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Trader Joe's Artisan Puff Pastry

mukki

By mukki
in Pastry & Baking

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Tri2Cook

Tri2Cook

Posted
Posted

Sounds good but I'm in Canada so I guess I'll have to just keep making it myself. I don't mind making it but I'd like having the option to buy it available.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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gfron1

gfron1

Posted
Posted
Well phooey! I just went and bought my first-ever package of Dufours--for THIRTEEN DOLLARS--then I come here and read this!

Quick, somebody tell me the Dufours is 2.5 times better than TJ's.

Sorry - you're out of luck. Dufours may have a slight taste edge, but not 2.5 times better.

Chef, Bulrush & Squatters in St. Louis, MO

BBC Write-up

Smithsonian magazine story

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MGLloyd

MGLloyd

Posted
Posted

I stopped by TJs on my way home from work just to buy the puff pastry and apricot tart. Of course, I ended up buying the ingredients to make a delicious eggplant parmesan, but I scored the pastry. Now to think about what to do with it......

Regards,

Michael Lloyd

Mill Creek, Washington USA

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achevres

achevres

Posted
Posted

Just got mine yesterday at TJs at the Gateway Shopping Center in Wayne -- off 202 near King of Prussia.

I'm so excited. I rarely check the dessert section at TJs, so without this thread who knows when I would've found it. I've made my own, but would rather buy it, of course.

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Priscilla

Priscilla

Posted
Posted

What a fabulous product... JGarner's lovely tart pictured on the package duly noted.

I deckled the edges and used it as a top over chicken and sauteed mushrooms in a sauce of chicken stock and cream. A little egg wash for shine, wonderful puff and flavor.

A boon. Reminds me in a very good way of the Olden Days of Trader Joe's.

Priscilla

Writer, cook, & c. ●  Twitter

 

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etalanian

etalanian

Posted
Posted

I looked for it in the Jenkintown Trader Joe's yesterday and couldn't find it. Is it being discontinued? Does anyone have any information about it?

Thanks,

Eileen

Eileen Talanian

HowThe Cookie Crumbles.com

HomemadeGourmetMarshmallows.com

As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists. ~Joan Gussow

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  • 4 weeks later...
mukki

mukki

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)
Is this the same stuff (and maker) of the pain au chocolat? Oh my goodness (even if they are labeled Chocolate Croissants.)

I believe that chocolate croissants are made by Galaxy Desserts, maker of the Williams Sonoma croissants. (Puff pastry is made by Bay Bread.) The croissants are quite good -- wish they'd carry the plain, though.

By the way, the chocolate croissants from WS are $39.95 for 15, plus the cost of overnight shipping, but only $4 for a box of 4 at TJs. :smile:

Edited by mukki (log)
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cajungirl

cajungirl

Posted
Posted

Well, this is the last thing my chubby butt needed to know, but I'm on my way to TJ's... Guess I can work it off after the holidays :biggrin:

Just a simple southern lady lost out west...

"Leave Mother in the fridge in a covered jar between bakes. No need to feed her." Jackal10

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MelissaH

MelissaH

Posted
Posted

We finally had the opportunity to use some over Thanksgiving. (We live a six-hour drive from the nearest TJ's, and nothing frozen would be frozen still by the time it got home. Ah, the joys of a station wagon!)

We baked it blind, and heaped slow-cooked onions over the top. Delicious.

MelissaH

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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fooey

fooey

Posted
Posted

I decided to try Trader Joe's Artisan Puff Pastry by making a Pithiviers with it.

If you're interested, were discussing Pithiviers here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=103374

Verdict: It works in pinch for appetizers (such as those suggested on the box), but if you're making speciality pastries (like Pithiviers), I would avoid it for several reasons:

1. The size of the sheets is just too small, limiting your range.

2. There are fork holes in the pastry, which I assume are made to stop shrinkage; but, if you have to flour the surface for rolling, the flour gets into the holes and stays there.

3. The flavour is, for lack of a better term, "off". It's supposed to be all-butter puff pastry and, indeed, that's what it says on the box. It smells like butter too, but the taste is just off. It's a flavour I associate with shortening or oil, but there's no mention of shortening in the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS (as listed on box): Wheat flour, Butter (milk), Salt, Sugar, Water.

4. The puff pastry's "puff performance" is just OK, nothing impressive. As you can see from the images on the box (which are accurate) and the ones I post below, it puffs well enough, but no where near as much as one might expect. It could be the number of pastry "turns" or some other reason, but if you're expecting it to behave like homemade puff pastry with substantial puff, this won't do it for you. Caveat: I rolled the sheets to 12 x 12; had I not rolled the sheets of pastry, it's puff could/may have have been more substantial. When I have more time, I will try making a mini-Pithiviers and NOT roll the dough, just to see if it puffs more.

BUT! IT COSTS $5. I can nit pick it until it melts, but it still costs $5 and takes zero time to make.

Here are some pictures.

You can see the anti-shrinkage holes (and how they picked up the flour) in this photo.

gallery_25933_5513_288238.jpg

Rolled out to about 12 x 12.

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Fooey's Flickr Food Fotography

Brünnhilde, so help me, if you don't get out of the oven and empty the dishwasher, you won't be allowed anywhere near the table when we're flambeéing the Cherries Jubilee.

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Mottmott

Mottmott

Posted
Posted
I looked for it in the Jenkintown Trader Joe's yesterday and couldn't find it. Is it being discontinued? Does anyone have any information about it?

Thanks,

Eileen

Check with them again, I checked center city before going there today to make sure it's in the store. It's there.

"Half of cooking is thinking about cooking." ---Michael Roberts

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plafield

plafield

Posted
Posted

I just made a treck to the nearest TJ and bought the last 3 packages. I can't wait to try it! Making puff is way too much work for me and it never turns out quite right so I'm psyched about this product. I'm going against the advice here and I'm going to try a pithivier for Chistmas. I'll let you know how it turns out!

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Patapsco Mike

Patapsco Mike

Posted
Posted

FWIW my wife and kids freak out over this stuff. I just cut the whole thing into triangles. I put a lump of brie onto one- then another goes on top. Use a fork to seal the edges, and brush with egg wash. A few minutes in the oven and it's ready. I've yet to have one make it to room temperature before it's devoured.

Any dish you make will only taste as good as the ingredients you put into it. If you use poor quality meats, old herbs and tasteless winter tomatoes I don’t even want to hear that the lasagna recipe I gave you turned out poorly. You're a cook, not a magician.

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plafield

plafield

Posted
Posted

I used the TJ puff paste to make a pithivier and it was OK but not great. I had to roll the pastry out pretty thin to get it big enough to hold the almond cream and then it started to burn on the botom before it was cooked all the way through. Not great.

But it was fabulous to wrap around a wheel of good brie covered with homemade cherry preserves. I baked it for an hour on one of those "air pocket" cookie sheets so it didn't burn on the bottom and cooked all the way through. It looked gorgeous and was delicious. If I knew how to post a picture I'd share it with you all! But I can't figure out how to post a pic!

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plafield

plafield

Posted
Posted
I used the TJ puff paste to make a pithivier and it was OK but not great. I had to roll the pastry out pretty thin to get it big enough to hold the almond cream and then it started to burn on the botom before it was cooked all the way through. Not great.

But it was fabulous to wrap around a wheel of good brie covered with homemade cherry preserves. I baked it for an hour on one of those "air pocket" cookie sheets so it didn't burn on the bottom and cooked all the way through. It looked gorgeous and was delicious. If I knew how to post a picture I'd share it with you all! But I can't figure out how to post a pic!

OK here's a pic

gallery_57376_5563_642566.jpg

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  • 7 months later...
tsquare

tsquare

Posted
Posted (edited)

Now they are stocking Canneles! Anyone know if these are from Bay Breads, Galaxy Desserts, or? They are beeswaxed, crisp, and creamy. Oh my.

And to stay on topic - I used the puff pastry to make cheese straws with black pepper and aged cheddar - inhaled quickly.

Edited by tsquare (log)
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jgarner53

jgarner53

Posted
Posted

Gah, really? I left Bay Bread last month (and there was no word about making cannele for TJ's then). If so, that would be a production nightmare!

(I am now at Tartine Bakery, still in SF).

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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tsquare

tsquare

Posted
Posted
Gah, really? I left Bay Bread last month (and there was no word about making cannele for TJ's then). If so, that would be a production nightmare!

(I am now at Tartine Bakery, still in SF).

Congratulations, yes?

The sign for canneles was still on the freezer case, but no product last week. Stockers said they hadn't seen them for a while. Just as well, I suppose.

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