Howdy, Jigglers! Have you ever seen a food product so odd, so indescribable, that you simply must try it? I often find myself in this helpless condition, which is precisely the state in which I bought a pouch of Jubes at the Asian foods store near where I live.
Image courtesy of justasianfood.com
Seeing this on the shelves, I could not make heads or tails of what exactly the Jubes were supposed to be. I still have no idea what nata de coco is, except that it has something to do with coconuts. Since I like coconuts, lychees, and chewy things, I figured I couldn't go wrong with lychee Jubes. Plus, I admired the creativity in suggesting that the cubes could be used as a cocktail accoutrement.
On feeling the cubes, I noticed at once that, whatever this substance is, it isn't gelatin. It's much, much firmer. It almost feels like a cut of a solid object, with only a small amount of give.
This texture holds true on the tooth, where it is every bit as stiff as a gummy worm left for a few too many weeks in the backseat of your car.
As for the flavor, it is as though the lychee flavor was only infused into the liquid surrounding the Jubes instead of into the stuff of the cubes themselves. However, the flavoring is not overly artificial, nor too strong or weak. The interior of the cubes is sickly sweet and grainy in taste, but it does not taste like anything in particular.
But I cannot stress strongly enough how chewy these things are! It took a very long time to eat them, and eating the whole pouch gave me a powerful jawache. Also, in retrospect, I don't have any earthly idea what Jubes could add to a cocktail. They wouldn't melt, but the insipid lychee flavor would not meld with any cocktail I can think of, and the texture would not impart any benefit.
Perhaps the other flavors of Jubes are delightful, but I doubt it. At any rate, the Lychee Jubes are not worth the physical effort required to eat them.
