Trader Joe's Products (2017–)

[Shel_B]

@blue_dolphin Hi ... I'm about to order some tuna from St. Jude. Quick question: is the smoked tuna strongly smoked or more subtle? Thanks. And thanks for the link. The price for the ventresca is pretty good compared to what's available in the local markets here, especially the Spanish ventresca. The South American tuna doesn't excite me that much, so I'm hoping St. Jude will provide better quality and value.

Edited April 13 by Shel_B (log)

[blue_dolphin]

@Shel_B, I answered your question over here in a tuna topic you started ages ago! 

[rotuts]

 

carrot cake in the sheet cake form.  new to me .

 

in the past Tj's had a CC that was very chunky : chunky nuts , carrots , and very rich.

 

this one is a bit lighter , and quite tasty .

 

I added Tj's coffee bean ice cream , as I wanted to try it.

 

 

the IC was  very nice , good coffee flavor w ground bits of coffee.

 

the paring worked nicely .

 

 

 

these come throughout the year , but in different forms

 

you like mouse cake , you will like these .

 

they are quite rich.

Edited April 18 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

Has anyone see price increase @ Tj's from the tariff situation ?

 

I forgot to ask morning .

[blue_dolphin]

On 4/24/2025 at 8:28 AM, rotuts said:

Has anyone see price increase @ Tj's from the tariff situation ?

 

I forgot to ask morning .

I stopped in yesterday for some wine and got a rosé and a vermentino from Italy, a chenin blanc/viognier from South Africa and an albariño from Spain.  All were at their usual prices though I suspect have been in the US for some time.  
 

I’ll add that throughout this egg shortage and the last big one, the TJ's in my area have not increased their egg prices.  They ran out from time to time and limited purchases but the prices stayed the same.  
California eggs are always higher than the national average and TJ's weren’t the lowest around but they stayed in the $3-4 range when the big groceries were $7-9. 

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin

 

forgot to ask tariffs thi AM

 

However :  Tj''s  has put their one doz. // person on hold.

 

they had extra large brown eggs , for for # 399

 

tgh white large , whent from $ 3.49 // doz to 4.99.

 

bought several do of thr ex lrg 3.99.

 

go figure.

[blue_dolphin]

Fresh produce prices would be the canary in the tariff coal mine and they can be volatile anyway as seasons change across the globe.  And the use of varying package sizes tends to obscure the unit price. 

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin

 

you betcha 

 

blueberries , I think from S.America , 

 

are the same price , but 1/2 or so as much , after being missing for about a week or 10 days

 

' the truck might be late '

 

you bet it was

 

waiting for me beloved CamparI's , from Canada to go up .

 

just not yet it seems .

 

How dod that song go?

 

 

Psycho Chicken , qu'est-ce que  ?

Edited April 25 by rotuts (log)

[lemniscate]

Frozen mushrooms are suspect usually but I heartily enjoy the newish frozen sliced shitake mushrooms that TJ's offers now.  I've used in scrambled eggs, for bison burger topping and in ramen noodles.  Really good, very intense flavor from just a few slices.  Easy to keep in the freezer a bit here or there use.

 

I used to buy their frozen mushroom medley, but it declined in quality to me over the last few years, I think it's been discontinued anyway.

 

 

[rotuts]

@lemniscate

 

nice tip.  Ill look for these.

[FauxPas]

On 4/25/2025 at 2:11 PM, rotuts said:

waiting for me beloved CamparI's , from Canada to go up .

 

just not yet it seems .

 

If it's the Campari tomatoes from Windset Farms, they are a Canadian company but they have greenhouses in both Canada and US. They grow Campari tomatoes in their Santa Maria, California greenhouses so you should be able to get those ok. 

 

Here in the Delta, BC greenhouses they grow more of the Avalantino variety which are also very good. Similar to Campari but maybe a tad bigger and labeled as Vivo tomatoes.

 

They also have a variety of other tomatoes, plus cukes and peppers. 

 

https://windsetfarms.com/about-windset/

 

[rotuts]

@FauxPas

 

thanks for thaT.

 

I checked the Campari's :  they come from Monrovia , California.

 

maybe the Campari's that MarketBasket sells came from Canada.  

[weinoo]

4 hours ago, rotuts said:

@FauxPas

 

thanks for thaT.

 

I checked the Campari's :  they come from Monrovia , California.

 

maybe the Campari's that MarketBasket sells came from Canada.  

 

I think Monrovia, CA is where Trader Joe's is headquartered, but not where much of their produce comes from.

 

Read the smaller print on the Campari's...I'm guessing Canada or Mexico.

[rotuts]

@weinoo

 

look on the bottom : Mexico .

[Shel_B]

Disappointed with Coffee Purchase: Just FYI ... I bought a bag of TJ's Ethiopian coffee three days ago and after getting it home and opening it I read the label and discovered the pull date, or expiration date, was 2/13/25, 2.5 months earlier than my purchase date.😞

[Shel_B]

On 5/2/2025 at 5:55 AM, Shel_B said:

Disappointed with Coffee Purchase: 

In fairness, they cheerfully refunded my money ... ☺️

[rotuts]

decided to try a new ( to me ) Fz product :

 

 

 

in the air fryer Fz :

 

 

AF'd on 400 F just until the edges were beginning to get crunchy .    the main body was still soft and pliable

 

made an augmented chili sauce using Tj's CS as a base :

 

 

added chili oil and a bit of low salt soy sauce ( Kikkoman )

 

 

these were delicious .

 

followed by my favorite ( for comparison purposes only )

 

 

these are the Thai Gorza shrimp    also delicious .

 

the initial product is sufficently different that both Fz items will be regulars in the freezer.

 

Bon Apetit !

 

 

[lemniscate]

Okonomiyaki .   I liked it, I had been wanting to try one, but they aren't widely made in sushi/teppanyaki places here.  I have heard of a sushi place not too far from me that has them on the "secret" menu.  But it's just not in my normal territory so I have missed out on trying it.  Comes with the sweet tangy sauce and the bonito flakes.   There's microwave and stovetop instructions.  I bet an airfryer could work too.   I used the microwave, it of course wouldn't be crispy but I like the taste and texture and I will buy more of these for the quick eats cache.

Edited Friday at 11:43 PM by lemniscate (log)

[weinoo]

The 4-packs of Ataulfo mangoes are nice quality (so far). And not bad at $6, as they are a nice size.

Edited 23 hours ago by weinoo (log)

[KennethT]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

The 4-packs of Ataulfo mangoes are nice quality (so far). And not bad at $6, as they are a nice size.

lots of places in Chinatown have Ataulfo mangoes for $1 each, sometimes less.  We've been addicted to the large Vietnamese mangoes right now, but they're not really a bargain per se.... but they're fantastic.  Some are still green (which my wife prefers), some are just about fully ripe and some are in that in-between time that I prefer.

[weinoo]

5 hours ago, KennethT said:

lots of places in Chinatown have Ataulfo mangoes for $1 each, sometimes less.  We've been addicted to the large Vietnamese mangoes right now, but they're not really a bargain per se.... but they're fantastic.  Some are still green (which my wife prefers), some are just about fully ripe and some are in that in-between time that I prefer.

I saw mostly 4 for $5 in my walk thru Chinatown yesterday, a slightly better price, but definitely smaller specimens.   I didn't get over to the stands where your favorite stuff is (Canal?); I was only as far north as Hester Street.