Review: Walden Farms Strawberry Fruit Spread

Next up in the Walden Farms series:  Strawberry Fruit Spread.  While I personally thing strawberries are the most overrated fruit there is (blueberries are so much better), I still do appreciate strawberries and strawberry flavored food products.  Walden Farms markets this and their other fruit spreads as a calorie free alternative to jelly/strawberry spreads and I was anxious to try it out based on a tip from a commenter at WouldIBuyItAgain.com.  This was picked up at Kroger for about $3.50.

Texturally, this is pretty much just like jelly.  It wiggles, it wobbles and does everything you'd expect jelly to do.  The only thing that is missing is the strawberry bits that you occasionally find in strawberry jellies and spreads.  Other than that, there's not much I can add here.

When you taste the flavor profile, your first thought is that this really is like jelly.  It's got a strong strawberry flavor and honestly, if you put this next to real strawberry jelly/spread, you'd be hard pressed to find the difference.  The only thing that would may allow you to determine the difference it the aforementioned texture difference of the missing strawberry bits.  Frankly, this tastes outstanding.

The one thing that this lacks is what it is supposed to do:  serve as a spread!  When you try to spread it over a piece of bread, a graham cracker or whatever, it clumps up and does not spread evenly at all.  Basically, it just sticks in one piece and is not really malleable at all unless you take a spoon and flatten it out and sometimes that is more effort that it is worth.

Since it is not a very good spread, I use this more as a dip or a mix in to oatmeal.  Sure, its lack of malleability makes it difficult to use as a dip at times, but if you can figure out how to dip it just right, you are really going to love it.  Also, when  used in oatmeal, it's lack of malleability can be distracting, but when you do encounter that nice little strawberry pop as you are working your way through your bowl, you are going to love it.

Buy It or Fly By It?  This one's pretty obvious, don't you think?  Definitely BUY IT.  I'm so glad that the commenter turned me onto this because I always buy at least two jars every time I walk by it in the store because once I open a jar, it never lasts more than four days since I continually find ways to use it as a dip or an add-in.  If you make the purchase, I think your reaction will be pretty much the same.

BUY IT!!