Review: Market Pantry Dried Apricots

I love finding really great, healthy snacks. So much so, that it takes 2-3 stores for me to get everything that I love for snacking.  Also, the snacks I buy in the summer have to be able to last a long time without going bad since I work so much. Here are a few things that I look for when finding a great natural snack item:

Natural Ingredients – One of my biggest pet peeves is something that is marketed as natural or healthy and when you look at the ingredients there are 30 items listed when there should be 1 or 2.  The first thing I look at is the nutrition panel for the ingredient list.  In this particular item there are only 2: apricots and sulfer dioxide (for color retention).

While I’m not thrilled about the addition of the sulfer dioxide, I was willing to try the item, regardless. I tried to do some research on the effects of the chemical in food and what I found according to ehow.com’s health article, is that it hasn’t had any proven effect on healthy adults, but it can effect adults with breathing disorders.  As an asthma sufferer, I didn’t personally have any problems with this small bag, but be aware that it is a warning.

Taste – Taste is obviously important or I won’t buy it again.  I also enjoy finding products that fill me up without my having to eat a lot of it.  The apricots were good tasting, but very strong tasting, too, so I could only have a few at a time.  This might be a fruit that I enjoy better fresh.

Texture – Texture is key to enjoying a natural snack.  Too chewy, crunchy, etc… and it’s not a good experience.  I thought the texture was right on these apricots but there were a few seeds that I got surprised with. Not used to dried apricots, that probably just comes with the territory, but just be aware if you do eat these.

Calories – I always look at the calories, too, because even with natural snacks you need to be mentally aware of what you’re consuming.  These came in at a respectable 90 calories per 5 pieces.  This doesn’t sound like a lot, but the taste is very strong in these, so 5 pieces is a reasonable amount.

Overall – I thought these were good, but not sure if I’m eager to run out and get these again.  I think these are better as an accent piece than as a snack themselves.  They would be good chopped in a salad.  I’m also not a huge fan of the additive to keep the color.  I would be find with these even without their trademark orange color and I’m just not sure it was necessary.  I plan on trying a few other brands and types before passing judgment on dried apricots as a whole.