Flash in the Pan

Arico Natural Foods sent an assortment of product for the crew (my wife, me, and whatever particular set of kids marching through the house at any give time) to test. The company apparently focuses on gluten- and casein-free snacks. They present the cassava chips as a lower-fat and higher-fiber alternative to potato chips. (Stressing gluten-free when potatoes don't have gluten doesn't get you far.) The chips, made out of the starchy roots of a South American plant, were pretty good. The taste was a bit different from potato chips in a way that I find difficult to describe - lighter, maybe - but was nevertheless pleasant. Everyone else seemed to like the chips as well.

On the cookie front, we were far more divided. The kids loved the chocolate chunk and triple berry, my wife liked them, and I found them on the dry and mealy side, though if you can't tolerate gluten, they are good to know about. However, they are far from cheap, at least if you are buying online. You buy by the case of six family packs, and each pack, in a reclosable pouch, weighs 4.8 ounces; the price is $29.94, and then you pay $5.95 on top of that for shipping. Even without the shipping, it's $16.63 per pound of cookie. Similarly, the chips are a case of one dozen 5 ounce bags for $41.88. Ouch. So I'd suggest holding off on trying the products unless you can find them in a store, and even then you might find them an over-priced novelty, unless you have to avoid casein and gluten, in which case you probably have limited choices.

Labels: chips, cookies, product, review, snacks