Snack reviews #02:
The best
A nice pack of gently baked mango goodness
Firstly, yes, I am bananas about fruit! What can I do? It’s an amazing and healthy snack. Secondly, I enjoy snacking way too much for my own good, so I have to keep eating something that is not going to give me a huge sugar rush. Just a tad is fine, like the previous issue’s Best Snack.
Look at this design and illustration! It makes buying a fruit snack look as exciting as a pack of little chocolate bites, but with a naïve and gentle look. You can see how the colours and handwritten-like typography play their role well.
Urban Fruit has several different fruit snacks, so why have I chosen the mango here? Whereas the Coconut Chips are quite nice and crisp to munch on, the gently baked mango wins the trophy here. Not only does this mango packet come in a bigger size and thus a having more to nibble on, the little pieces are soft and chewy and thus lingering in the mouth for longer. In addition, mango is always a good idea, its sweet flavour really packs a punch!
Two highlights of this Best Snack
As a few other wrapped snacks, Urban Fruit has its no added sugar policy written all over. I like it.
“We don’t mess with mangos. No added sugar, no preservatives, nothing. All we do is gently bake the fruit so it’s easier to munch on the move.”
Good approach. However, it was another side of this enterprise that won me over. I mean, if I like baked/dried mangos so much, why not just getting it anywhere? And there it is in the back:
“This season we’re eating… Mango variety: Keitt | BBE: Aug 2020 | 9219 14 | 100g e 16:10”
How amazing is that? Extra (no brownies today) points for letting me feel like I’m not just getting another mango. “We only use fresh, ripe, seasonal varieties from wherever they’re at their best…”.
Taste Test
These little mango chunks are sweet and somehow still feeling fresh, differentiating themselves from a dried mango product. Baking them at low temperatures for a long time really helps this step, as it retains flavour and almost all the goodness found in the fresh stuff. On the other hand, If I were to be really really picky and change anything in this product, it would be the small little textured dots on one side of the fruit, guessing to be marks of a baking tray. Still, they don’t put me off in any way, and most importantly do not impede me of awarding this baked goodness the Best Snack of CHIMPAN’s second edition.
PS: I’m surprised you did not lose interest in this text after reading a pun and the word healthy in the first two lines. I guess good food conquers all. Let’s see what you have to say about the Weirdest Snack on this issue.
Date: 6th Dec. 2019
Category: Snack Reviews
Author: Zé Monteiro