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What sounds like a failed science experiment is actually this summer’s new sugar-rush snack.
Finding new ways to decorate food is a cycle on TikTok, and a new radioactive-looking combination of pineapple and Kool-Aid is the newest big trend.
Summertime snackers are soaking pineapple “spears” or chunks in a mix of Kool-Aid and sugar in a jar, shaking the ingredients, and then refrigerating the mashup anywhere from two to 24 hours.
The pineapple spears resemble pickles in pickle juice — except they are marinating in vibrant, flavored liquid sugar. The trend of using pineapple builds on the “Kool-ickles” trend, in which pickles are soaked in any number of Kool-Aid flavors, the most popular being Cherry, Blue Raspberry and Tropical Punch.
For the new pineapple trend, besides using either premade or powdered Kool-Aid, some fans are adding a pinch of salt or lemon for an additional flavor boost — and adults have even added rum or vodka to make “dirty Kool-apples.”
One Reddit user is all for the new viral snack, writing, “I don’t understand the hate on these. It sounds fun and would probably taste incredible. Everyone says ‘oh the sugar’ but there’s so many foods (worse than) fruit. Plus, can’t you customize how much sugar you add to Kool-Aid?”
The trend originated from Willie Reynolds, a Florida-based vendor who started selling his signature Kool-Aid pineapples for $20 in the back of his truck in Pompano Beach.
Reynolds, who goes by Silly Willie online, has been selling his jars at pop-up locations across Florida, in flea markets, and on his own.
After his video clips went viral, other users recreated them, adding their own flavor twists and even edible glitter.
One food influencer posted a TikTok that tossed together Blue Raspberry, Tropical Punch and Watermelon-flavored pineapples, trying the juice first and declaring that the pineapples themselves were refreshing, but overly sweet.
But some users in the comments were skeptical of the snack, saying “Straight red 40,” “What are people in America even consuming?” and “He’s going to get diabetes.”
When creators realized making the jars at home was much cheaper than buying them pre-jarred, they began creating their own videos showing their step-by-step process.
But Silly Willie continues to have customers lined up outside of his pop-ups, with one TikTokker saying, “It is a 10/10, but is it worth $20? No. I could probably make this at home but I respect the hustle, I’ll probably just make it at home next time.”
