Trader Joe's Products (2017–)

[Anna N]

On 11/19/2022 at 9:26 AM, rotuts said:

shelf stable , ' fresh ' noodles ?  very nice

I can certainly purchase shelf stable, udon noodles at most supermarkets. 

[rotuts]

this cheese is back @ my Tj's :

 

 

its excellent and ages nicely in my cubord .  

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I rely on Trader Joe's (fresh) rack of New Zealand lamb, which is small and tender.   I much prefer it to local, California lamb which is harvested much older.    NZ lamb is similar to French lamb which is also harvested very young.   in addition, TJ NZ lamb is cheaper than local.    It's flavor is mild, so if you prefer a more gamey or muttony lamb it is not for you.    But for sweet, gentle and tender rack or rib chops it is my first choice.   (Costco is a close second but we gave up our membership.)

 

[BeeZee]

Picked up 3 persimmons at 79 cents each, they need to ripen a bit. I hesitate to buy produce at TJ’s, the large carton of grape tomatoes had several on the bottom that were already moldy. Not worth returning.

[weinoo]

16 hours ago, BeeZee said:

Picked up 3 persimmons at 79 cents each, they need to ripen a bit. I hesitate to buy produce at TJ’s, the large carton of grape tomatoes had several on the bottom that were already moldy. Not worth returning.

All the tomatoes (and some of the other produce I buy) have a packed on date.  And they're really not too great at rotating stock, so I generally dig through stuff - if the packing date is more than 6 or 7 days prior, just don't buy. I might be lucky, but have never had anything moldy; I've had stuff that doesn't ripen properly, that's for sure.

[rotuts]

@weinoo 

 

your packing date tip is a good one.

 

Ive always check this on the fresh - refrigerated stuff.

 

the newer items ( refrigerated ' dinners   ' wraps ' )

 

are placed behind , but that only a day or two at most 

 

earlier .  but important for refrigerated-fresh

 

on produce , for the few items i get 

 

two types of tomatoes , Campari , and K .

 

I dont see , in my Tj's a lot of older stuff.

 

but its good to Know Your Store !

 

 

[BeeZee]

6 hours ago, weinoo said:

All the tomatoes (and some of the other produce I buy) have a packed on date.  And they're really not too great at rotating stock, so I generally dig through stuff - if the packing date is more than 6 or 7 days prior, just don't buy. I might be lucky, but have never had anything moldy; I've had stuff that doesn't ripen properly, that's for sure.

I know I checked the date on the bagged baby spinach before buying (nothing like a bag of green slime) but the tomatoes had no date, unfortunately. The culprits are some split/mashed/otherwise damaged ones at the bottom of the box. No big loss, they were tasteless, anyhow (despite looking suitably red). The remainder will probably go into soup.

Edited December 1, 2022 by BeeZee
added comment (log)

[rotuts]

a few weeks ago , I discovered cooked shelf stable 

 

wheat noodles , in a ' thai bowl ' @ Tj's

 

as @Anna N  has pointed out , they've been around

 

elsewhere 

 

this Am @ Tj's :

 

 

and indeed there were three packs of noodles in the box :

 

 

'''  best before 03/29/24 '''

 

nice !

 

all the pumpkin stuff has moved on , thankfully 

 

the cranberry spread looked interesting

 

Im going to try in on the Fz apple dumpling like things :

 

https://freezermealfrenzy.com/2020/02/trader-joes-apple-blossoms-review/

 

I try to keep a few of these in the freezer .

 

 

[rotuts]

other TJ's finds :

 

 

MoreChocolae has squeezed out a lot of the pumpkin !

[IndyRob]

What's up with Trader Joe's butter? (not the awesome french butter they used to stock, but the everyday TJ butter)  I found that they've become my cheapest butter option and went there to buy.

 

The package was an odd shape.  Not the normal four quarters of butter.  But not the European style package either.  I had to double check the weight to make sure it was 1lb. Check.

 

I got it home and opened the box and there were four mini sticks of butter.   Like, 5/8ths of a stick long.  But they're thicker.  I verified on a scale that they were each at least 4oz.

 

The butter is good, but why would they do this?

Edited December 7, 2022 by IndyRob (log)

[blue_dolphin]

10 minutes ago, IndyRob said:

What's up with Trader Joe's butter? (not the awesome french butter they used to stock, but the everyday TJ butter)  I found that they've become my cheapest butter option and went there to buy.

 

The package was an odd shape.  Not the normal four quarters of butter.  But not the European style package either.  I had to double check the weight to make sure it was 1lb. Check.

 

I got it home and opened the box and there were four mini sticks of butter.   Like, 5/8ths of a stick long.  But they're thicker.  I verified on a scale that they were each at least 4oz.

 

The butter is good, but why would they do this?

I picked up a couple of pounds today and it was the same as always - the chubby quarters standard on the west coast. Maybe you got our butter by mistake 🤣

 

I believe we had some discussion of this here. I grew up with skinny sticks but have adapted. 
NPR story: https://www.npr.org/2022/01/30/1076798492/the-east-coast-and-west-coast-have-differently-sized-and-shaped-sticks-of-butter

Edited December 7, 2022 by blue_dolphin (log)

[IndyRob]

It's a west coast thing?  I did not know that.

 

Edit: I just tried to think of a west coast grocery and came up with Ralph's.  I checked their site and there it is.  But to add insult to injury it's labeled as Kroger, but in the despicable form factor of the hippie communist stubby butter contingent.

 

I'm not sure if our country can survive this.

Edited December 7, 2022 by IndyRob (log)

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, IndyRob said:

It's a west coast thing?  I did not know that.

Here's one older topic: Eastern v. Western (U.S.) butter sticks

I seem to remember something more recent and will continue to look. 
Edited to add: one helpful company offers two different butter dishes with a handy map in their Amazon listing (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) that tells you which one to get:

Edited December 7, 2022 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Smithy]

3 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Here's one older topic: Eastern v. Western (U.S.) butter sticks

I seem to remember something more recent and will continue to look. 
Edited to add: one helpful company offers two different butter dishes with a handy map in their Amazon listing (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) that tells you which one to get:

 

We talked about butter shapes vs. American geography in the Camping, Princess Style topic, starting here. You might be thinking of that discussion. However, it ended up referring back the same topic you noted above.

[Maison Rustique]

I went this week and was sad they didn't have my French Cultured Butter. This happens every other time or so. Don't they realize I'm addicted?

 

I picked up a pkg. of their refrigerated ravioli--Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, I think it is. Haven't tried it yet and not sure what I will put on it yet. Just couldn't resist trying it.

 

And, of course, they nailed me once again by having the Butter Toffee Pretzels. Warning: DO NOT BUY THESE! There is some sort of drug in them that makes you unable to stop eating them.

[Katie Meadow]

3 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:

And, of course, they nailed me once again by having the Butter Toffee Pretzels. Warning: DO NOT BUY THESE! There is some sort of drug in them that makes you unable to stop eating them.

Yes, I agree, don't even go there. Three years ago I snagged one bag late in the season. I looked forward to next season and indeed, ate plenty. One year later I tried them again and couldn't believe how frighteningly sweet and awful they were! Never again. 

[blue_dolphin]

On 11/30/2022 at 8:55 AM, rotuts said:

this cheese is back @ my Tj's :

 

 

its excellent and ages nicely in my cubord .  

 

Breakfast was some of that Fromage Pavé on toast, topped with TJ's Ginger Spread, kinda like a ginger marmalade, lots of little chunks of ginger.  Not the sharpest ginger bite but still very nice with cheese.  The label suggests using it to glaze salmon, ham or roasts. 

 

Edited to add it was $3.99/12 oz jar

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2022 by blue_dolphin
to add price (log)

[Kim Shook]

I can't remember if it was someone here or in a Buzzfeed article that I heard about this:

But I bought it when I saw it and it's been languishing in the cupboard for awhile now.  I finally got it out late last night when I was poking around for something.  It was excellent:

Very delicate.  I loved that it was packed in olive oil.  I put it on an ET bagel with some cream cheese:

My scrounged meal ended up being one the best I've had in a while!

 

[rotuts]

@Kim Shook 

 

glad you tried it.

 

it is very good , surprisingly so , from a can.

[Smithy]

15 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

I can't remember if it was someone here or in a Buzzfeed article that I heard about this:

But I bought it when I saw it and it's been languishing in the cupboard for awhile now.  I finally got it out late last night when I was poking around for something.  It was excellent:

Very delicate.  I loved that it was packed in olive oil.  I put it on an ET bagel with some cream cheese:

My scrounged meal ended up being one the best I've had in a while!

 

 

Next time I'm near a Trader Joe's I'll have to remember to look for this. It'll be a while, but I'd love to have smoked salmon available on a whim!

[rotuts]

this is a ' cooked ' smoked salmon 

 

but very tender wa mild smoke flavor.

[FauxPas]

On 12/6/2022 at 7:54 AM, rotuts said:

other TJ's finds :

 

 

MoreChocolae has squeezed out a lot of the pumpkin !

 

 

OOOHHH! Those "Aussie-style" must be just like Tim Tams. I adore Tim Tams (but only the original milk chocolate or the dark chocoate ones). I have known Aussies who do indeed love their Tim Tams, also. 

https://www.arnotts.com/products/tim-tam

 

Do you remember how much they cost, @rotuts? They are stupidly expensive here most of the time, like $5 for a small box. Ooh, just checked and they are on sale at one of the stores, must make a trip over soon. 🙂

 

[blue_dolphin]

53 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

 

OOOHHH! Those "Aussie-style" must be just like Tim Tams. I adore Tim Tams (but only the original milk chocolate or the dark chocoate ones). I have known Aussies who do indeed love their Tim Tams, also. 

https://www.arnotts.com/products/tim-tam

 

Do you remember how much they cost, @rotuts? They are stupidly expensive here most of the time, like $5 for a small box. Ooh, just checked and they are on sale at one of the stores, must make a trip over soon. 🙂

 

Nice catch, @FauxPas!  I didn't even try to read sideways!  Target offered Tim Tams for a while but I haven't seen them there in a long time. 

One thing.  Doing an "Aussie-style chocolate crème sandwich cookie slam" doesn't quite have the same ring as a Tim Tam Slam 🤣

[FauxPas]

3 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Doing an "Aussie-style chocolate crème sandwich cookie slam" doesn't quite have the same ring as a Tim Tam Slam 🤣

 

That's for sure! Have you ever tried the Slam? I did it once a long time ago, but I prefer my biscuits crispy and cold. I keep them in the fridge!  🙂

 

[blue_dolphin]

17 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

That's for sure! Have you ever tried the Slam? I did it once a long time ago, but I prefer my biscuits crispy and cold. I keep them in the fridge!  🙂

 

Yes!  Taught to us by our guide on a hiking (tramping?) trip down under many years ago. Milo was the hot beverage and was tasty, warming and fun at the end of a wet, chilly day. Probably not so much at home at my age 🙃