The Trick To Deciphering Kirkland's Jelly Belly Flavors
Jelly Belly fans with a Costco membership likely know how troublesome the oversized canister of jelly beans can be. For those who are not familiar, however, you should know that the Costco-sized jar of jelly beans is 64 ounces and includes a whopping 49 flavors (via Costco). Obviously, that many different flavors causes some overlap in colors. That's why there are a lot of yellow, green, and even red flavors.
It's the red ones that can be particularly shocking when you pop them into your mouth, though. Some red flavors are sweet, while others have a spicy kick to them. That's why you probably need some help to know what you have before you eat the red ones. Unlike Starbursts or Skittles, there isn't any wrapper, or so few flavors that you can tell them apart.
However, one Redditor found a way to crack the code. While it won't help you distinguish between all of the red flavors, it can keep you from getting a surprise cinnamon flavor when you expected something sweet.
Give them a squeeze
According to the canister, the red jelly bean flavors include cinnamon, of course, as well as pomegranate, raspberry, red apple, sour cherry, sizzling cinnamon, strawberry jam, strawberry daiquiri, and very cherry. That's a lot of red jelly beans to distinguish between. Not to mention, there are two levels of cinnamon spice, too.
As related on the Reddit thread, there are three or four red jelly beans that can look too similar to tell apart. The original poster said, "find the transparent, solid-color light reds and give them a squeeze, if the candy coating crumbles easily, it's a sweet flavor. If it has a much harder outer shell, and cracks, it's the cinnamon flavor." You'll never be caught off guard again by a cinnamon jelly bean again.
Needless to say, jelly bean fans were very pleased by this advice. One person wrote, "... yes. The delicious juicy red apple and cinnamon look EXACTLY the same. I hate it so much." Another said, "this is perhaps the most informative and insightful thing I've seen all day."
Though it hasn't been tested by the original poster, it would seem from the comments that the same might be true to distinguish between the grape and licorice flavors. So, carefully inspect the coating, and you just might be able to tell.