Product Review: Seneca Original Apple Chips

Occasionally, I'll buy or be gifted some new products to try, and a big source of said products I try are airplane snacks. I know a few flight attendants, and I also know a few people who travel a lot because of their jobs but don't work for an airline. American Airlines is through the roof when it comes to both healthy and not so healthy vegan snack options, and the options, especially in first class but probably also in main cabin, rotate seasonally and are ever changing. My travelling friends and family bring home some of those items for me to try and see what I think of them. Some I have liked and some I haven't. One of the products I've been introduced to this way is Seneca Apple Chips, original flavor. I wouldn't rank them quite at the top but I would absolutely not rank them at the bottom either. This post will cover my thoughts regarding the taste, nutritional profile, and what I'd be inclined to do with them.

What I like about them

• Not greasy or messy
• I can taste the apple in them, moderately strong when it comes through and tastes realistic and authentic instead of the artificial apple flavor characteristic of apple flavored candies like lollipops and Jolly Ranchers.
• They used the flavor profile and other characteristics of the apple very effectively and didn't try to make the apple chips be something they're not.
• I also love that they left the skin on the apple chips because it makes them look really pretty for Instagram and most of the nutrients in apples are in the skin.

What I don't like about them

• They contain corn syrup in the middle of the ingredients list. Considering both that I consume almost no corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup, and that of the 9g sugar per serving, 7 are from the corn syrup (added sugar), I think that's a lot. For this reason, these should be consumed very sparingly.
• The corn syrup is also the first thing I taste. I had to look for the apple flavor. Though the apple flavor is quite apparent when it comes through, it takes some time for it to come through because the corn syrup dominates. Especially because these are original flavored and don't have any seasoning or much of an acidity, the corn syrup isn't doing the apple chips any favors.

What would I do with them?

I think these would be really good folded into a spice cake. Apples and spice go really well together and because these apple chips have been dehydrated, they would rehydrate in the cake batter and really take on those flavors in the process, adding another texture to the cake and the cake will also not need as much sugar. These would also go great in a salad with a vinaigrette dressing to help balance the acidity. As for snacking on the apple chips, I would prefer just eating a fresh apple or unsweetened freeze dried apples instead. They do come in other flavors that would likely have seasoning or more acidity to them to counteract the taste of the corn syrup, so I'd be interested to try the other flavors and see if I like those better.