A couple of weeks ago, my friend Valerie of Valerie & Valise tweeted her vlog about her latest Try the World box.

She’s a travel guru and on any given weekend is traipsing about the globe visit fabulous places, taking beautiful pictures and eating amazing food. Needless to say, she inspires wanderlust in me on the regular.

Anyways… she tweeted about this Try the World thing. Not being one to turn down a good subscription box, I decided I needed to check out this nonsense. Generally, I’m of the opinion that if Valerie endorses something, I’m probably going to like it. This has been true since I was about 13. Things haven’t changed much.

The gist behind Try the World? Discovering the world through food. Every two months, you get a box of gourmet food from a different country. Simple and delicious. It’s a little pricey ($39 a box for the subscription that auto-renews every two months), but you can cancel any time and for what you’re getting (and where it’s coming from) I can handle that cost every two months.

I decided I needed to try this magic out, because if I can’t travel places, then at least I can eat the food.

When my first box arrived, I greeted it with glee!

Happiness is a box of treats from a foreign land

This is the Paris Box, and let me tell you, France is a wonderful place to start. Inside the box was a beautiful array of things that almost looked to pretty to eat. I didn’t let that stop me though, because I’m all about those snacks.

There are seven items in the Paris box – six pictured here, and a mystery treat (that I ate and forgot to get a picture of. Sorry I’m not sorry). Some things look or sound familiar (dark chocolate in any language is fine by me) and some I recognized with a little help from my high school French classes. Thank goodness the box comes with a card that describes each item!

What was in my box? Well, let’s take a look! The following descriptions are from the card… there’s no way I could describe food like this. My take on the food is in italics after. 

La Mere Poulard, sables – The famous restaurant and bakery namesd after its founder, La Mere Poulard, remains to this day a benchmark in French gastronomy for its variety, originality and light touch. With only five ingredients including salted butter from Brittany, these delightful cookies are loved by locals and visitors alike! These cookies were the bomb dot com. They are simple and don’t need any adornment – not too sweet but so, so yummy!

Maison d’Armorine, salted butter caramels – This delectable recipe was born in the summer of 1946 when the French celebrated the return to leisure at the beach in Brittany. Maison d’Armorine makes these salted butter caramels using Breton butter and Brittany’s famous fleur de sel. For any French gourmand, each bite of these chewy caramels evokes childhood memories of seaside holidays. It’s caramel. You can’t go wrong. I’ve only had one, but it was TASTY.

Domaine des Vignes, whole grain mustard – The origin of mustard production in France dates back to the Roman Empire, who exported the mustard seeds to Gaul, centures BC. Vineyard Domaine des Vignes uses vinegar produced from its grapes as a base for the mustard. Enjoy this mustard with charcuterie, with roasted meat, or as a dip.  I tried this in a marinade with some roasted chicken last week. Serious flavor. Definitely excited to find more things to use this with!

Charles Antona, Corsican jam – Charles Antona is a Corsican brand whose secret lies in its ingredients. Each fruit is ordained with the scent of herbs from bushes that cover the island, and staying true to his grandmother’s recipes, Antona combines Mediterranean herbs and local fruit in his line of preserves. Mine was cherry. I tried a little on one of the sables cookies… I didn’t regret it. 

Celement Faugier, chestnut spread – This unique recipe was created by master confectioner Clement Faugier in 1885 and combines chestnuts picked in the Ardeche region with a delightful hint of vanilla. This delicious puree can be used alone as a dessert, enjoyed with cookies, used as a sweet topping for yogurt, or spread on toast, a croissant or fresh brioche. I totally put this on one of the cookies as well, and I’m newly obsessed with it. I want a croissant right now, because I’d slather this nonsense all over it. Chestnut spread. Who knew?

Flagrants Desirs, dark chocolate bar with raspberry – With this 72% cocoa chocolate, Flagrants Desirs continues the tradition of the greatest European master chocolatiers. They achieve this rich cocoa taste by using only real cocoa butter, unlike industrial chocolate producers that ofter use other vegetable fats. This fine selection of cocoa beans mixed with a delicate balance of fruity aroma is a perfect midpoint between milk and dark chocolate. I don’t even need to say anything else about this. Because that pretty much summed it up. Rich, dark, chocolaty deliciousness. More please.

The mystery treat? Two gummy candies – one pear-flavored, the other apricot. Both were very fruity, but in the natural way, not the fake candy fruit flavor way. The pear one tasted just like I was biting into a pear. Swearsies. Super yum. And not too sweet! I usually don’t enjoy candy that much because I don’t eat a lot of sugar and even a little can sometimes be too much. These were very good, and just enough sweetness to do the job.

I don’t get another box for another couple of months, but I’m excited to see what’s next! Try the World is a great way to travel the world on a budget – the world comes to you!

If you’re interested in Try the World, use my referral link: http://fbuy.me/bVMjQ and get $15 off your subscription!