Cinderella Fruit Jerky - Mango product reviews

Cinderella is a brand we have come to know as being reliable and of high quality from the baking mixes they have and their dried fruit range. My partner goes for the Cinderella dates over other brands as she finds them to be juicier and tastier. After we received the 125 g packet of mango fruit jerky ripped open the easy tear top of the bag and peeled open the resealable strip which keeps the freshness after use and pulled out a mango chunk which took up most of my palm in size and proceeded to chew away at it.

The texture of the mango is soft yet chewy and tastes very sweet. One piece of the mango was enough for me to last about 5 minutes so it lasts well. The outer skin almost has a very slight crisp sugar coating to it which it doesn't but it certainly felt that way. The bag lasted two pieces of mango each throughout our family which is two adults and four children and everyone loved it as something sweet that you can slowly snack away at. The fruit jerky consists of only mango, sugar, citric acid, and preservative. These are great for chucking a piece into the kid's lunch boxes or taking as a snack for hiking or exercising to give quick energy as each piece would average around 175kj of energy.

I recommend these to anyone who loves sweet snacks that are easy to grab and go and also if you love fruit (especially mango). If you have children that are standoffish over eating fruits then I could see these helping with getting them to progress to other fruits. For $4.50 that is great value for these as they were an absolute hit in our household and I will have to try out a few more of their fruit range to see how they compare.

Full disclosure, I had seen this product and had just not got around to trying it last year, it is the kind of snack I really like the idea of. This range is clearly not targetted as much at children which made it perfect for our household of two busy adults trying to eat a bit healthier without too much fuss.

I have been a fan of cinderella raisins since I was a child (seriously they just taste better!). So the branching into other fruit really works for me. The price point is ideal - more than sugar but not as much as the crazy health foods. The volume you get for the price is perfect for probably a fortnightly/monthly purchase to integrate with other dried fruits for me. I will totally be trying more in this range and love the clear simple packaging without the hype of some of the competitors.

I was sold from the first glance, and I appreciated you could see the product before you opened the packet. These were great big pieces which felt nice for a proper snack - husband was very impressed at how big the pieces were and that he had to chew a fair bit when I offered him one. The texture was exactly as it was described - chewy! The sweetness was there but not overwhelming, I did note the mango slices had a fair bit of sugar but sometimes that's ok if you are aware and you are looking for a bit of a pick me up.

It is not a fast eat, take your time and enjoy the less than common fruity taste. I love fresh mango but its really really unusual in New Zealand for me so this is an ok compromise. I have always liked a dried fruit snack and the way I enjoyed it most was to add to my cereal (I usually make overnight oats with yoghurt and this would be a perfect replacement for dried apricot which is a bit heavy sometimes and awkward to slice). I would totally take this on a hill walk with others as I think it makes a perfect outdoor snack as well as very tidy.

This product will last a while too as one piece was good for either a yummy breakfast or a tasty afternoon snack. This was a hit in our house and we will be buying more. A really sneaky way to increase your fruit intake

It is always funny when we get review products. Especially when we do not know what to expect. Opening the packet was a breeze, I had expected small bite size pieces but they were a lot bigger than I had guessed No one really volunteered to go first so I pulled it a part in to two halves and passed it around. We all sat there looking at each other and finally my husband was brave enough to go first. His reaction was instantaneous and then he was like 'yum these are awesome' and finished his piece and grabbed another one.

My two daughters had the complete opposite reaction, and well lets just say, it was not as favourable as my husbands and there uneaten pieces quickly thrown in his direction. I was worried by this stage as I always like to sit back and just watch to see the reactions and well that kind of tells me what to expect. My husband and I have completely different taste buds and I am more on par with the girls.

I have not really had much experience with mango besides it being in fruit salad and in all honesty I would not be able to pin point what one it was. I was not sure what I was expecting but it probably was not this. It was sweeter than I was expecting and not as dry or hard either - it was soft enough and chewy enough for the teeth. It was pleasant, not fantastic but not bad either and I could not decide if I liked it or not. I finished my half and sat puzzled as to what I had just experienced. I don't think personally I would rush out and buy again but if I was offered another piece I am not sure I would say no either.

Price wise it is on point and my husband requested that I buy these again as when he is around the mountain with work it would be a great snack for him. My husband did manage to finish these within a couple of days and found it was a great snack for him.

Although the packet describes the contents as fruit jerky, the mango pieces were not as dry as I had expected. They were more like a cross between a fruit leather and a wrapped lolly, with all the sweetness of the latter. However, that did not matter too much; it was three weeks from the first time we opened the packet to the last piece, used today, and there was no sign of flavour loss or extra dryness. The fruit had maintained its freshness thanks to the ziplock closure on the bag.

We cut some of the bigger pieces into quarters and passed them round. Most of the family liked them, and my daughter said she was impressed by the strong mango flavour that clung to the pieces even after the bag had been opened and the first burst of fragrance came out to meet us. She also thought the flavour was quite authentic if a little sweet - on checking the package, we found that there was some added sugar so this would account for that. Fresh mango is not usually so sweet.

Having tasted a little on its own, we decided to try it in a few different combinations. We had half a pineapple and some bananas already so opted for an all-fruit lunch. Rather than making a salad, we just put the fruit (including the mango) on a cloth, gave everyone a plate and knife, and let them help themselves. We were outside anyway so that meant that any mess was minimised. I am all in favour of anything that saves on washing up, and so is my daughter.

We had already thought of making a cheesecake in the evening, when the day was cooler, so Miss Nine suggested chopping some of the mango and baking it as part of the base. That was an interesting idea, and one I thought worth trying. The topping was to be a very plain vanilla flavour, so the mango would give it an interesting texture and flecks of colour. All of us were pleased at the way it turned out; we served the cheesecake with a topping of sliced bananas and it had gone before I could think of aiming a camera at it!

The nicest thing about this product is that it makes it possible to have mango out of season. There was a suggestion on the packet that the pieces could be rehydrated in hot water; I did not get to actually try this because the mango was all gone, but it is something to consider for next time. I like the idea of mixing it with apple and making a baked crumble to serve with custard in the winter. We also thought it would be nice as a snack mixed with something like dried banana and a few nuts to provide additional crunch. Undoubtedly, we will come up with some more ideas next time we open a packet.

A few months ago I decided that I would like to start eating healthier, so I am always on the hunt for tastier alternatives to curb my sugar cravings. At the moment I have been snacking on a range of dried fruits and nuts, including dried apricots, cranberries and almonds. Browsing the KIWIreviews website I noticed that there was some mango fruit jerky to request, I had not tried dried mango before, so was keen to give it a whirl.

The resealable packaging is colourful and there is a clear window to see through to the product, the packet states that this fruit jerky is deliciously chewy and great for snacking. The Nutrition Information says there are 5 servings per packet, each serving size being 25g. The company has added some suggestions on how to use these, included in lunchboxes, added to muesli, or rehydrated and served in a Thai chicken noodle salad.

I decided that the children and I were going to try the mango straight from the packet, we each took a piece, the first piece I took out was nice and thick, and looked like it had some sugary substance on top. I took my first bite and was surprised with how chewy it was, the mango was delicious and quite sweet, with a pleasant aroma. The children seemed to enjoy their pieces of mango, but only in small amounts. I have cut up the remaining pieces of mango into tiny pieces and we plan to use them in some tropical muffins, to add a different texture to them. I think this fruit jerky is a winner, and would love to see what other products are available in the range.

The warmer summer months coming, and we are starting to see the summer fresh fruits, but they are not always the best option in lunchboxes/for work or to take out to picnics and other summer events. As well as this, the kids definitely are over the standard raisins, cranberries and apricots in the cupboard so this dried mango was a no brainer to request to review. As well as this, adding fruit to more plain cereal is a winner in this house, so double the reason to try.

Mango is definitely a treat in our house, as they are not always the cheapest or easiest to come by so this dried version could be just the option. The mango jerky comes in a 125g bag, and whilst that does not seem like a lot, that is 100% fruit, so does have quite a few servings in it. As well as this - dried fruit generally is on the sweeter side, meaning you do not need as much. The packaging is colourful and cheery with a clear window to allow you to see the contents. Each of the fruit in the range is a different colour package so it makes it easy to get the one you are wanting in your shopping too!

Opening the bag, you are hit with the lovely sweet mango scent that entices you in. The pieces are a good large size, a beautiful colour and a little squishy, little leathery in texture. The fruit was absolutely delicious, and just as a perfectly ripe mango should taste. The texture is interesting, but not in a bad way, it is chewy but easy to bite off and soft. It honestly has, on more than one night in the last week, satisfied my sweet craving whilst not eating lots of processed sugar - huge thumbs up for the constant healthy eating challenge!

It is not a cheap snack, but is worth it - it is delicious and as such we will eat it as a treat rather than an everyday snack, but I would definitely get it again, and look forward to trying it chopped into small bits in porridge/cereal or even baking.

When it comes to snacks it always feels like everything is super unhealthy. You want something sweet, but everything is super calorie-dense (unless you eat unreasonably small portions). Fruit has always been a good choice when you want something sweet and you want more than a quarter of a bite of something. Fruit jerky is therefore that nice middle-ground; it has the sweetness of fruit without excessive sugar being added to it, and it's easy to travel with and store (unlike fruit, which will easily bruise or rot unless you are careful).

Mango has always been a luxury fruit for me. While apples, oranges, feijoas, mandarins, macadamias, bananas, and plums were eaten by the hundreds during my childhood (we had a mini orchard in our backyard). Mango was maybe a once-a-year treat, and usually, the whole family shared that one mango. So early in my adulthood, mango is still seen as a super rare treat that needs to be relished, and it's something I enjoy trying in all forms.

In this case, this is a mango fruit jerky. Sliced pieces of mango dehydrated. Coming in a resealable pack to maintain freshness (and to tell you that you shouldn't eat the whole pack in one go), the first thing that I notice is the ingredient list. This is mango fruit jerky, but the product is only 84% mango. This is something that I decided to research more. I had a similar epiphany when I tried a deli ham was only 40% ham. Learning the process of making deli meat was both disturbing and intriguing, adding ice and fat, and curing it, etc.

For fruit jerky, it's less exciting. Simply put, the sugar boosts the flavour. That's pretty much it. I've had other mango fruit jerky before that was chopped smaller, and was very weak in flavour. This product involves larger pieces of mango and the added sugar has clearly created a much sweeter product. Another aspect that helps the product taste much sweeter is the level of dehydration. This product isn't fully dehydrated. With some large pieces, the centre has maintained some moisture and creates a softer (although still fibrous) texture.

Apart from boosting the flavour, the sugar also adds a granulated texture to the mango pieces and brings a flavour that lingers on the palette over time. While the sugar heightens the mango flavour, the mango-ness recedes very quickly and leaves you with the flavour of the sugar.

I like the soft, fibrous texture, and I certainly enjoy having a better mango flavour with that added sugar. I do, however, question the amount of sugar used. With such a strong aftertaste and granulated texture, the sugar feels heavy-handed, and like I could have benefited from a lighter hand, to improve the texture, flavour, and lower the calorie count further. Still, I enjoyed it, and it's one of the better mango flavours out there. Doesn't come close to eating a fresh mango, but it's a mango I can enjoy at work and on the go.

In our family fruit is one of the most requested snacking options. In particular, I love being able to add fruit to my kids' lunchboxes, as a healthy sweet treat is always a winner for them. However, the list of fruits that can be easily peeled, stay fresh for the day and still allow for variety is very short, often meaning the fruit comes back uneaten. We were so excited to try this Cinderella Mango Fruit Jerky as mango is a once a blue moon treat for us, but also as this range could provide some much-needed variety for my kids' lunchboxes and snacking needs.

The package of jerky was a great size, and it was well designed with a resealable zip-top to keep the contents fresh. I did notice that, like all dried fruit, the sugar readings for this product were quite high, so I was careful to not have too much in one go, and also be mindful of what else we were eating alongside it.

The fruit itself was delicious. It tasted just like perfectly ripe mango- perfumed and rich, and with none of the aftertaste some dried products can end up with. The texture was also great, chewy but still soft and easy to eat. Having (grudgingly) given everyone in my family a piece to try they also loved it, so I know it will be a real winner for lunchboxes or an easy-to-pack snack for a day out. We did discover that that taste and texture became quite addictive, and my hubby and I often found ourselves returning to the cupboard in which it was stored to have another small piece. Because of how much my family loved it, I even managed to replace our weekly request for lollies with a bag of this- a much more nutritionally-dense option and a complete win for me.

This jerky was absolutely delicious- the perfect alternative to mango in an easy to transport, store and clear up form. Universally liked in our house, and utterly addictive, this will most definitely be bought regularly by us. If I had had any left I would have loved to try some in baking, but it was snaffled so fast that I never got a chance. Oh well, off I go to buy another pack!