Trader Joe’s Fruit Sauce Crushers Taste Too Funky

Published on Friday, September 23, 2011, by James Norton / Edit Post

Trader Joe's Fruit Sauce Crushers

Trader Joe's Fruit Sauce Crushers

I Paid: $2.99 for four 3.17-ounce pouches (prices may vary by region)

Taste: 2 stars

Marketing: 5 stars

Mashed fruit in a bag that can be sucked out with a straw, Trader Joe's Fruit Sauce Crushers are low in calories (60 per serving), portable, and made with healthful fruit. But there was a musty background note about them that made me wonder if they aren't just a way for Trader Joe's to use up overripe, funky produce.

The Apple variety tasted overly sweet, with a mealy, off finish. Apple Banana had the same problem. And the carrot flavor of the Apple Carrot variety was aggressively earthy. (As an important side note, my wife—whose tasting notes generally line up with my own—actually liked these. If you're a Trader Joe's fan already and want to take a chance on a snack, give the Fruit Sauce Crushers a shot and let us know in the comments section who was correct.)

But regardless of whether the Fruit Sauce Crushers are overly or merely acceptably funky, contrast them (as I did) with GoGo squeeZ, the lovely French-made applesauce-in-a-sack that I reviewed last summer. GoGo squeeZ tastes bright, clean, and fruity, and only costs about 30 cents more. With access to both, your choice should be clear.

James Norton edits the Upper Midwestern food journal Heavy Table. He's also the coauthor of a book on Wisconsin's master cheesemakers. For his Supertaster Daily videos, he samples offerings from supermarket aisles and fast-food menus. (Click here to see all of James's previous Supertaster work.) You can follow him on Twitter and fan him on Facebook.

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POST A COMMENT |7 Comments

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  • I don't know if they've changed but my youngest loved these in her preschool lunches a year ago. Didn't get mushed (like banana) or turn brown (like sliced apples). And she was able to eat them without making a mess. And as I recall, these were from France too.
    That being said, the one time I tried the applesauce one, it reminded me of babyfood.

  • I agree. These are terrible. I found the texture more objectionable than the actual taste however. Weird creamy-ness that just was all wrong.

  • These snacks, just like those Harvees/Harveys (sp?) pouches are pretty scary for kids (and adults). I agree it's probably a way to process older sub-par fruit, and worst of all, they are calorie bombs! Even if not disproportionately high in calories, kids suck down so many similar products like juice, smoothies, and fruity sugary "natural" products that are made with far more WHOLE fruit than...+READ

    These snacks, just like those Harvees/Harveys (sp?) pouches are pretty scary for kids (and adults). I agree it's probably a way to process older sub-par fruit, and worst of all, they are calorie bombs! Even if not disproportionately high in calories, kids suck down so many similar products like juice, smoothies, and fruity sugary "natural" products that are made with far more WHOLE fruit than kids can/would ever eat. It's the Jamba Juice factor - could you eat all that fruit and ice they blend in whole? How full would you feel? Now, how full are you after a smoothie? That's the issue.

    Still, better than ice cream, chips, etc. But more and more kids are getting type II diabetes - building early cravings for sugar and feeding an insulin roller coaster with sugar (albeit fructose) bombs like these.-COLLAPSE

  • I can't suck mashed fruit out of a straw. I can hardly swallow the tapioca balls in a bubble tea!

  • Isn't fresh fruit itself a pretty economical, portable, tasty, and healthy snack? I have to admit that the appeal of these kinds of things escape me. But I guess it's better than Jell-O.

  • GoGo Squeez- The french will never steer you wrong. Yummy.

  • My kids loves these but I tend to agree with your assessment.