Trader Joe's Pita Crisps With Cranberries & Pumpkin Seeds

Maybe it's my own fault. Maybe I didn't understand the basic nature of this product. I had thought it was to be savory, like potato chips, tortilla chips or even TJ's own vegetable root chips.

As a result, I had a rude awakening when I first bit into one and found that it was sweet, tasting more like it was intended to be a dessert than a dipping chip. The experience was kind of like when you think there's one more stair than there actually is, and your foot flails around, uncertain what went wrong.

I picked up some hummus on one, and my mouth sent all sorts of error messages to my brain. Incompatible things were being inappropriately mixed. Danger, Will Robinson!

Maybe these are actually fine, if used as a sweet, late-night snack, where one might otherwise go for, say, a bag of caramel popcorn or a bowl of ice cream. I can't say, because I didn't try them that way. I couldn't get past the idea that they should be salty rather than sweet. Frankly, I found it so jarring that as I sit here writing this I don't even have a clear memory of whether the pumpkin and cranberry components were separately identifiable. I suppose I could walk down the hall to the kitchen and eat a couple more of them to find out and report--but I really don't want to. I'd rather they just disappeared from my cupboard so that I don't have to figure out what they are, or how I'm supposed to use them.

Will I buy it again? 

No. Confusion does not beget fondness.

Now, we have an unusual situation here. Nina wrote her comments about these, then later forgot that she had done so, and sent me another review. So I might as well share both of them! The first one was written after just one tasting. The second was after she had had them several more times on visits to my place, and had, in fact, just finished off the bag.


Nina's View (1) 

I liked these, but NOT as appetizers or crackers. They are practically cookies, what with the sprinkling of sugar on them. They make a nice snack. They would be great with tea. I would eat the rest of the bag Bob is threatening to throw out.

Nina's View (2) 

I actually LOVE these. They are flavorful, sweet but not too sweet, and *different.* Unlike most pita chip products, I would almost never use these with a dip—it would have to be something quite particular, maybe yoghurt or cream cheese based and not salty, for them to work. Hummus is a DEFINITE NO. They do pair nicely with certain kinds of cheese (like the cinnamon dusted toscano). They also go great with applesauce as a dessert pairing.

In my opinion Bob needs to give these things another chance. Me, I'm mourning their passing as a seasonal product, because I would happily munch on them all year 'round.