Trader Joe's Products (2017–)

Kerry Beal · February 16, 2019

Ruby is made by acidifying the beans/nibs of cacao that are high in polyphenols. This causes the polyphenols to turn a more reddish color vs alkalizing which gives a deep brown color. It's not roasted so it goes through a hot air process to make it safe while avoiding the browning that roasting causes. It also 'avoids' the flavor development that roasting causes.

In this preparation they also add milk powder.

Might be interesting to see what the chocolate would taste like without the addition of milk.

I was not a fan.

rotuts · February 16, 2019

what might this ruby bean

taste like

as its own ' chocolate ? '

one might note Im not a chocolate gourmand-ish

I did love See's , back in the day

dark chocolate Turtles.

dark chocolate , perfect caramels , and toasted pecans.

Kerry Beal · February 16, 2019

8 minutes ago, rotuts said:

what might this ruby bean

taste like

as its own ' chocolate ? '

one might note Im not a chocolate gourmand-ish

I did love See's , back in the day

dark chocolate Turtles.

dark chocolate , perfect caramels , and toasted pecans.

Likely a bit fruity and astringent - but not as yogurty as the milk added version.

**Smithy** · February 18, 2019

I can't usually contribute to this topic, but I happen to be near a Trader Joe's. I went for some of our beloved Aioli Garlic Mustard (yes, I know that's redundant) and came away with much more...no surprise there!

The pasta is especially intriguing and I expect to cook it tomorrow. Now, what sort of sauce should go with chicken / poblano ravioli? Something light, I think, to let the ingredients shine through. Simply melted butter with garlic, some chile powder on the side just in case it's bland? Oil instead of butter?

MelissaH · February 18, 2019

9 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I can't usually contribute to this topic, but I happen to be near a Trader Joe's. I went for some of our beloved Aioli Garlic Mustard (yes, I know that's redundant) and came away with much more...no surprise there!

The pasta is especially intriguing and I expect to cook it tomorrow. Now, what sort of sauce should go with chicken / poblano ravioli? Something light, I think, to let the ingredients shine through. Simply melted butter with garlic, some chile powder on the side just in case it's bland? Oil instead of butter?

With that combination of ingredients, I'd want cilantro. But I like cilantro, a lot.

rotuts · February 18, 2019

@Smithy

wow

what a haul !

id go with either good quality olive oil or butter as a base . possibly augmented w just a bit of garlic ?

finely chopped green onion tops for the garnish

for the green

you don't know what what the Rav;s taste like , so you want then t shine

still near TJ's ?

you might want to cook those Rav's up soon

you might like to get some more

TJ's as a very interesting selection of fresh-refirgerated Raviolis.

I have not seen these

but im going to look for them

tomorrow

a long w a few other items you got

grilled articholke

etc

rotuts · February 18, 2019

PS : Ive had and use the siun dried tomatoes inn oil

they are very nice

they used to have sun dried tomatoes in a pouch , dried

nicer s you could dice them carefully and then used them in many ways

I don't think they have them anymore

Ill ask next time I go there

Toliver · February 18, 2019

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

PS : Ive had and use the siun dried tomatoes inn oil

they are very nice

they used to have sun dried tomatoes in a pouch , dried

nicer s you could dice them carefully and then used them in many ways

I don't think they have them anymore

Ill ask next time I go there

My Neighborhood Walmart Grocery Store carries sun dried tomatoes in a pouch, which surprised the heck outta me.

I keep them on hand for when I run our of TJ's julienned sun dried tomatoes.

rotuts · February 18, 2019

I have a Walmart , of course

on the way to TJ's

it has frozen and refrigerated foods

but I take it its not a Walmart Grocery store

@Toliver

consider taking some Pics of you WGS

and post them somewhere

like to peek !

blue_dolphin · February 18, 2019

1 hour ago, Toliver said:

My Neighborhood Walmart Grocery Store carries sun dried tomatoes in a pouch, which surprised the heck outta me.

I was surprised to see black garlic in mine yesterday. I'll have to look for the sun-dried tomatoes in a pouch as my TJ's has been out of them for some time.

Back to TJ's, I picked up this little cheese a few days ago and finally tried it yesterday.

A soft, washed rind cheese from Germany called Rubius. Very nice. Mild and creamy, just like the label says. I think it was $3.99 for this little 180g round.

rotuts · February 18, 2019

@blue_dolphin

Wow

I looked at this yesterday

didn't get it as it said ' Mild '

do you think it might ' age at home ? '

Seasonal ?

Ill get one soon , and try to age it.

the Brie I get is about $ 8 or 9 a lbs

like the idea of some TJ's nuts with it.

how might this stack up

age'D as best I can in a Toastie ?

blue_dolphin · February 18, 2019

@rotuts - I didn't ask if it was seasonal or not. All of the rounds on display had a "sell by" date of Feb 28. Not sure if it will be restocked or not.

The texture is very rich and creamy. I enjoyed the mild flavor on the toasted rosemary baguette and with a dab of ancho chile jam. I'm not sure if it would develop a stronger flavor if you let it hang around but it's not a big investment so maybe give it a try?

rotuts · February 18, 2019

Im on my way tomorrow !

Feb 28th ?

maybe mid March , carefully home managed !

Edited February 18, 2019 by rotuts (log)

rotuts · February 19, 2019

I went to TJ's this AM

got the Poblano Ravioli , the grilled artichokes and a Rubius cheese round.

the cheese is a Spotlight , so when its gone its gone

Opened the cheese , and gave the rind a good whiff :

Nice ! , very nice !

loosely covered for a few days in a kitchen cabinet

and then a taste

looking forward to it based on the first Whiff .

MelissaH · February 20, 2019

My plans to get to TJ's last week were derailed by a nasty little winter storm that dropped snow, and then rain, and then the temperature dropped enough to freeze it all, and then it snowed some more. So after my morning hockey game when the snow was just starting, instead of heading to TJ's, I fed the car, did a very quick app-guided Wegmans run, and got home before the roads got too awful. (The next day, I got to clear the driveway of a few inches of snow over top of an inch-thick layer of ice, and a knee-deep clot of snowplow poop at its end, none of which was amenable to snowblowing in the least. I had 4+ hours of not-fun.)

But yesterday, I did finally get there, and was able to get some of both the freeze-dried grapes and the ruby chocolate wafers. I was also persuaded to get a package of dried persimmons, which two people were looking for (and an employee restocking the section also raved about, as did the cashier who checked me out).

Those of you who have tried the ruby wafers: would they be a good addition to King Arthur's vanilla-orange cranberry cookies (last time I did half dried cranberries, half pecans) or would they compete with the cranberries?

rotuts · February 20, 2019

@MelissaH

snowplow poop : Ill remember that one !

are you talking about the Ruby ' chocolate ' chips ?

they are sweet then tart , w raspberry flavor. no real chocolate flavor , except for the first nano-second a bit white chocolate

the sugar-sweet then raspberry tart quite tart

bos · February 21, 2019

Any one tried snack name bamba ?

blue_dolphin · February 21, 2019

1 hour ago, bos said:

Any one tried snack name bamba ?

Yes

heidih · February 21, 2019

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Yes

Yes we have often discussed them esp in France but peppered in other topics so no link. So many snacks...so little time ')

lemniscate · February 21, 2019

4 hours ago, bos said:

Any one tried snack name bamba ?

I bought the TJ's Bamba a few months back for the peanut lover of the household. I don't care for peanuts so it was lost on me. The review was it wasn't peanutty enough and not a craveable snack for buying again. One and done on that one.

**Smithy** · February 21, 2019

On 2/18/2019 at 10:47 AM, Smithy said:

I can't usually contribute to this topic, but I happen to be near a Trader Joe's. I went for some of our beloved Aioli Garlic Mustard (yes, I know that's redundant) and came away with much more...no surprise there!

The pasta is especially intriguing and I expect to cook it tomorrow. Now, what sort of sauce should go with chicken / poblano ravioli? Something light, I think, to let the ingredients shine through. Simply melted butter with garlic, some chile powder on the side just in case it's bland? Oil instead of butter?

On 2/18/2019 at 10:57 AM, MelissaH said:

With that combination of ingredients, I'd want cilantro. But I like cilantro, a lot.

I followed this tip, and a few others I picked up earlier in the topic or have assimilated over the years. I chopped green onions and put them into one dish. Into another dish I put chopped cilantro. I boiled the ravioli. While that water was heating I heated butter, and when the timing seemed right I started cooking sage leaves in the butter. I already had shredded parmesan cheese as an extra garnish. We added the garnishes at the table according to personal taste.

My darling didn't bother with the cilantro (no surprise there) but thought the sage butter, grated parmesan and green onions were fine additions. We liked the final result.

In truth, I'm not sure I would call this a wonderful stuffed pasta. The flavors were nice, but not spectacular. If I ever hit my stride on making my own stuffed pastas I'll be looking to produce better results. That said, I'd buy this again. It was better than many store-bought "fresh" stuffed pastas that we've tried.

Your turn, @rotuts...

On 2/19/2019 at 8:24 AM, rotuts said:

I went to TJ's this AM

got the Poblano Ravioli , the grilled artichokes and a Rubius cheese round.

<snip>

weinoo · February 21, 2019

I tried the leg of lamb from New Zealand...very mild...I prefer Colorado or fancier lamb from farmer's market.

Those artichoke hearts aren't bad. Already roasted beets from France will do in a pinch. I find the cheeses I've tried to be okay, not great.

I can't believe I'm going to Trader Joe's.

blue_dolphin · February 21, 2019

9 hours ago, Smithy said:

In truth, I'm not sure I would call this a wonderful stuffed pasta. The flavors were nice, but not spectacular. If I ever hit my stride on making my own stuffed pastas I'll be looking to produce better results. That said, I'd buy this again. It was better than many store-bought "fresh" stuffed pastas that we've tried.

Thanks for the report on the Poblano Ravioli. I haven't tried any of the TJ's stuffed pastas in quite a while but I'd say your thoughts are consistent with my experiences. I've generally tossed them with an equal or larger amount of steamed vegetables and dressed them with a light sauce usually flavored with something from my freezer stash of pesto, roasted garlic, sun-dried tomato purée, etc. for a quick meal. I should take another look at the selection and try something again - they are pretty!

bos · February 22, 2019

20 hours ago, heidih said:

Yes we have often discussed them esp in France but peppered in other topics so no link. So many snacks...so little time ')

So true

rotuts · February 24, 2019

I got around to the Tj's Ravioli here :

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/157787-dinner-2019/?page=30&tab=comments#comment-2191131I

I agree w @Smithy assessment

the filling does not shine through , but the dish as I made it was very tasty

I was pleased to be reminded how much I like ravioli in this manner.

and BTW , nothing could be easier to cook

Edited February 24, 2019 by rotuts (log)

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