Product Review: Tanka Bars–Serious Native American Snacks

The Tanka Bar 70 calories and 7 grams of protein. Good job, Native American Natural Foods!

Okay, as many of you know, I’m on Twitter (I’d love it if you’d follow me–there’s a wee bird icon in my sidebar).  There is no shortage of Cool People on Twitter, and many of them are there, at least in part, to help raise awareness about a new product.  And that’s how I met @TankaBar We began to chat, as folks are wont to do on Twitter, and I found out that they were developing a snack/energy bar based on Native American pemmican and wasna.  They were calling their product “Tanka Bar” and launching it as the first in a line of brands from their parent company, Native American Natural Foods.  When they asked if anyone was interested in participating in a taste test, I tweeted something along the lines of “heck, yeah–send me some snacks!”

One of the hazards of reviewing products is being seen as somewhat less-than-unbaised in the review.  After all, they sent the snacks, so maybe I need to be Extra Special Nice about the review, right?  I can understand that, and I wanted the Tanka Bar folks to know that I would be very honest in my review.  I sent them a link to my review of some blood orange juice that I did awhile back, so they would know what my style is and that I would talk about the good and the not-s0-good as honestly and fairly as possible.  I have an obligation to my readers to be honest and truthful (I realize that’s redundant–that’s how much I mean it), and I wanted the Tanka Bar folks to know that I wasn’t going to break trust with my readers over some free snacks (and some temporary tattoos).  They were very gracious and said that they wanted my honest feedback, and they also emailed me a questionnaire to fill out and send back to them after my tasting.  And then, the Tanka Bars arrived in the mail.

I received samples of three Tanka Bar products, all of which are based on the daring duo of buffalo and cranberry:  their Tanka Bar, Tanka Bites Hot & Spicy and Tanka Wild Sticks.  All three are similar in flavor, although I would certainly be able to tell the three apart in a blind tasting.  The Tanka Wild Sticks contain wild rice as well as buffalo and cranberry, so their flavor has a slight “cereal” edge.

I shared my snacks with a friend who happened to be in town and The Beloved.  All three of us tried all three snacks, and all of us liked them Very Much.  Each of us had a favorite.  I really liked the Tanka Bites Hot & Spicy, The Beloved’s favorite was the Tanka Wild Stick, and Celeste’s choice was the original Tanka Bar.  So, now, I guess I’d better describe the flavor.

The cool Tanka Bar logo

For all three products, think savory beef jerky (but healthier, because it’s buffalo) combined with just the right amount of moist, tart dried cranberries.  While straight up jerky can be very dry and splintery, the cranberry in the Tanka Bar keeps the texture nice and moist, so all the products are a little chewy but not tough.  There is no having to wrench your head around while pulling away with your hand in order to tear off a piece of beef bark.  These have an easy bite but a nice chew.  The Hot&Spicy Tanka Bites have some jalapeno and habanero blended into the mix.  But don’t let that scare you.  While they do deliver a very slow chile burn, they are by no means too hot to handle.  I will say that, while the flavor of these little guys was my favorite, the texture was a bit uneven–I guess because of the peppers, which can feel a little slippery in the mouth.

You guys know how terrible I am at remembering to take pictures, and I apologize for my inadequacies, but I will now attempt to paint a picture with words.  While jerky usually comes in thin, scary shards, the Tanka Bar and the Tanka Bites are about 1/4″-1/3″ thick.  The Tanka Bar is roughly the size of a small granola bar, and the bites come in 3/4″ squares.  The Tanka Wild Sticks look very similar to other thin meat stick products.  Since we’re talking meat products here, don’t expect a brightly colored bar.  Tanka Bars are dark, a little lumpy and none-too-attractive, but they have a great smoky/spicy/sweet aroma.  Plus, they really taste quite good.

We are not a huge jerky-buying family.  I think the last time that I bought jerky was a year or so ago, and I’m not sure that I would necessarily buy these if I hadn’t tried them beforehand.  My initial thought on the buffalo/cranberry pairing was “Huh.  Interesting.” not “Let me at ‘em.”  The flavors really do work together nicely–the sweet-tart of the cranberry is a wonderful foil to the spicy-smoky of the buffalo.

They sent some keen temporary tattoos, too.

On a completely non taste-related note, I love that Native American Natural Foods is poised to break out and away from the reservation and out into mainstream America.  On a personal level, I wish them the best, and as a consumer, I have to say that, if I see a Tanka Bar staring at me from the shelf at my grocery store, I would probably buy one or two.  Or some Tanka Bites.

And some Wild Sticks for The Beloved.