Remember the walnuts by Walnut Tree I reviewed recently? Well, the brand doesn't just specialise in nuts but it also stocks a variety of dried fruits and glacé fruits too. Best of all, they have a category that appeals to all us chocoholics: chocolate-covered fruit.
These are perhaps the tastiest way to achieve your five a day - although I don't think my doctor would let me count these towards my own goal. Meanie.
One of these products in particular caught my eye - the exotic-sounding chocolate-covered mango chunks. Walnut Tree kindly sent me a box to try to see if these would be a great treat to include in my Christmas snack cupboard.
Packaging
Without a shadow of a doubt, this gift box oozes pizazz. Made from a thin sheet of flexible wood, the tube features the Walnut Tree logo, a product name sticker on the front, and an information sticker on the base.
A black ribbon - affixed beneath the product label - holds the tube closed. The product label features an orange geometric pattern with an illustration and text to explain that these are chunks of dried mango flesh hand-dipped in rich dark chocolate.
Meanwhile, the sticker on the base lists the ingredients, allergens, and nutritional information.
Walnut Tree Chocolate Dipped Mango ingredients:
Dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavouring), mango (mango, preservative (sulphur dioxide)). Cocoa solids: 55% minimum.
The chocolate covered mango pieces contain around 66.5% sugars in total, thanks to a combination of the sugar in the dark chocolate and the natural sugars in the mango.
The label also advises that these treats are packed in a factory that handles sesame, peanuts, and other tree nuts.
I really like the thin wooden tube as a means of presentation. It looks different to the boxes of other chocolate-covered fruits elsewhere, and it is undeniably ideal for gifting. The Walnut Tree website suggests that the wooden tube is ideal for upcycling.
Walnut Tree Chocolate Dipped Mango Review
I was genuinely intrigued to find out what was inside the box. Small bite-size nibbles? Long, thin strips? I untied the ribbon and rolled open the tube.
It turns out that the mango pieces are packaged inside a plastic pillow pack. Inside, the dried-fruit segments are generous in size, with most measuring at least a good couple of inches in length. Some are short and skinny, while others are long and plump.
Surprisingly, while the aroma is fruity and slightly smokey in nature, that mostly arises from the 55% dark chocolate used here. Faint notes of mango sit right at the very back.
In terms of taste, it's a similar story - at least for the smaller pieces. The generous dark chocolate coating is certainly characterful, with fruity, mildly smokey, and slightly bitter notes, but it easily overpowers the more subtle, dainty flavour of the dried mango. Here, the chocolate notes linger for a brief while in the after taste whereas the mango is barely detectable.
Opt for a chunkier piece and the mango holds its own. The trademark flavour shines through above the thin chocolate shell so you get a more tropical flavour overall, which works beautifully with the fruity qualities of the dark chocolate. The sweet and fragrant mango flavour lingers long into the aftertaste.
Overall, this is certainly an interesting combination. I'm glad the flavour of the chocolate is front and centre, and that Walnut Tree opted for a dark chocolate here. The mango flavour is delicate by contrast, and sometimes feels a bit lost, especially with the smaller pieces of flesh.
Walnut Tree Chocolate Dipped Mango Review
RRP: £8.00 | Walnut Tree | Shop now
A generous coating of fruity dark chocolate smothers long segments of chewy dried mango. The mango flavour is delicate in comparison to the chocolate, but the mango holds its own in larger pieces of flesh.
Where to Buy Online
The Hand Dipped Mango Pieces box is available directly on the Walnut Tree Gifts website (£8).
DISCOUNT CODE
Walnut Tree have kindly shared a 10% discount voucher code for Chocolatier.co.uk readers to use on their Christmas purchases. Just use code WALNUTLY10 at the checkout to receive 10% off your order. This code is valid on orders placed before 24th December 2020.
While I reckon this is an interesting item to offer guests at Christmas, it's also a lovely gift to give to a foodie any time of the year, especially with the stylish packaging. If mango isn't your thing, Walnut Tree also sell a variety of chocolate dipped fruit here.
What's your favourite fruit to be smothered in chocolate? Let me know in the comments below.
