Home > Categories > Food > Snack Foods > Cinderella Fruit Jerky - Rockmelon review
Picked fresh from Thailand and quickly dried to chewy perfection, Cinderella Dried Rockmelon is a tasty tropical snack packed in our resealable pouch. Try adding to your favourites baked goodies for a burst of sweetness all year round. A great snack in kids lunch boxes too.
* Great for snacking
* Deliciously Chewy
Ingredients: Rockmelon (84%), Sugar, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Preservative (Sodium Metabisulphite). Contains Sulphites.
Product reviews...
So we generally like Cinderella products and my kids enjoy fruit jerky we have tried our hand at making our own but just found it a little harder than we liked. I love rockmelon but my 5 kids aren't a fan but thought in this form could be good. I love the packet it clearly shows what ut us even a picture to show uts a rockmekon, the window shows the pieces size, colour etc which to be honest didn't look the nicer. I would of thought more orange but it was a dirty orange. It put me off opening it for ages but then I bit the bullet and opened the packet was easy to rip open but the zip close but was a but harder to open after the way it ripped open. Nevermind got in.
The fruit was very soft which I was shocked about but the sizes were a nice size. They weren't sticky or smily which was what I was worried about. 5 kids tried them only 2 enjoyed it, the 12yr old said it was sweet and the 1yr old kept eating them. It does say serving size is 25g but I didn't weigh to see how many pieces that is but which 5 servings per packet ptob only 3 pieces max as serving size. I liked the softness biting into it but after the first piece it seemed pretty sweet unlike the actual fruit which I could keep eating.
I wouldn't personally buy this for myself but for a quick snack on the go for my 1yr old I would. And the 12yr old might take a couple of pieces to school. The price for the packet is pretty high I feel for what you actually get.
Rockmelon is not a go-to fruit for me but I do love fruit prepared like this so I was willing to try it. Still probably not my go-to in this form either. However, it was a good example of a soft fruit prepared like this but for me personally, it was too sweet and soft to be a favourite compared to another fruit jerky.
I loved the little window in the packet to give me an idea of size and colour. I also liked the easy resealable packet as you wouldn't want too much of this at once either. The texture was not as "jerky" as I would like. A bit more chew and a bit more substance would be great (yes this is a pretty soft object when its not dried so it would be hard I agree). The smell was strong and pleasantly fruity.
I will probably put the rest of this in an antipasto or cheese platter to give it a sweetness along with some grapes and apple so it won't go to waste but I will be interested to see the opinions of others who love fresh rockmelon. The other place it would be good would be on a day out to avoid the sweets and chocolates. Probably not "substantial enough to replace a muesli bar or an ANZAC biscuit but would be interesting to add to making biscuits and see how it bakes too.
I think one occasionally would be ok but not rushing out to buy more of this flavour - probably will try others in the range though due to its good value and size of the packet. I have been impressed with the Cinderella snacking products in general and this was another example of good quality taste (just not to my tastes).
I have two kids who enjoy fruit and enjoy it in almost any state whereas I prefer fruit prepared this was as it is inevitable that it lasts longer and is easier to transport when we're out and about. My two kids have always enjoyed rock melon and thus were quite happy to see this and immediately opened it up and gave it a go. With the smell, there's no doubt it's rock melon and we all happily bit into our piece. I wasn't too fussed about the snack, as a whole, I found that there wasn't enough flavour too it and could have been a bit sweeter, so I left it in the hands of my twelve and ten year olds.
In the end, there is far more of it left in the bag than I expected. My twelve year old said that it tastes ok but that they prefer to have it fresh, and whilst they've had a couple more pieces since, they aren't in a rush to chow through the bag. My ten year said that they like the flavour but it is too hard for them to chew on (they do have issues chewing on some foods) and so they declined to eat more after just a couple of pieces. In the end, this spouse wasn't the snack for us, no one found it to be the best snack ever and whilst it will get finished I can't see any of the kids asking me to buy more.
My toddler is fruit obsessed so I knew he would enjoy these as he is also what we call a snack monster. He doesnt eat a proper meal apart from breakfast but for the rest of the day he just grazes and snacks all day and even for dinner. So when these arrived I knew he would be keen to try them and I wasnt wrong. The resealable bag is great as its always quick and easy when don't have to find a contianer or peg to put over the bag after you have opened it. He reached right in and grabbed one out, he probably wasnt to sure what to expect but he said yum mummy.
The smell of rockmellon came from the bag which was nice and reminds me of summer. He enjoyed the flavour and chewed away and liked the texture. I tried one and I also enjoyed it and like the taste and flavour. My oldest son tried one and he didn't like it and said it wasnt for him. My partner tried one and said it was ok, he would eat some more and then say nah it wasnt for him. He did like how my wee boy enjoyed it though and thought would be a great snack for him.
I know there any several different fruits in this brand and these would be great for the kids as snacks for on the go. Great with summer coming, sports trips and in general just anything. The price is fair, could be a little cheaper which would be great but the price is ok for the bag size. I will tell friends and family about these who have kids and might enjoy the snack.
With the warmer summer months coming, we find that having fresh fruit (whilst the best option and preference) is sometimes not practical in lunchboxes or to take to work, with sticky juice not being preferable in the bottom of school bags! I also like to add fruit to porridge in the winter, so double reason to want to try these. I can honestly say I have not seen dried rockmelon before and was very intrigued. Usually we have some form of dried fruit in the house, but I am also aware that dehydrated/dried fruit is higher in sugar levels, so is more of a treat than the everyday alternative to fresh.
The packaging is really good, with a nice green colour, a clear window showing you the rockmelon, and a picture of what is inside making it easy to distinguish when you are looking for it on the shelf. Cinderella do other dried fruits and they have done a great job of making them all different.
I opened up the bag (which is a resealable one, meaning no need to keep the rockmelon in another container) and was hit by the lovely smell that reminded me of summer and yummy summer fruit and memories, so was keen to try already. The pieces are a good size, and you do get the texture and aroma of the fruit very well. The taste is a lot like I expected - rockmelon-y , sweet but missing the juiciness. It does have the texture of the rockmelon a bit but it is soft and slightly chewy, and overall really delicious. I gave the kids some to try but to be honest they were not really fans. This could be because it is different to eg dried banana or apple and also because they do not eat a lot of rockmelon, whereas I love it!
It is not a cheap snack, 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 or even baking.
As a person with quite simple tastes, I am only use to eating the basic apple, banana or orange fruits. The idea of fruit jerky or dried fruits has been an increasing interest in the snack department in our household over the past couple of years. With having my son I am always on the look out for new and alternative foods to add to his and my lunch box.
I was curious to try rock melon as it has never been my favourite flavour growing up and I remember picking out the dried fruit in my muesli growing up. I was surprised that the pieces in the packet were so big and one piece would sufficiently curve a craving in one sitting. But you could easily chop it up and sprinkle over your breakfast cereal if you wanted.
The flavour was still a strong rock melon flavour and the texture was a pleasant chewy consistency. I like that it came in a resealable pouch so to lock in the freshness so you don't have to over indulge in few days of opening. I did find it rather overly sweet so you wouldn't find me binging on the whole bag. However if you do have a sweet-tooth then this would probably be a nice almost refreshing snack alternative to something more unhealthy.
Now, rockmelon isn't a fruit I've eaten too frequently. To be perfectly honest, it's a flavour that is both watery and sweet and ended up being quite a conflicting flavour for me. I never really decided whether I liked the flavour or not (I have the same conflicting feeling with fizzy feijoa drinks). As a fruit jerky, however, I somehow managed to still find the idea intriguing. I suppose like most kiwis, I'm a slave to new and novelty flavours. Give me a flavour I don't traditional like by a different brand or in a different format and I'm more than happy to give it a go.
The first thing I see when I check out the packet is that, like the mango variety, this product is made of 84% fruit (must be the magic formula) and sugar. I really would have thought that dehydrated fruit jerky would have a higher percentage of fruit as the dehydration process would compact the natural sugars together. But, hey, whatever. Let the company do what they want to make the product as tasty as possible, right? Unlike the mango variety, for jerky, this rockmelon fruit is surprisingly tender and moist. There is no rubberiness or toughness to the texture at all. It is almost like biting into a slightly granular marshmallow. Combined with the sugar, this flavour actually works at creating a wonderfully sweet treat that has you going back for more.
It's important to follow those recommended portions, though (if you aren't as keen on the normal rockmelon flavour, as I am). I found that the flavour does accumulate over time as you consume it, and if you over-consume, that conflicting rockmelon flavour does start to rear its head again. But if you stick to the recommended serving size of 25g, this is a lovely sweet treat that wakes up the tastebuds all across the tongue. The half-dehydrated state of the rockmelon is an interesting texture to eat, as it has a similar feel to a soft chewy lolly, and the heightened sweetness also gives it an almost artificial intensity. The rockmelon flavour is captured extremely well, however.
Coming in an easy to open, resealable packet, it's a simple treat that is easy to transport around, doesn't really require any fancy storage conditions, so it's a great choice when you are on the go. The partner (who likes rockmelon) absolutely loves the flavour. So it seems a reasonable and unique choice in a world of otherwise similar treats. I would posit that it would be intriguing to see the product line expanded slightly to include fruit jerky with more salt added to balance out the sweetness.
I love rock melon, in fact, it's one of my most favourite fruits to eat in the summertime. Having a cold, juicy rockmelon can be so refreshing so I was looking forward to trying Cinderalla's Rockmelon Fruit Jerky. They come in an attractive, resealable plastic pouch that has a picture of a rock melon and a clear window so you can see the fruit jerky. The ingredients are 84% rockmelon, sugar, citric acid, and a preservative. I knew these would have some sugar but was a little surprised (and maybe naive) to realise exactly how much. The fruit jerky comes in long strips that are about 1-2 cm wide and you could easily cut them into smaller pieces. They taste exactly as I expected them to... dried, sweet rockmelon. It wasn't overly chewy and almost melted in my mouth... it was delicious... and very moreish!
I tried to get my daughters to try a piece but there aren't huge rockmelon fans so I cut a strip into little bits. The eldest said they were "okay" but the youngest said they were too sweet and chewy... great, more for me! I have been having porridge in the morning and have been adding maple syrup as I can't stand bland, plain porridge. I decided to cut one strip of the rockmelon fruit jerky into tiny pieces and add that instead and it was delicious. The sweetness of the rockmelon really helped to flavour the porridge and the chewiness of the jerky made it that little bit more interesting to eat!
Although I really enjoyed eating them, I had to limit how many I ate because although they are low in fat, they are obviously high in carbs/ sugars. That said, they would make for a great treat mid-afternoon when you need an energy boost.
Honestly I had no idea what to expect with these. I have not had much experience with Rockmelon besides being in fruit salad and really not being to pin point the actual taste of it. I am looking for something that is relatively more healthy then lollies. Bonus that is in a bag that is self sealing so is great to have in the car for those in between store snacks.
We had finished dinner and was still a little peckish. I picked the packet up and read it with everyone keeping one eye on me the whole time. I ripped the top open and pulled one out. First thing I noted was the smell that came out of the packet. It was sweet but also smelt like an orange lolly or a kind of apricot. I pulled one out and it was considerably bigger than I was expecting and passed it to my husband. My eldest was not sure so he ripped it in half and gave her the smaller one. My youngest said she would share with me so done the same thing and ripped it in half.
We all kept our eyes on my husband as he took the first bite and he excitedly said how great it was and that it was what he was wanting for work. My eldest took a tentative bite and then screwed her face up and went and spat it out. She said it tasted like the orange zombie skittle. Definitely not her cup of tea. My youngest and I looked at each other concerned and then both took a small bite. It definitely tasted like fruit (guessing extra sweetened Rockmelon). It is a taste I am familiar with. It wasn't as refreshing as I was hoping but I guess thats because its dried. But it was still sweet but yet it wasn't. I am still not sure how I feel about them even after having three of them. My youngest said she wasn't sure either but said she didn't want any more.
My husband has already claimed the bag and is asking for me to buy more in the future. He thinks they are great for a snack where as I am still unsure. I think they are okay but not something that I would actively reach for if there was another option. But my husband absolutely adores them and so for him I will be buying again.
When we first opened the packet, the smell that greeted us was amazing. It promised to be a great experience so we could not wait to try some. Most of us thought that the fruit flavour was fairly close to the real thing, although quite a lot sweeter. It did capture the delicate aftertaste of the fresh fruit.
The rock melon pieces were quite large, so we had cut the bigger ones into three before offering them round. We all enjoyed this treat, even though it was not exactly what we had expected. We had anticipated something more like leather in texture, but it was softer - at least for most of us. My aunt, who has false teeth, took ages to chew hers; she was enjoying it, however, so insisted on finishing it.
After everyone had tried a small piece on its own, we chopped another piece into bits the size of a pea and stirred them into some home-made muesli. Fresh fruit and nuts are always a welcome addition to this kind of cereal, but we had not thought of adding dried fruit up to now. This was also a success; it gave the muesli an extra fruity flavour, and the young ones were less inclined to add sugar when they thought nobody was looking as the melon is naturally sweet.
We seemed to be able to try a lot of different possibilities with just one packet. Although it appears that there is not much to go round, the fact that it is a dehydrated product means that you do not need much. After the muesli experiment, we chopped up some more and added it to a smoothie. The children then used a teaspoonful of the melon pieces to top an ice-cream. This had the effect of semi-freezing it, which appealed to them as it was a hot day.
The last couple of pieces were cut to the size of a wine gum and added to a scroggin mix for our next outing. We are always going out for walks in various places, and it is mandatory to pack a snack in case the energy levels start to flag. Chewy pieces are good as they seem to give you more slow release energy. We have not yet had a chance to try it this way as lockdown restrictions have put a stop to some activities, but hope to resume our walks in the near future.
Finally, I liked the easy-seal packaging which means the product will keep well once opened. We also liked the pack design which features slices of fresh rock melon against a clean green and white background. No doubt here as to what you are getting! It would also make locating it on a supermarket shelf very easy.
Random listing from 'Food'...
Joey 'Beefs' don't like much - but he sure loves his Chicago Meatlovers. A former butcher's apprentice, Joey knows his fine cuts from the baloney.
It's fully loaded with wood-smoked bacon and ham, cabonossi, salami, onion and capsicum layered over the family's secret BBQ sauce - it ain't for the the faint hearted.
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?"
unattributed