Try The World March-April 2016 Subscription Box Review + Coupon – Portugal Box

Try The World is a bimonthly international food subscription box – every month you’ll get new treats and delicacies delivered from a new destination! Every Try The World box includes 7-10 artisanal food items, a card describing each product, and a culture guide & recipes! So far they have curated boxes from France, Japan, Brazil, Italy, Turkey, India, Thailand, and the UK with the most unique and authentic products you won’t easily find where you live (they directly import many of the products featured in their boxes). Every box includes $60+ of delicious food from a different country. Boxes are $39 – lower with longer subscriptions!

The box has a new look and feel, although the outer box is the same, the shape is a bit different!  This is one of the few subscription boxes that comes in a truly reusable box — it’s both sturdy and attractive enough to use as a keepsake box.

So gorgeous and they really packed everything in!

The included Culture Guide will give you tips and ideas on how to immerse yourself in the culture represented in the box with recipes, a playlist, and travel inspiration.

The Culture Guide has a map that shows the geographic origin of each item in the box.

The information card gives the facts on every item in the box. There are small icons indicating whether the item is produced by a small family business, supports local community, is a traditional recipe, or is natural or organic or sustainably grown.

There are recipes on the back and some local flavor too!

Everything in the Portugal box! The items reflect the culinary bounty of the country, augmenting its rich agriculture with the fruits of the sea gained by both harvest and trade.

Olivais do Sul Extra Virgin Olive Oil:  Though not the first country to come to mind when thinking of olive oil, Portugal produces a complex and distinct variety of the staple.  Grown in the interior of the country, this oil is cold-pressed and ideal for dressing foods or serving at table.

Paladin Sacana Piri-Piri:  A popular condiment made primarily from vinegar and piri-piri peppers.  Though the composition is similar to a chunky Tabasco sauce, the unique flavor of the pepper variety makes it an altogether different experience.  The irreverent packaging features a devil-horned array of peppers and a colorful piece of Portuguese slang.

Casa Lucena Classic Lemon Cookies:  A crisp butter cookie infused with real lemon, this treat shows off both the sweets culture and wonderful produce of the country.

You can see the crispness of the cookie just looking at the crystalline texture of the surface.   They remind me a bit of the guava cookies made in Hawaii, but flavored with Portuguese citrus.

RARE by Quinta de Jugais Pumpkin and Hazelnut Jam:  One of my new favorites for toast, this saucy jam has little bits of hazelnut throughout and a wonderful, light pumpkin flavor — the pumpkin is used a bit like the Japanese incorporate purple yam into sweets — it is subtle and lends a presence as much as a flavor.

Hands On Earth Sal E Limao:  Portuguese sea salt infused with real lemon.  The flavor is bright and powerful — substituting this coarse salt for table salt in any recipe would impart a strong citrus essence to the dish.

Prisca Caramelized Onions with Balsamic Reduction and Port Wine:  This blend was more of a jam than I expected.  The balsamic vinegar brings out the sweetness in the onions — and it showcases port, one of Portugal’s most prized spirits.

Left to right on plate:  piri-piri, pumkin jam, and caramelized onions.  The textures of the latter two were the big surprises — the pumpkin jam was almost pourable, and the onions had a good deal of sauce.

Briosa Codfish in Olive Oil:  Portugal has a rich history of seafaring, and salted cod, or bacalhau, remains a staple food.  This version is canned in oil, so no soaking or desalinating is required.

It Black Tea:  Aromatised with apple and cinnamon, this rustic tea incorporates flowers from the mountains in the East of Portugal.  Portugal “discovered” Japan in the 16th century, and this item speaks to the richness of foreign trade enabled by Portuguese seafaring.

Try the World is one of the better sampler boxes for foreign cuisine.  It focuses on single country in each bimonthly box, which is helpful in getting a sense of the culinary tradition.  I also like the nature of the items provided — all products are high-end, and they also tend to be popular brands with a wide following and rich history.

Visit Try The World to subscribe or find out more. Save 15% off all subscriptions and gift orders with coupon code  HELLOSUBSCRIPTION15.