Trader Joe's Products (2015–2017)

[blue_dolphin]

I thought the pecan pie filling in a jar sounded like it might make a good ice cream topping. :-)

 

Yes, that might be good.  When I saw it in the store the other day, it just looked so odd to me to see nuts bobbing in a jar of brown liquid.  It did not appeal to me as I always like nuts to be as crispy and crunchy as possible. At $6.99/jar, I don't think I'm going to try it but I'd certainly be curious to hear what others think.

[rotuts]

Im in Deep Mourning

 

Deep.

 

I might not even be able to get Fizzed Up tonight 

 

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[Thanks for the Crepes]

I made a TJ's run the other day, and have sampled a couple of items that I'm not sure how new to TJ's they are, but were new to me.

 

We picked up the "Chicken Poppers" from the freezer. My husband selected these, and while they had good southwestern flavor, neither of us liked the coating of crushed tortilla chips. It just fought back too hard without being what I consider crispy or crunchy. Chicken is the first ingredient listed, but in little evidence in what we brought home. There were corn, spinach and creamy black beans in the filling, which was lovely, with just a little heat from jalapenos, but made me wish for more kick. There was cumin in there. I read the entire ingredients list, and there was nothing at all in it that shouldn't be there. They use white, blue and red (beet juice, not real red corn) tortillas in the unfortunate coating, so someone really tried. I don't mean to pan these things, they were not bad, but something neither of us would buy again from the same freezer case which also holds spanakopita triangles, mushroom turnovers and other delectables.

 

I also found "Heavenly Villagio Marzano Tomatoes". I have never seen fresh San Marzano tomatoes before, and almost passed them by when my thrifty gene asserted itself. They are $3.99 for 10 oz., so expensive to me. I wound up buying them, because I'm sort of on a bucket list kick to eat or make new stuff to me before I no longer have the option. The package says, "A Mini San Marzano Plum Tomato". They are about 1/2" in diameter and a little less than 2" long, so bigger than grape tomatoes, but much smaller than the plums which I always thought San Marzanos were.They're a hothouse tomato grown in Mexico. While they are good tomatoes, I tasted them side by side with some grape tomatoes I had that I got from a mainstream grocery for $2.79 for the same 10 oz., and the cheaper ones came out on top. I had bought the cheaper ones a while ago, so they had time to develop flavor and ripen on the counter, but still, while I'm glad to check fresh San Marzano's off my list, they are also a would not buy again. Unless of course, I find true fresh Italian San Marzanos grown in the authentic terroir. 

 

Also new to me were dark chocolate covered cranberries. I was looking forward to a single unsweetened dried cranberry coated in dark chocolate, but alas, these are chopped up bits of sweetened cranberries combined with the chocolate and then probably dipped and glazed. Not much tartness comes through at all. Others may like these a lot, though, and I will certainly finish eating them.

 

I also picked up many old favorites and the new 5 Cheese Greek Spiral. I haven't tried that yet, but I'm sure looking forward to it, and will report back when I do. If it's good, it will prove a real bargain, I think, given the time, effort and money I expend when making tiropita. Tiropita is supposed to have eggs, and this only has a little egg white powder as the second-to-last ingredient, so we shall see. I'm not going to let it prejudice me, though.

[Smithy]

Thanks for the Crepes, it's a shame you had so many disappointments in that last batch. When you say the chicken crust was neither crispy nor crunchy but fought back too hard, what do you mean? Was it just tough? Or were the flavors overwhelming?

I found TJ's description of their 5 Cheese Greek Spiral, complete with a photo, so I have some idea of what it's like. It does look intriguing! It looks like something like the Moroccans do, although from what I've read theirs is generally more sweet than savory. I look forward to reading your impressions on it.

Edited for clarity.

[rotuts]

go up to Bluedolphin, # 126

 

if it were smaller Id try it.

[Toliver]

...I went to my Local

 

and the Turkey w stuffing chips had sold out...

Not to rub it in, but my Trader Joe's had oodles of them stocked.

Frankly, the chips don't live up to the hype. Sage is the main flavor I tasted. The notes on the back of the back of the bag (in a horrible-to-read cursive font) state that you're supposed to taste turkey and gravy, as well. But I didn't taste them.

Frankly, the Lay's Southern Biscuits and Gravy flavored potato chips tasted much better than this TJ's chip flavor. At least with the Lay's flavor, there seemed to be a creaminess/cheesiness to them, as well as the sage.

All I get from the TJ's chips is the sage.

 

A positive note...TJ's French Fried Onion Rings (their much better version of the infamous French's can 'o' Crispy Onion Rings) were in stock.

 

They also had some holiday items, like iced gingerbread men cookies. They remind me of the Mother's Iced Animal Cookies, except gingerbread-flavored, of course. And there are a ton of cookies in the box. Okay, exaggerating here....not a ton but a lot nonetheless.  

 

edited for clarity

Edited November 19, 2015 by Toliver (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Thanks for the Crepes, it's a shame you had so many disappointments in that last batch. When you say the chicken crust was neither crispy nor crunchy but fought back too hard, what do you mean? Was it just tough? Or were the flavors overwhelming?

I found TJ's description of their 5 Cheese Greek Spiral, complete with a photo, so I have some idea of what it's like. It does look intriguing! It looks like something like the Moroccans do, although from what I've read theirs is generally more sweet than savory. I look forward to reading your impressions on it.

Edited for clarity.

 

Smithy,

 

I wouldn't call any of the new-to-me products I spoke of above "disappointments" per se. They all have their merits, as I tried to express. The flavor on the southwest chicken poppers was actually excellent, but the crushed tortilla chip coating lost crispness while soaking up moisture from the filling and became tough and painfully abrasive. I really didn't want to get into it, but in the interest of clarity, I'll say that my and my husband's teeth and gums have seen better days. While we both ate and enjoyed crispy white corn tortilla chips with refried beans with melty cheese and salsa tonight, the coating on these appetizer balls from TJ's was off-putting, but tasted good. I'm still happy to have had an opportunity to try them, and younger folks may like them a lot. I just wouldn't buy them again when TJ's offers so many other delightful alternatives we enjoy more.

 

The only reason I didn't rave about the fresh San Marzano's (they are good, and we had some in tacos tonight) is I have access to cheaper grape tomatoes that I prefer, but others may not. Same with the dark chocolate covered cranberry bits. I just happen to crave a lot of tartness to counter the sweet/bitter, so that one did let me down, but that is just one person's opinion, and I can see other people liking them a lot. They are not cloyingly sweet. Again, I was glad to be able to try them. I love TJ's and don't mean to dis them in any way. I was just giving my own personal honest opinion on some new stuff I tried and I had a lot of fun doing so.

 

 

<snip>

 

if it were smaller Id try it.

 

Rotus,

 

I cook for only two usually, and I hate wasting anything. What I plan to do with the Cheese Spiral is cut off part of it to cook at a time and return the rest to the freezer. I have a thin, sharp boning/fillet knife that makes short work of frozen stuff. Given the cheese ooze factor, I think cuts of intact ropes, starting from the outside,rather than wedges is the way to go for a partial cook. Still haven't tried it, but will weigh in with my personal impressions when we do.

[blue_dolphin]

Thanks for the Crepes, a while back, I also tried those so-called Heavenly, sounds-like San Marzano tomatoes and found them bland and sort of mealy in texture.  They were indeed a disappointment.   I'll be interested in hearing how you do with dissection of the TJ's Cheese Spiral.    The outermost rings are fairly loose and should come apart easily.  The inner ones seemed a bit more stuck together, but perhaps by the time you get down to that point, it will be small enough to just cook the remainder.  

 

From yesterday's trip....first off, no turkey dinner potato chips at the TJ's I went to.  Sold out and no more on the way, according to the staff.  They did have these Sriracha Lattice Cut Kettle Cooked Potato Chips but I did not bite.  Maybe next time. 

 

I tried this blue cheese from Germany:

 

The TJ's label calls it "Grand Blue" but it seems very similar to this Grand Noir from the Cambazola people. It's covered in black wax and I can read "Grand Noir" printed on the wax on the piece I bought.  It's firmer than the regular, Brie-style Cambazola that I'm more familiar with.  The blue-cheese flavor is a bit stronger but it's still on the mild/creamy side of the blue-veined cheese spectrum.  It was $12.99/lb.  I had a bit with some of the pickled cranberries and butternut squash that I made last weekend and a hunk of crusty bread and called it lunch.  

 

Possibly from the same folks in Greece as the Cheese Spiral, I got these sundried tomato/cheese phyllo triangles. 

 

They are a bit bigger than the spinach or mushroom phyllo triangles that I get at TJ's. That means more of the rich filling and means that I probably wouldn't want to eat too many at a time but it's easy to remove one or two from the packaging and heat them up, as I did today.  I liked them, but they are rich.   Maybe rich enough to turn a salad into a meal.   One was really enough but I ate 2.

 

Also, I have learned a new vocabulary word from some recently purchased frozen items:  Ovenable

Here it is again:

 

Cracks me up!  Since I removed and ovened my 2 triangles on a baking sheet, I did not oven the tray itself so I can't verify the claim.

Edited November 20, 2015 by blue_dolphin (log)

[ElainaA]

Can I be a grammar nazi and say OVEN IS NOT A VERB!!!!  

(I know this will probably be wiped out by the moderators but I just had to say it.)

[blue_dolphin]

Can I be a grammar nazi and say OVEN IS NOT A VERB!!!!  

(I know this will probably be wiped out by the moderators but I just had to say it.)

My spell checker would certainly agree with you.  I had to go back and edit my post to get it right....or wrong....or whatever...to use oven as a verb   ! 

[Alex]

Can I be a grammar nazi and say OVEN IS NOT A VERB!!!!  

(I know this will probably be wiped out by the moderators but I just had to say it.)

 

"Lets..go..Kroger-ing" (See, now it's related to food. )

 

As Calvin said, "Verbing weirds language."

[Fernwood]

 

Also, I have learned a new vocabulary word from some recently purchased frozen items:  Ovenable

Here it is again:

IMG_2224.JPG

 

Cracks me up!  Since I removed and ovened my 2 triangles on a baking sheet, I did not oven the tray itself so I can't verify the claim.

 

I learned it from the very same product!  

TJ's: It's not just a grocery store, it's an education....

[FauxPas]

These are fairly tasty. Product of Canada. 

 

[Kerry Beal]

Made, I think, by the same company that makes the oreo knockoffs for Whole Foods and used to make them for Wegmans. Nice to be able to go to the factory outlet and buy them inexpensively.

[rotuts]

""  oreo knockoffs ""

 

not with this Puck inside :

 

 

granted its said to be for ""Birthdays ""

 

Ill look into it

 

back way when

 

Tj's did have some mighty tasty maple syrup from N. of the Border.

[FauxPas]

16 minutes ago, rotuts said:

back way when

 

Tj's did have some mighty tasty maple syrup from N. of the Border.

 

Ha, like this jar I just got out of the pantry?   

 

Edited December 12, 2015 by FauxPas (log)

[rotuts]

looks tasty  Im sure it is

 

it was a taller bottle, more like a bottle of Whine

 

it was  at least 'B'

 

Ill take a look tomorrow

[MelissaH]

15 hours ago, FauxPas said:

These are fairly tasty. Product of Canada. 

 

I thought the TJ's version was OK, until I compared them with the Dare brand I'd brought home from Canada. The Canadian-branded version was better all the way around: better cracker texture, and far more maple flavor. If you have access to the "real" thing, don't bother with the TJ's cookies, unless you have an aversion to maple.

[natasha1270]

The recent Fearless Flyer is advertising that the refrigerated tamales are back but I haven't been to the store to check them out yet. Has anyone tried them since they have re-appeared? If they are the same as before, I hope they stick around. I can't tell from the flyer whether they are only being brought back for the holidays.

 

 http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/2717

[rotuts]

I have a number of these in my freezer, from back when they were only seasonal

 

they sampled the vegetarian the other day and it tasted the same to me.

[Fernwood]

21 hours ago, natasha1270 said:

The recent Fearless Flyer is advertising that the refrigerated tamales are back but I haven't been to the store to check them out yet. Has anyone tried them since they have re-appeared? If they are the same as before, I hope they stick around. I can't tell from the flyer whether they are only being brought back for the holidays.

 

 http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/2717

 

I think they've been in our (CT) store most of the fall.  We had some in October, I think, and they seemed as I remembered from last year.  

[Toliver]

There's been an recently announced TJ's product recall:

"Trader Joe's recalls exploding soda"

It's for their Triple Ginger Brew...see the article for the time periods for when the bottles in question were sold.

[blue_dolphin]

I purchased this very long pasta at TJ's around Thanksgiving and then didn't see it for a while.  It was very nice with the Instant-Pot ragu I posted about in the IP thread.  The other day, there was a lot more on the shelf so I picked up some more.  

$2.99 for 500g.  The noodles are bent in half so the unbroken ones are twice the length of the package.  Not sure why anyone would need such long pasta but it's a nice product for a fair price.

 

Note the nice rough texture

 

[joiei]

The very first TJ's in Oklahoma doesn't open until Feb.  So I have no idea what you all are talking about on this thread.  

[rotuts]

Tj's has  very nice Nuts.

 

no snkkering

 

they had  chopped pecans in  the 1/2 lb bag and the 1 lb bag

 

the 1 lb bag was much cheaper

 

Ive used these for some time, home made stuffing, snacks  etc

 

so I went to re-supply and the 1 lb bag is not longer

 

 

so if you use these nuts, and can freeze then if you find them 

 

do so.

 

lets review :

 

for the Corporate Weezsles, where ever they  are :