Trader Joe's Products (2002–2011)

[chezcherie]

They are stocking the frozen puff pastry again. I picked up six packages that should get me through Thanksgiving.

Dan

i have it on good authority that the fab puff pastry is only going to be stocked seasonally. i have cleared out my commercial freezer in order to ensure a year-long supply. for real. that stuff is good, and i question which season is "puff pastry season", as to me, that's a year-round staple!

also, the new fleur de sel caramel sauce is scary-good. i've been wedging honeycrisp apples and dragging them through a puddle of the luscious stuff, nearly convincing myself that the apple makes the caramel a health food...

[Pierogi]

... the new fleur de sel caramel sauce is scary-good. i've been wedging honeycrisp apples and dragging them through a puddle of the luscious stuff, nearly convincing myself that the apple makes the caramel a health food...

I just got a jar of that last week, and I'm a-skeered to open it for fear I'll drink the whole thing straight. I have to ration their fleur de sel chocolate caramels each year for that very same reason.

[hsm]

Picked one up today. Along with a bag of frozen aebleskivers - love them, don't have the pan, hoping they're decent. Will report back.

[chezcherie]

re: the aebelskivers (and the caramel). i was a little disappointed that the aebelskivers didn't have a filling. all the ones i've ever had have been filled with apples (aebels??) or jam or lemon curd. so, i decided to "fix that" for a trader joe's cooking class this week.

we baked the aebelskivers so that they had a great crunch on the outside, but were still tender inside. then we split them 3/4 of the way through the center (so they looked like little pac-men!) and piped a lovely bloop of pumpkin cream cheese (also a new tj product, but one that's easily duplicated at home) in the middle. drizzled them with the aforementioned deadly fleur de sel caramel.

not one bit terrible.

at all.

[hsm]

Sounds really good, thanks. Or, uh-oh.

A friend's grandmother would make them for us occasionally and we'd fill them ourselves. With her homemade jam de jour. Miss her.

[annachan]

TJ does have some awesome snacks. I love those mini chocolate covered peanut butter crackers!!! They were around for a short while but I haven't seen them recently. Those Almond Thins and Waffle Cookies are also great.

Love the Plugra butter, puff pastry and pie crusts. Dried pasta and pasta sauces. Dried strawberries and coconuts. Mixed berries granola. Frozen chicken drumettes and mac n cheese.

[teagal]

Read this thread since I was going to Trader Joes for the first time this past Thursday. Totally agree about the Triple Ginger Snap Cookies. Wow, they are fantastic! Bought a jar of the Fleur de Sel caramel sauce and can't make up my mind--do I want to save it for myself or use it in a dessert for a pumpkin carving party I'm having next week. Hmmm. Also got a jar of their pumpkin butter and it looks good too. Today I had a cup of their Duchess Grey tea and it was good too. I'm definitely a convert; I'll be back. And that's saying something since I live 2 hours away.

[Octaveman]

If this has been posted before I apologize but I refuse to go through 506 posts to find out.

TJ's Garlic Naan is the BOMB.

[annachan]

I picked up a brioche loaf over the weekend and it's great! Very light and airy and buttery. It's perfect when toasted.

[JAZ]

I bought the "handmade" TJ corn tortillas on the recommendation of Russ Parsons in this article on quesadillas, but I was very disappointed. They were stale tasting and rubbery. I didn't notice when I bought them that they were only a few days from the "best by" date, but still, I expected better.

[nolnacs]

I am deeply, terribly addicted to the Just Dried Mangos that Trader Joe's has - they have a shelf life of about 2-3 days in my kitchen.

All the other dried mangos that they have are too cloyingly sweet for my tastes, but the unsweetened ones hit the right balance of sweet and tart with a nice chewiness to boot.

[Pierogi]

Octaveman, could not agree more on the garlic naan. It's seriously fabulous.

And JAZ, I also totally agree about the "handmade" tortillas. I bought them because of that same article, and had the same reaction. I'll take a decent commercial brand any day over those. I'm not a huge fan of TJ's regular corn tortillas, either, for that matter.

A couple of new finds that I was very pleased with. TJ's house brand refrigerated whack-a-can crescent rolls. They had none of that "artifical" taste that all of the Pilsbury canned rolls have. TJ's also has biscuits and cinnamon rolls in the fridge case as well, but I haven't tried those. The crescents, however were excellent.

And their refrigerated pomegranite juice is about 1/2 the price of the same size of POM Wonderful, and just as good.

[Toliver]

I enjoy their Belgian Dark Chocolate pudding. It's not an actual Trader Joe's product but they carry it in their dairy section.

I made a "Death by Chocolate" trifle for a Superbowl party using the pudding and it was a huge success. People were fighting over the leftovers.

[DanM]

They are now carrying dairy free coconut milk ice cream mochi from Thailand. I tried one last night and it was pretty good. The mochi is not as soft and chewy as other brands though.

[Jon Savage]

The TJ's house brand diced salt free orhanic tomatoes are great.

Their organic italian pasta is also excellent.

[chappie]

Today while making a speed-dash through TJ's I noticed some new (at least to the one we go to) premade, heat-em-up cheese fondues. Has anyone tried these? Looked like they had quality ingredients (even kirsch in one of them) and could be fun.

I never pass a TJs without loading up on their uncured applewood smoked bacon. Just phenomenal.

[Katie Meadow]

On a peanut specific thread somewhere TJ's blister peanuts were recommended. I tried them and they are great. They were all out of salted, so I bought unsalted and added gray sea salt as desired. Excellent. Since I've cut back on salt I am guessing the salted blister peanuts may be saltier than I require, so this works perfectly; my husband and I can customize our own bowls. Really addictive peanuts.

I've also lately been buying the house brand vegetable root chips and like them far better than any of the Terra products. And somewhere upthread someone mentioned the Pomegranate juice. Not quite as good as Pom Wonderful I think, but a close second and definitely good value.

[DanM]

I found julienned sun-dried tomatoes at Trader Joes on the new product shelf. They are incredibly moist and tasty. I highly recommend them.

Dan

[Big Joe the Pro]

'Scuse me if it's been mentioned but I believe that I read in the 'New York Times' today that Trader Joe's is owned by the Aldi company. I don't know why I was surprised by that but I was. I always liked Aldi, not many around (or at least there didn't used to be) but a decent store. I've only been to Trader's a few times, it's not my kind of place but I respect them.

This is the Aldi article, I believe you can click thru for free?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/business/30aldi.html?scp=1&sq=aldi&st=cse

Edited March 30, 2011 by Big Joe the Pro (log)

[Special K]

Just read this morning that Trader Joe's (and Whole Foods) refuse to sell foods with artificial coloring: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/health/policy/30fda.html (last paragraph).

[rickster]

'Scuse me if it's been mentioned but I believe that I read in the 'New York Times' today that Trader Joe's is owned by the Aldi company. I don't know why I was surprised by that but I was. I always liked Aldi, not many around (or at least there didn't used to be) but a decent store. I've only been to Trader's a few times, it's not my kind of place but I respect them.

This is the Aldi article, I believe you can click thru for free?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/business/30aldi.html?scp=1&sq=aldi&st=cse

I think it's maybe a technicality, but they're not owned by Aldi company, they're seperately owned by the German family that owns Aldi. It's come up before, but as you said, Aldi until very recently didn't have much visibility in the US outside of a few markets like Chicago, so it didn't mean much to most people who shop TJs

[DanM]

I found an interesting new coffee at Trader Joes. It is a blend of Arabica, cocoa powder, and natural fudge flavors. The chocolate adds a nice richness to the coffee.

[heidih]

I picked up some roasted seaweed strips yesterday. The packet was 99 cents. I can get all sorts of similar products from local Asian markets, but this was a nice small size at a reasonable price. The flavoring was sesame oil.

[Big Mike]

I live for the frozen langostinos. Thawed and tossed into a seafood salad or risotto they are fantastic. Also love the big honkin bar of dark chocolate to cook with. Makes a great souffle.

[ScoopKW]

I live for the frozen langostinos. Thawed and tossed into a seafood salad or risotto they are fantastic. Also love the big honkin bar of dark chocolate to cook with. Makes a great souffle.

I haven't seen langostinos in ages. I have a dip recipe that is wonderful. I'm going there tomorrow.