I'm not a big fan of sour candy, or of Twizzlers.  But I have to admit, I've taken a liking to the latest offering, which crams a strange tart substance inside a regular Twizzler.  It sounds so terrible, and so unlikely, but the pairing is nicely flavorful.

The texture of Twizzlers is the first thing you have to get past.  They always put me in mind of the vinyl seat covers on my parents' clapped out Nova that was the family car from 1974 to 1978, when it basically disintegrated out from under us.  

The pack of Twizzlers comes with four sticks of candy in two different flavors: "Citrus PUNCH!" and "Cherry KICK!"  This makes it sound like Chuck Norris is driving their marketing department.  Pow!  Biff!  Zap!

Each Twizzler has a normal fruit flavor on the outside, and a strange gooey pastey center that is the same fruit flavor, but more tart.  I found myself fascinated with the texture of the filling.  The packaging doesn't describe it as anything other than a "filling."  

The texture is like something that would be sold to kids under the Nickelodeon brand.  If you can manage to scoop out a little bit and roll it between your fingers, you find that it is somewhat rubbery, and somewhat tacky.  It seems to dry as you fiddle with it.  It is reminiscent of nothing so much as - please forgive me - boogers.

Tasty delicious tangy fruit-flavored boogers.

I am so sorry.

The flavor overall is much like that of certain Skittles.  I wouldn't describe them as "sour" even though that's what the wrapping calls it.  At the very least, it is on the extremely mild end of the "sour" spectrum.  Which frankly is just where I like it.

The only objectionable thing about Twizzlers Sweet & Sour Filled Twists (aside from the texture of the filling, which is only apparent if you scoop it out and play with it like some kind of demented child) is that they leave behind a strange oily coating in your mouth.  This is a little surprising and dismaying.  Although considering that the fourth ingredient listed is "vegetable oil (palm kernel and palm oil)" I suppose it's only natural.

This is where I get up on my high horse about palm kernel oil.  The environmental destruction being wrought by the palm kernel oil industry is truly horrifying.  Tropical rainforests are literally being leveled in order to plant and harvest palm oil.  It is not the kind of thing that should be tolerated.

I obviously need to start reading the ingredients a little more carefully before buying candy, because I keep finding - surprise!  Palm kernel oil!  Yum, tastes like destroyed orangutan habitat!  With that special "zing" of the destruction of endangered species!

But honestly, who would look at a Twizzler and think "I bet there's vegetable oil in that"?  I can only assume that the palm oil is used in that bizarre concoction known only as "filling."  (Boogers.)