UPDATE: While I enjoyed these boxes, I think it’s only fair to let you know that Try the World charged me for two additional boxes that I never received. I’m currently trying to resolve this issue, but it’s difficult because there is NO contact phone number for customer service, only email (I know it’s the 21st century, but that still gets under my skin). I’ll update again about how / if it’s resolved.
Not a sponsored post in any way—just a product I love and wanted to share.
Have you heard of Try the World? It’s one of those subscription boxes that are so popular right now. Every two months, you receive a new box of gourmet foods / ingredients, and each box is full of goodies from a different country (or sometimes a specific city or region).
The price per box varies based on the length of the subscription. I haven’t subscribed—yet—but I ordered this month’s box, which is Moroccan–themed.
What’s in the box:
- 6 Moroccan foods / ingredients
- a card explaining each item
- a culture guide to Marrakesh
The cards also have icons that indicate different good–to–know details about each item, such as:
- family business
- antique recipe
- supports local community
- all natural / organic
- sustainably grown
Honestly, I thought the culture guides might be cheesy, but they’re quite helpful. Each guide includes recipes from the country / region, a list of songs to set the mood (with a link to the playlist on the Try the World website), and a list of movies and a poem from the country / region.
Here we have dari (aka organic whole wheat cous cous), tajini (tajine sauce), and sardines. I’ve never tried sardines, but I’m pretty excited about them.
And here we have some Moroccan biscuits, kefta rub, and culinary argan oil.
I’m thinking about roasting beef with kefta rub and serving it with dari and tajini on the side. We’ll probably have pita dipped in argan oil as an appetizer, and I’m sure I’ll try a few sardines (while my husband holds his nose and looks in the other direction). And biscuits for dessert, of course!
We’re such nerds that we’ll probably listen to the playlist while we eat and then watch one of the recommended movies. We’re really nailing this whole adulthood thing.
Something I really like about the box is that it’s not a one–meal kind of deal. We’ll probably eat the biscuits in one sitting and finish off the box of dari pretty quickly—and goodness knows I won’t be storing open sardines for long—but I’ll work the leftover tajini sauce into our meals over the next few weeks. And the argan oil and the kefta rub will last for a while, so I’m excited about those additions to our spice cabinet.
Yes, I get excited about additions to our spice cabinet. It’s a nonstop circus over here, as I’m sure you can tell.
Bonus: When I ordered the Marrakesh box, Try the World had a buy one / get one free deal going on. Our free box was Parisian–themed.
Cue the Paris visuals!
Okay, back to the free box.
What’s in the box:
- 7 Parisian foods / ingredients
- a card explaining each item
- a culture guide to France
The culture guide for France has recipes, songs, movies, poetry, AND a quick guide to museums and cafes in Paris.
Here we have the savory items: fleur de sel, organic jam, and whole grain mustard. I may or may not have done a happy dance for each one of these items as I unpacked the box.
And here we have the sweets: chocolate truffles, salted butter caramels, pate de fruit, and a “mystery treat” (in the case of our box, shortbread).
Most of these items are either desserts we’ll eat in one sitting or ingredients we’ll enjoy for a while. Fleur de sel is one of those things the Barefoot Contessa talks about and I just nod knowingly, like I’m not about to just use the same Morton’s kosher salt I use in everything, so I am totally going to feel like a chef with this stuff.
Thank goodness the other boxes only arrive once every two months. This time around was all the spice cabinet excitement a girl can handle in one sitting.
Stay tuned for Moroccan– and Parisian–themed meal planning! The fun never stops around here, people. Wink.