flavor is alive and well in these hard shell lollipops. Plus, the center of each lollipop contains a Starburst fruit chew. A lot of fruity lollipops miss, but Starburst provides a great product here. I don’t think Starburst should venture too far into hard candy territory, but with the chewy center these are recognizable enough. Not the best Starburst product, but worthy of a buy.

Credit: Merc/Walmart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Other products we tried: Starburst Gelatin Duos, Starburst Swirlers, Starburst FavReds, Starburst C4, Starburst Airs, Starburst Tropical Airs, Starburst Minis

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