I'm still not sure how I feel about all these competing "meal in a box" services like Hello Fresh, Blue Apron and Plated that send all the ingredients to a meal in a convenient box with recipes. I'll admit I've never tried one, but I do live a block away from the 21st Avenue Kroger, so it's not much longer to the store than to my mailbox. I do wonder if these services are actually teaching folks how to cook or how to eat, or whether they're just an upscale and more expensive version of buying an Ortega taco kit. I'd like to think that somewhere the corporate kitchen is doing something to help our food waste problem by utilizing the ugly lettuces, imperfect chicken breasts, etc., as part of these boxed meals and possibly making soup out of all the trimmings.
So when it comes to box deliveries, I tend to lean toward a la carte orders from specialty butchers or, even better, from a local CSA. But when the opportunity came along to sample a Monthly Snack Box from a company called Try the World, I was intrigued. As someone who works at home, I'm a snacker. Hopefully I lean toward healthier food between meals, but in truth it's usually some chips or a handful of animal crackers that keeps me going from article to article during a busy deadline week.
So a little exotic variety sounded like a good idea, and within a couple days of agreeing to the trial, a red box showed up at my front door. Each box contains five sweet and savory snacks chosen from manufacturers around the world, and if you happen to find a particular favorite, you can reorder them from Try the World at discounted prices. Shipping is free for the boxes, which run about $19 per month if you pay monthly or as little as $15 if you sign up for a year. You can also pause your subscription at any time if you need to take a break.
The snacks I received were not typical American supersized portions, but were larger than just an individual snack bag. Each box contains a handy guide to what's in the box and where each snack is made, plus a guide to other factors such as whether the product is all-natural or organic, a traditional recipe, a family business, sustainably grown or whether the manufacturer supports the local community. (I'm guessing Frito-Lay wouldn't have too many of those badges on their packaging.)
So what was in my box? There were definitely hits and misses, but not everyone has the same preferences. Moroccan cheese crackers called Orientines were nothing special, but they were at least a change of pace from Cheez-its. I was more enamored by the name of the Thai toasted coconut chips (Dang) than by the chips themselves, but I've never been a big fan of coconut anyway. Other people I offered them to liked them.
They must have really good teeth in France, because the salted butter caramels from Maison d'Armorine were sticky enough to pull out your fillings, but they were delicious and worth the effort. Also quite nice was a packet of crunchy almond turrón with orange from El Almendro in Spain. A sweet and crunchy nougat made with roasted nuts, candied orange peel and egg whites, turrón can be crumbled over desserts, according to the card that came with them. Yeah, that would have been a good idea if I hadn't just snarfed down the whole package.
Believe it or not, my favorite of the box were some simple lemon cookies from Casa Lucena in Portugal. They were so crisp and buttery that I had to make a point of putting the chip clip on the bag to stretch them out for more than one sitting — and I discovered that they were fantastic with a California Chardonnay.
In the end, was it worth it? Well, I didn't pay for it, so that's not a fair question, but for $3 to $4 per snack for something exotic and for a nice surprise every month, sure, I think that's fair. Could you buy similar or the same products from the food section of a World Market store? Yeah, but where's the fun in that? Better for somebody else to do the curating and research and then delight you monthly.
Consider giving a Try the World Snack Box a try, and tell me what's in your package next month.
