In their tradition of excellent coconut products like Pancakes, Creamer, and Cooking Spray, Trader Joe's has offered us an inexpensive bag of snackable little sticks...er, strips. They're very similar to the "Coconut Chips" we checked out long ago, and they taste about the same too, except these puppies are thicker, firmer, and a tad more chewy. In fact, they're surprisingly tough in my opinion, and for that reason, I think the chips were a superior product.
Sonia disagrees, stating that these slivers remind her a lot of sugar candy, but slightly more healthy. There are only three ingredients, the first two being coconut and cane sugar. So far, so good. But that third and final ingredient, sulfur dioxide, prompted a little Google research. I found statements ranging from "It's harmless" to "It will kill you" and everything in between. The general consensus, though, seemed to be "It depends on the dosage," which isn't particularly comforting, considering we don't really know the exact dosage we're getting in a small bag of coconut strips. I'm going to go ahead and assume there are only trace amounts of it present, because (A) I'm an optimist and (B) I'm still alive. Apparently, they need this delicious-sounding sulfur dioxide to keep the product fresh, as it is shipped all the way from Thailand. Not exactly "going local," but that's a whole 'nother can of worms... Just think of it like this: you're getting a sweet, exotic snack from half way around the world for less than $2. There's that characteristic optimism of mine again.
In summary, if sweet, firm, French fry-shaped coconut meat sounds tasty to you, check these out. Here's a little run-and-gun video review so you can see the product up close. Not sure why we even did one for this, other than it was an excuse to capture the beautiful snow, or maybe that "video whiz" comment from Russ went straight to my head—although I'm pretty sure the Shelly fam would do at least as well on camera as we do.
4.5 stars from Sonia. 3.5 stars from me.
Bottom line: 8 out of 10.
Bottom line: 8 out of 10.
It would be cool to dip these into chocolate and have it like Mounds strips. Then sprinkled with the coconut chips on top
ReplyDeleteDude. That's genius.
DeleteThe chocolate dipped coconut strips would make an awesome gift. It just need a French fry container to make it look like fries.
Deletelol totally!
DeleteCoat them in cookie butter and THEN dip in chocolate. :) Dig the video review too!
ReplyDeleteEven better! Thanks!
DeleteI chop it and bake it in my granola and have for years
ReplyDeleteAnother excellent idea...
DeleteI love how you're doing the video in the snow ha I should buy these so I can pretend I'm on a tropical island eating coconut instead of in Michigan in the snow
ReplyDeleteExactly. Snow doesn't seem so cold if you're eating something tropical.
DeleteSulfur in the dried fruit helps preserve the softness, color, and flavor. They also use minimal amounts. As an employee we did a lot of comparison taste tests, for instance we have all sorts of dried mango, with and without sulfur. I found the sulfur ones to taste and look much better! More juicy and less tough.
ReplyDelete