Trader Joe's Products (2012–2015)

[rotuts]

is Kefir similar to Lassi ?

[Ashen]

Unless TJ got their "Kobe beef" from the designated producers in Japan itself then their "Kobe Beef Burgers" are illegally labeled (let alone incorrectly labeled) even if they say it is "American Style".

the last I had hear on the subject. Kobe trademark is not legally recognized in the USA. Similar to how protected origin status for many foods is not honoured in North america. many California wineries claim to produce champagne or kraft uses the word Parmesan on their green cans of sawdust , or how just about every cheesemaker in NA has a line of feta .

[Shel_B]

is Kefir similar to Lassi ?

Similar, in that both drinks are tangy and somewhat thick. Kefir is made from milk, lassi is made from yogurt (which is made from milk)with added liquid such as water or milk. Both contain various cultures. If you like lassi, you'd probably enjoy kefir. Here's some more and perhaps better info: http://www.differencebetween.net/object/comparisons-of-food-items/difference-between-kefir-and-yogurt/

Edited August 28, 2013 by Shel_B (log)

[rotuts]

Ill take a peek next time Im at TJ's

so Kefir is cultured milk that's not quite all the way to yogurt?

sort of like what used to be true buttermilk?

[Toliver]

Ill take a peek next time Im at TJ's

so Kefir is cultured milk that's not quite all the way to yogurt?

sort of like what used to be true buttermilk?

It's more "liquid-y" than yogurt, though it still has a thickness to it. I am lactose intolerant have used kefir with my morning cereal instead of milk. Kefir is something like 98 to 99% lactose free (check the labels of your local brand for more info).

My TJ also sells a strawberry version and a pomegranate version, both of which taste quite good.

Kefir contains much more live/active bacteria cultures than regular yogurt. Where yogurt may have one strain of bacteria, kefir can have 10 or more different cultures depending on the maker.

[rotuts]

Im going to be making my own kefir, having tasted Tjs's

either from TJ's as a culture media or commercial granules

i got out my microscope and read TJ's ingredients It contains inulin.

Ill let you read about this stuff on your own. its not poison, but Ill pass.

[Shel_B]

Im going to be making my own kefir, having tasted Tjs's

either from TJ's as a culture media or commercial granules

i got out my microscope and read TJ's ingredients It contains inulin.

Ill let you read about this stuff on your own. its not poison, but Ill pass.

What are your concerns about inulin?

[rotuts]

its a very large polysacchiride

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inulin

its not metabolized by the body, and indeed is injected IV into people to get the true value of renal function. ( i know this as i volunteered back in the day)

consumed it passes into the large bowel and gets converted to gas by what ever is living there. It causes the "rooty-toot-toot" as Julia Child called it, from beans.

its water soluble, and is in the bean 'water'

commercially its added to yogurt type stuff due to claims it 'feeds' the good bacteria etc. it feeds all live things in your colon. the good and the bad.

studies have shown that some of the bad gobble this up faster than the good. but thats a fine point.

Id rather have the option of not having any, in kefir, yoghurt, beans. not more complicated than that.

BTW Ive got a kefir granules on the way via ebay ( 14 USAD ) delived and will make my own kefir and stop making my own yoghurt as this seems to be a lot easier to do.

thanks for the tip to try TJ's Kafir or id still be making yogurt!

Edited September 4, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

rotuts - good idea. Most of my everyday wines come from TJ, so I will make sure to report my finds to this thread.

[rotuts]

there is a Chardonnay that I "enjoy" next time i get a Bottle Ill post the pic and my thoughts.

[rotuts]

the Mods have split off the Tj's wine topic here:

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/145660-trader-joe-wine-finds/

join up. pull a cork. tell us what you think about Aged Rhinoceros Tusk with hints of vanilla and tobacco.

twist tops OK.

< 10, < 8 better. bottom shelf or just above.

leaky corks OK too. i generally get those!

[rotuts]

TJ's Mushroom Ravioli w Mushroom truffle sauce. FZ

this may have been mentioned before, might have even been me.

its a bit cooler now so I had some last night,. delicious. crusty bread. green salad etc

the ravioli are frozen separately from the sauce, which is cut up into thin squares. there a little black bits in the sauce squares.

cant say that they are truffles. but its an ingenious way to make a portion of the pack at once rather than the whole.. just pick

out your ravioli and some sauce bits. i think the sauce can use a bit of water at the get go.

very good flavor. mushroom ++. so good I didnt bother to check the NaCL content!

good with TJ's mid-to-lower shelf red wine.

FD: NaCl = 1320 / pack. 1/2 pack is a decent meal with other things.

Edited September 18, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Shel_B]

TJ's Mushroom Ravioli w Mushroom truffle sauce. FZ

Thanks for the pointer to the 'shroom ravioli. I just returned from TJ's ... had I seen your post, I'd have picked up a couple of packages. Oh well ... I'll get 'em on the next trip, maybe this weekend.

[rotuts]

FD: I added fresh finely chopped green onion tops after some TJ's Parmesan grated coarse for the last micro burst.

I also looked at the label more carefully always a problem the bits of dark spots of course are not

truffles. they are just dark bits.

there is some truffle flavored oil near the bottom of the ingredients: 1 drop / very

large vat.

I still like this a lot at the right times of the year. and crusty bread adds a lot and if you can manage it a green salad.

Edited September 18, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Shel_B]

Trader Joe's Organic Pasta from Italy (http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article.asp?article_id=972): I bought a package of this spaghetti this afternoon because, when looking at the pasta through the clear wrapper, I could see the roughness on the strands suggesting the spaghetti was made the "old fashioned" way, using bronze dies. The color is similar to many of the artisan Italian pastas I've tried over the years. The price, at $1.29 for a pound, is pretty darned good, too.

The ingredient list is quite short: Organic Durum Wheat Semolina. I like that simplicity.

Had I not committed to a cauliflower dish for dinner tonight, I'd be cooking this spaghetti and giving it a taste test. Has anyone tried this? Comments?

Edited September 25, 2013 by Shel_B (log)

[Hassouni]

I just thawed some TJ's wild sockeye salmon in my fridge overnight and proceeded to cut it up into little chunks for a stew. I pretty much never do this, I only cook the fillets whole or in simple cross-grain slices. The texture was terrible! Lots of the pieces fell apart. I've noticed that thawed frozen fish often has a looser texture, but this was really unacceptable. Has anyone else noticed this with TJ's salmon?

[rotuts]

Yes. I often use TJ's Fz fish. and I do know what true 'fresh' salmon is like:

http://www.cooksseafood.com/

I used to get the finest salmon here, almost every day.

but TJ's id thaw slowly, then blot out all the extra water. Id also try to by salmon that is closest to the head:

that's where the fat and flavor is. those tails? perhaps you know a Cat ....

the sear and eat.

but it's not what i mentioned above.

and indeed, 'fresh' seafood is doubt-full just ask your fish monger is you might 'sniff' the fish before yoy buy.

it should have the aroma of nothing. perhaps the sea? far out sea? no oil spills?

[Shel_B]

I've been a big fan of TJ's for many years. Between Toots and me, we're in our local store three times a week. The last few times I've shopped, I've been very disappointed.

It's fall, and it's apple season, yet the bag of organic apples I picked up from TJ's were a big disappointment. The apples were not crisp and fresh tasting, rather, they tasted old, and were somewhat mushy for the type of apples they were.

I purchased a package of leaks, and the leeks turned out to be slimy.

I bought a jar of organic, crunchy almond butter, and it tasted rancid.

I picked up a package of frozen mushroom ravioli, and when I opened the package observed that several of the raviolis were broken, and a few were torn so that the filling could be seen.

The non fat sour cream I purchased for use in a potato salad last week, was topped with a small lake. The product was separating.

I looked at some arugula for my sweetie, and it was past the pull date.

Has anyone else noticed similar problems? Did I just run into a streak of bad luck?

[Shelby]

I've never been to Trader Joe's--I've always wanted to, though. However, what you described above happens all the time to me when I go to Dillon's.

[rotuts]

I think their 'fresh' produce must vary a lot by geography. In New England its fairly so-so. I don't get any from them.

As you are in CA you must have better choices for produce.

i love the Fz ravioli and have not encountered your problems. i sounds to me that your store might be poorly run.

Id call their 800 number or customer support and mention it to someone Not in That Store.

[Lisa Shock]

Yeah, It sounds like the store isn't being run well.

The raviolis sound the package was thawed and refrozen. Maybe the case went warm one day and wasn't emptied, or, a customer ran around the store with that package in their cart for an hour then put it back.

[patrickamory]

I've never been a fan.

[Katie Meadow]

Shel, I go to TJ's on Lakeshore in Oakland. Which one do you go to? I only buy a limited number of things there, but so far have had no problems. Then again, I don't typically buy fresh produce or dairy. I do buy the Empire kosher chicken once in a while but check the date and try to get the latest packaging. I notice that one product with a short shelf life that I like is the TJ brand organic cherry juice that's not from concentrate; it's far tastier than the non-organic 100%cherry juice from concentrate, which lasts longer in the fridge and costs less.

The following is my list of other TJ's regular purchases: chocolate biscotti, Valrhona 71% dark chocolate bar ($2.99 for a big bar!), Barbara's Puffins and Oat Squares, TJ's frozen in the pod edamame and Bulleit Rye, all of which seem to be consistently okay. For fresh products we usually go the the farmers' market or Berkeley Bowl.

[rotuts]

TJ's is a bit of a cult store, in a similar vein as Whole Foods. In my Tj's, Framingham MA I see people buying most of their stuff there: meat, veg,bread.

no big deal really, maybe they don't want to go to more than one place. no problem with that.

in general terms, there stuff is a bit cheaper. but their meat, veg, fresh stuff is not in any way cheaper than other local stores.

Its a business. for profit. very nice people work in my Local. etc

not to jack the Down Hill thread, they do have various stuff-a that cant be beet, and its cheaper.

maybe a new sub-TJ's thread might be:

Best Stuff at your TJ's.

maybe that's what the Main TJ's thread is about.

Edited October 20, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[andiesenji]

It all depends on the store manager and how well he directs the staff.

The TJs I shop at in Palmdale always has very fresh produce and they are checking daily to be sure there are no "expired" items in the cold case or on the produce gondolas.

They check the other less perishable items weekly and have sets of shelves in the back with crackers and jarred items and seasonal items that are just at the "sell-by" date at greatly reduced prices, same with the breads.

If you take anything back, even fruit that has been cut open, with which you are dissatisfied, they will return your money.

This happened to me last year with some apples that looked good on the surface, were firm but black in the very center.

No questions at all, and I didn't have my sales ticket but the price was on the bag and there was a cheerful refund.

Talk to the manager and the produce manager together. I am never unwilling to make some noise when ANY retailer is falling down on the job. It means improvement for everyone.