Wild Berry Rainbow Crunchies

Freeze-drying works by sublimation: freeze the candy solid, drop the pressure, and let the ice turn directly to vapour. Nothing melts, nothing burns, and the flavour is left behind in a structure that is mostly air.

Wild Berry is the deepest flavour in the range — blackberry, blue raspberry and dark berry notes rather than the citrus-forward profile of the original rainbow. Concentrated by the drying process, it reads almost jammy.

It is also the best-looking bag we sell. Deep purples and reds against the pale cracked surface of the puffed candy; poured into a bowl it does not look like anything else on the table.

The 1.5 oz bag is one generous serving — 42.5 g of candy that looks like far more than that once it is poured out, because freeze-dried candy is mostly air. It is the size to buy if you are trying a flavour for the first time, and the size that fits a lunchbox or a jacket pocket without being crushed.

Store it sealed in a cool, dry place. Moisture is the one thing that undoes freeze-dried candy — an open bag left out will slowly go soft, so press the seal shut properly and it will keep its snap.

• Wild berry rainbow candy, freeze-dried
• Deep mixed-berry flavour profile
• 170 calories per bag
• Snack Kings LLC, Linden NJ