Mariani Apricots Make a Great Snack

Dried apricots have a tendency to be more dried than apricot. A lot of times each individual little apricot is so dried out it barely has a flavor left in it at all. And usually they look less than appealing as they have a whitish color about them and look small and shriveled up as opposed to looking plump, juicy and having a vibrant orange-like color quality about them.

I love dried apricots, and when I am dieting, they are one of the finest things to have around, both high in fiber and low in calories. They are also a convenient way of eating what is normally a messy fruit when eat fresh. Personally, I like to keep a bag of dried apricots in my bag as a snack, especially when I go to the movie theater. Dried apricots actually taste great in all kinds of salads, mixed with nuts and granola for an easy trail mix, or just by themselves, but it is essential to find a dried apricot that tastes good.

If you like your dried apricots more apricot than dried, try out Mariani premium Mediterranean apricots. They are always plump, juicy, and have a 'pow' flavor that just does not quit. I have kept these apricots on hand at all times for about a year, and I have yet to get a bad batch. The color consistency is always a robust and vibrant orange, the shape and size is always larger and less shriveled looking than other brands and their juicy textures leaves them tasting better than any other dried apricot product currently on the market.

As far as I can tell, Mariani dried apricots are widely available at grocery stores and mass merchandisers everywhere. I have found them in every kind of store, from Super Wal-Mart to specialty health food grocery stores, such as Whole Foods. The prices vary considerably between these locations, but whatever I end up paying for them, I always find them worth the price. And they are always competitively priced with other brands of dried apricots that share shelf space with the Mariani brand.

If I have one complaint with the product, it's the packaging. It comes in a 6 oz. bag. I would love to see the product in smaller pouches. It's a fairly large bag, and apricot juice can get rather sticky, so when you are digging your hand down into the bottom of the bag, you can end up with quite a mess. This can be a problem if you are eating them at work and work in an office building where the bathrooms are all the way down the hall.

Check out all the Mariani dried fruit products at: http://www.mariani.com/prod_intro1.html.

The website also has recipes!