Straight outta Thailand, Trader Joe's Mango & Passion Fruit Squares will run you $2.29 for 17 little bite-sized treats. True to the name, they are indeed square-shaped, measuring 1.25" x 1.25" and weighing just over 9 grams a piece. They're individually wrapped AND they come in a resealable bag for a multi-layered defense against spoilage and dryness.
Upon unsealing the bag, you'll note the sweet-tart scents of mango and passionfruit wafting out from the package. I was expecting something akin to fruit leather in terms of texture, but these tangy tidbits are softer and moister than any other fruit snack I've ever tried. They're sweet and a little sour, and mango and passionfruit are the top two ingredients. There's also some added sugar, but it's far from excessive. 35 total calories per square isn't bad.
The fruit snacks are extremely sticky and sometimes difficult to remove from their little pouches. They're soft enough that they easily tear into pieces with certain sections sticking to your fingers while other portions remain glued to the inside of the plastic wrapper. If you're eating these on the go, you'll want wet naps on standby. The back of the bag proudly declares that they "won't make a mess!" It's a bald-faced lie, I tell you.
These morsels are mostly smooth dried fruit, but certain bites contain noticeable fibrous threads. I guess other dried fruit like dates and figs have similar fibers, but mango tends to have them quite a bit. Not a dealbreaker by any means, but the fibers are about the only things that remind you this is real fruit and not soft, chewy sugar candy.
Would buy again. The beautiful wifey gives Trader Joe's Mango & Passion Fruit Squares eight out of ten stars. I'll go with eight out of ten stars too just for the value alone. Each square costs less than 14 cents. I'm guessing these will disappear pretty soon, so grab 'em before they're replaced with something that begins with "Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice" fill in the blank...
Bottom line: 8 out of 10.
While Trader Joe's Brioche Style Liege Waffles are imported from Belgium, these Brioche Style Pancakes are imported from France. For four bucks, you get eight small shelf-stable pancakes wrapped up two by two in little cellophane packs.
If anything, these pancakes taste even more like fresh-baked breakfast fare than their waffley counterparts...and we like those waffles quite a bit. To be clear, none of these products truly compare to fresh homemade flapjacks, but considering the convenience factor, they're very much worth a pick-up.
Straight from the package, the texture of these pancakes is surprisingly soft and fluffy. They don't feel or taste stale in any way. Toss 'em in your toaster for a spell for an even nicer mouthfeel. The warmth wakes up the wheaty goodness even more, too. They're sweet enough that I wasn't even tempted to slather them with syrup, but they're not over-the-top sugary, either.
One drawback: they've got canola oil. I really feel like it's just a matter of time before there's a big enough outcry that Trader Joe's will be forced to avoid seed oils altogether, just like they avoid artificial colors and HFCS. I'm not going to lead the charge on that one, but plenty of readers have spoken out that they won't buy any products with seed oils. I respect that.
But enough about the ingredients label. At the end of the day, these are little French pancakes, and there's something inherently delightful about having a couple of 'em warm and fluffy on your plate in a matter of minutes. No mixing bowls, no measuring cups, no pancake batter mysteriously ending up on the floor. Just pancakes. Sometimes that's all you really need.
$3.99 for four servings of two pancakes each. Product of France. Would buy again, although we wouldn't mind a version without canola oil. Seven and a half stars from this guy for Trader Joe's Brioche Style Pancakes. The beautiful wifey will go with eight out of ten.
Bottom line: 7.75 out of 10.
