Trader Joe's Absolute Best Dried Fruit Is Sweet And Spicy

With everything from red papaya to passion fruit rounds, and freeze dried berries to soft Turkish figs, TJ's has a way of taking all of your favorite fruit and turning it into a lightweight, chewy, shelf-stable snack. They're essentially nature's gummy candies — and while everyone has their personal favorite, our taste testers are pretty adamant about which one they think is the very best. In Tasting Table's ranking of Trader Joe's dried fruit, they found that the winner was one that was both sweet and spicy: the Chile Seasoned Dried Mango.

Spicy might not be everyone's forte, but if it's yours, you're sure to be pleasantly surprised by Trader Joe's Chile Seasoned Dried Mango. While a lot of spicy snacks seem to cater to those with weak stomachs, these small mangos don't hold back one bit. Coated evenly from end to end in a red, powdery substance consisting of chile powder, salt, cane sugar, and citric acid, Trader Joe's Chile Seasoned Dried Mango invokes all the flavors of a mango street vendor, without any of the dribbly mess. Although you definitely should continue to support your local mango person, there are other pros to opting for these dried fruit snacks.

Trader Joe's says the Kent mangos used in their Chile Seasoned Dried Mangos come straight from Mexico, and they're picked and dried at peak ripeness. The specific variety is ideal for drying, giving them a noticeably juicy and bold flavor that perfectly compliments the added kick of the chili powder.

How any one person experiences spice varies, and the level of it you're able to manage (or not manage) can be a sensitive topic — both physically and emotionally. Luckily, Trader Joe's also makes plenty of non-spicy dried fruits as well. Our taste testers ranked the Passion Fruit Rounds No. 2, and there's also a plain dried mango option that Trader Joe's specifically calls its Soft and Juicy Mango. These are made with a different variety of mango (Thailand's Chokanan mango), so they won't be the exact same. Still, you can always add some of Trader Joe's very own Chile Lime Seasoning to get your perfect degree of spice (which could very well be none at all).

Experienced spicy foodies also have the option to amp up the spice level of Trader Joe's Chile Seasoned Dried Mangos if they so choose. In fact, it's actually a lot of peoples' favorite way to eat them. Customers say they enjoy eating these with a squeeze of lime and an extra sprinkle of Tajin seasoning — exactly how your local mango stand would do it. Others even said they sometimes drizzle them with chamoy, a Mexican street food staple that is surprisingly versatile. If you like it, you should try adding it to any of your other favorite fruit candies for a tangy twist. You could even try drizzling it on some of TJ's other dried fruits such like the Passion Fruit Rounds or the Chile Spiced Pineapples.