A Flowery Song

Background: The ingredients of these little dessert cups are actually a bit disturbing now that I take the time to review them. Instant non-dairy creamer does not top my list of favourite dessert ingredients. However, they do come with cute little plastic spoons, so I’m willing to forgive that lapse. This variety pack contains strawberry, mango, honeydew, lychee, papaya, and coconut specimens.

The texture is about what I expected; not too firm, just gelled and slippery.

Strawberry: Natural fruits flavour this may be, but it tastes exactly like every other strawberry dessert not containing strawberries. Which is to say, somewhat like strawberries, but not quite.

Honeydew: They’ve really hit their stride here. Honeydew are my favourite melon, and this tastes pretty much exactly right.

Coconut: It’s got that meaty coconut taste, combined with a bit of fruitiness.

Mango: Tastes of mango.

Papaya: Tastes tropical. Might be papaya. Might be snozzberry.

Lychee: Definitely lychee.

Overall: While the strawberry is a bit disappointing (though that may be due to overexposure) and the papaya is meh, overall these are very nice, inexpensive, fruit-tasting jellies.

Background: I love cream wafers. There’s something about the crunchy layers that appeals to me on a visceral level. This specimen comes in individually packaged servings and is made in Vietnam for a Malaysian company called Wonderfarm Biscuits & Confectionery. Oh, and they’re coconut flavoured.

Nose: Grainy and sweet, dried coconut.

Taste: Sadly dry and dusty, though nicely crunchy. There’s coconut flavour there, but it’s oddly oily and unpleasant.

Overall: Cream wafers don’t aspire to the level of haute cuisine on their best day, and this isn’t their best day.

Background: Among us degenerate inhabitants of North America, cassava is perhaps most often encountered in its processed starch form of tapioca, but, as the bag tells me, cassava is “consumed by millions around the world” and “provides twice the fiber of the common potato”. It’s also poisonous in its raw unprocessed form, but fortunately Arico has gone ahead and fried these in palm or sunflower or safflower oil. Also available in “Original”, “Sea Salt Mist”, and “Ginger on Fire”.

Slightly thicker than a standard potato chip, more in the realm of kettle chips. Very little evidence of any barbecue flavouring in the appearance, other than an orange tint (perusing the ingredients, the colouring is probably from paprika). Nice crunch on eating, but there really is very little about them that says “barbecue” as opposed to, oh, “salt and sugar”.

Overall: Can’t say I’m in love. I eat chips for flavour, not fiber, and these just don’t deliver.

Background: Fruit-flavoured jelly snacks manufactured by Tsang Lin Industries in Taichung, Taiwan. Each little cup contains, in addition to naturally flavoured seaweed-thickened gel, one or two chunks of what’s probably coconut.

There’s a small amount of liquid hiding out inside these buggers, so be gentle when opening. The gel’s texture is slightly firmer than normal gelatin snacks, and the chunk of whatever provides a nice contrast.

Pineapple: Faint pineapple flavour. A bit blandly sugary, to be honest.

Grape: Tastes purple, as is fitting for a purple gel.

Strawberry: Decent. Stronger flavour than the pineapple, slightly more natural than the grape.

Green Apple: My favourite. I’ve always loved pretty much anything “green apple”, and this provides that. I’d like it to be a bit tarter, but it’s okay as-is.

Overall: Hey, it’s fruit gels, not haute cuisine. There’s no great depth of flavour, but were you really expecting that?