Trader Joe's Products (2017–)

[Shel_B]

This is a new-to-me entrée and I pretty much enjoyed it. For openers, the noodles had a decent texture although a little more "snap" might have been nice. The dish was adequately saucy and the peanut flavor was fine. There was a subtle, underlying sweetness to the dish, perhaps from the inclusion of some carrots, and there was an acceptable amount of chicken. Being a noodle dish, the chix played backup, but did so nicely.

 

The dish was a little bland for my taste, but for others it may be just right. Adding a blend of red pepper, szechuan, and gochugaru chili flakes made the dish sing for me. 'Twas a lovely choral arrangement.

 

 

 

Edited June 2 by Shel_B
clarity of intent (log)

[weinoo]

8 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

One of these looks as if it's made by the students who don't graduate, the other looks like it's made by people who...know what they are doing.

7 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

  I can see this being popular at summer parties when you want something cool and festive but don’t want to get smashed.

 

Where do these take place?

[Shel_B]

 

@blue_dolphinThanks for posting that writeup. I'm not much of a drinker ... thus far, this year I've had three beers ... sometimes I enjoy a bubbly, though.  This sparkler might be nice for a little get together we're planning later in the summer.  Sweetie liked Prosecco and Orange Juice (Mimosa?) with eggs benedict, and I'd sometimes enjoy the drink with her. Do you think that this Frizzante would be a nice alternative to the mimosa?

Edited June 3 by Shel_B
typo (log)

[blue_dolphin]

23 minutes ago, Shel_B said:

Sweetie liked Prosecco and Orange Juice (Mimosa?) with eggs benedict, and I'd sometimes enjoy the drink with her. Do you think that this Frizzante would be a nice alternative to the mimosa?

I’d say the sweetness is probably comparable to a mimosa made with Prosecco but the orange flavor here is more from the peel or the zest of the orange than from juice.  Almost more like Tang than orange juice.  Not artificial, just from a different part of the fruit. 

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin

 

decided to try two of your suggestions :

 

 

the gouda and ECC.    will enjoy later this afternoon.

 

the Unexpected Cheddar is a house staple here.

[blue_dolphin]

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

the gouda and ECC

I’m sure you will like them.  The ECC nails the balance between creamy and crumbly.  Had some this morning on a sausage, egg & cheese sando. 
And that Gouda is always great - tons of flavor from just a sliver!

[MaryIsobel]

5 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

I’m sure you will like them.  The ECC nails the balance between creamy and crumbly.  Had some this morning on a sausage, egg & cheese sando. 
And that Gouda is always great - tons of flavor from just a sliver!

English coastal cheddar is one of my favourite cheeses. So much so that when I have some in the fridge, I rarely open the fridge without breaking off a little chunk to nibble on.

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin

 

Ive tried both the gouda , and ECC.

 

Im not a fan of crackers w cheese.  I prefer good bread w good crumb. 

 

but that's not easy to keep around in optimum shape.

 

Ive found generic min shredded wheat quite nice in the kitchen .

 

croutons for salads , the finer bits sprinkled on fresh tomatoes , and other things.

 

I like the MSW w bits of cheese ,  sounds odd , but they go together for me.

 

much more interesting texture than a cracker.  So ...

 

 

Gouda on top , costal on the bottom.

 

the costal is not quite as creamy as the Unexpected , and w a bit more bite.

 

the gouda asserts its flavor in a very pleasant way .

 

both cheese's are now very high up in my rotation.

 

so , thanks again @blue_dolphin for pointing these two cheezes out to me.

  

Edited June 5 by rotuts (log)

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

Ive tried both the gouda , and ECC.

I’m glad you liked them!  I also prefer bread over crackers with cheese and I don’t think your shredded wheat option is odd.  My mom used to eat them as a snack when I was a kid. I like them better than Triscuits though it would be nice if they came in a shape somewhere between the mini and those big honking original biscuits.  My mom liked those, too, though I was never a fan!

[Shel_B]

I still (rarely) enjoy the mini shredded wheat biscuits as a snack or as croutons in a salad.  I say rarely only because I've cut W-A-Y back on eating dry cereals and using milk. Someone gave me a big box of cornflakes recently, and I'll buy some milk and eat those, but it's been months since I've purchased milk.  If ever I buy shredded wheatagain, I'll certainly use them as a snack and on a salad.

[FrogPrincesse]

On 6/1/2025 at 9:19 AM, blue_dolphin said:

These are the Israeli and Greek fetas in brine that I get at TJ's.  Both much better than that cow feta she tasted.  

The Israeli stuff has a cute little plastic basket inside the tub so you can easily lift it from the brine but the Greek gives you more cheese for the same price.  The Greek is my go-to but both are good. 

 

I prefer the Greek feta (in the white tub), it has a lot more flavor than the Israeli. It's also cheaper as you pointed out.

 

About "cow feta" - in Europe, feta cannot be called feta unless it's made from sheep or goat milk. Cow feta lacks the distinctive flavor of feta.

Edited Tuesday at 05:28 PM by FrogPrincesse
format (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

On 6/1/2025 at 2:34 PM, lemniscate said:

A couple of TJ "misses" for me, the Parsley crackers and the whipped feta.   The crackers have a chalky texture to them, not crispy, but not tender either.  Not a strong herb flavor either.  Just a green color.  A weird mouthfeel. 

The parsley crackers aren't awful but they aren't great either. They taste mostly of garlic, with a hint of dried parsley (which doesn't have much flavor to begin with). Here they are with the parmigiano reggiano stravecchio (which is a favorite).

 

 

Lately, the cracker offerings at TJ's haven't been that great, I used to love their beet crackers (which also happened to be gluten-free) but they disappeared from the shelves a while back.

 

[rotuts]

@FrogPrincesse

 

Im wondering if youv'e tried Bulgarian feta ?  possibly , right out of the brine , cut to order ?

 

I mention ' from a brine '  , ie a Middle  Eastern store , as the series there might be ' fresher ' 

 

I tried about 8 feta's at a local-sh Middle easter store.  I was surprised at the noticeable  differences .

 

all very interesting , texture , salinity , creaminess, varying  

 

I was surprised at the creaminess of the Bulgarian , w s muted salinity.

 

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

3 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@FrogPrincesse

 

Im wondering if youv'e tried Bulgarian feta ?  possibly , right out of the brine , cut to order ?

 

I mention ' from a brine '  , ie a Middle  Eastern store , as the series there might be ' fresher ' 

 

I tried about 8 feta's at a local-sh Middle easter store.  I was surprised at the noticeable  differences .

 

all very interesting , texture , salinity , creaminess, varying  

 

I was surprised at the creaminess of the Bulgarian , w s muted salinity.

 

 

 

I have had Bulgarian feta and agree that there are good ones. I honestly never had a truly awful feta when it was sheep or goat milk. All the terrible (dry, overly salty, tasteless) fetas have been cow milk based and therefore not authentic feta.

I have a few middle Eastern stores nearby. Last time I shopped there was to get goat to make birria. When I go back, I will make sure to check out the feta offerings for you.

[rotuts]

@FrogPrincesse

 

Nice !

 

\I(d love pics of the store, after you ask , w a smile on your face.

[Shel_B]

Trader Joe's pitas ruined my lunch

 

 

I wanted to make arayes for a while, and recently bought some ingredients from TJ's, including the pita bread. You might be able to see from the image how the bread came apart during the prep and cooking process. Here's the story.

 

The pitas open to form a pocket, and one side (let's call it the bottom) was substantially thicker than the other, the top. The bottom was, by observation, about four times thicker than the top That made the top weaker, and you can see that it didn't take well to being stuffed with a light mixture of seasoned ground beef. It tore and pulled away from the bottom in several places, some of which are visible and highlighted.

 

I felt that I could live with the imperfections, at least as far as lunch was concerned, but the situation got worse. The bottom cooked beautifully, and developed a nice, firm crust. However, when flipping the pita, the top, being much thinner, got soggy from the oil and meat juices, and became flacid and started to disintegrate in a few spots. The bottom also absorbed the juices, but being thicker could handle the additional moisture.

 

I tried making another one, taking greater care in the stuffing process and cooked with substantially less oil in the nonstick pan (I added no additional oil to the pan), and the results were the same. Clearly, at least for this and similar purposes, the TJ's pita is an inferior product. It was a shame as the dish has great potential, and in this instance was diminished by a poor quality ingredient.

 

 

Edited Thursday at 11:51 AM by Shel_B (log)

[rotuts]

looked into FR wine @ Tj's 

 

there is a Cote du Rhone I like , @ $ 6.49.

 

I use it for Pork Ragu  ' iPot ' , and as a table wine.

 

its now $ 7.99.

 

fortunately , pre-T , I bought 2 cases.  my other table wines are from California.

 

Ugh.

[rotuts]

spotted these tis A.M.:

 

 

The current TJ's packaging is similar.

 

as Im taking HCTZ , Im cognizant of commercial quantities of sodium.  

 

TJ's sometime has lower sodium subs.

 

these are quite good.  thicker style m very good crunch.

 

not  $ 15 a bag @ TJ's.

[Shel_B]

On 6/3/2025 at 9:18 AM, blue_dolphin said:

And that Gouda is always great - tons of flavor from just a sliver!

 

I grabbed a wedge of the 1000 day Gouda this afternoon and am looking forward to trying it. Maybe with breakfast ...

 

 

 

[Shel_B]

Pretty durned good ...

Perhaps a bit sweet for my taste, but not by much, so they fell into the acceptable range in that regard.  They cooked up nice and soft, although a few of the sprouts had somewhat hard stems on them, but they were easy to eat around. I wouldn't put them as a top-rated entrée, but I'd certainly buy 'em again. I'll have to compare them to the regular frozen Brussels sprouts

[liuzhou]

6 hours ago, Shel_B said:

 

 

 

I happen to have two Sichuanese people visiting for the weekend. I was checking out eG and they noticed this. "WTF is that?" they asked in Chinese. I explained that Kung Pao is what America calls 宫保 (gōng bǎo)" as in 宫保鸡丁 (gōng bǎo jī dīng), Gongbao Chicken Cubes, Sichuan's most famous dish, named after Ding Baozhen (1820–1886) whose honorary title was Gong Bao ("palace guard"). It was said to be his favourite dish.

Oh!", they replied "but what are those green things?"

I explained and said they are like tiny cabbages. They fell about laughing! "Oh, you are always joking with us!" Total disbelief. 

 

One thing for sure, Mr. Ding never saw a Brussel Sprout in his life! They are virtually unknown in China; totally unknown in Sichuan.

Then I told them that many people in America call their province "Schezwan". Now, they don't believe a word a say!

 

 

Edited Saturday at 10:52 AM by liuzhou (log)

[Shel_B]

9 hours ago, Shel_B said:

 

I grabbed a wedge of the 1000 day Gouda this afternoon and am looking forward to trying it. Maybe with breakfast ...

 

This is very good cheese. I liked the depth of flavor, although it seems a little one note to me. I'll need to taste some more. Still, very enjoyable.

 

I had it cold from the fridge, at room temp, and melted on an English muffin. In all cases I was saisfied, although it's not at its best melted. Perfect on a cheese platter, IMO, and a good addition to a charcuterie platter. A nice, and perhaps a better, alternative to many cheddars. 

[Shel_B]

 

I tried this today, straight from the container and crumbled into a salad:

 

I was very pleased with the choice. It's a good, everyday feta, not overly sharp and nice for its neutrality. It's got some character, and is fine for an everyday feta. Great in the salad and nice for eating straight.  Saves me a trip across town where there is a greater selection of more interesting, and expensive, cheeses. Glad you mentioned it, @blue_dolphin It'll be in my fridge frequently.

Edited 9 hours ago by Shel_B (log)

[Katie Meadow]

3 hours ago, Shel_B said:

 

I tried this today, straight from the container and crumbled into a salad:

 

I was very pleased with the choice. It's a good, everyday feta, not overly sharp and nice for its neutrality. It's got some character, and is fine for an everyday feta. Great in the salad and nice for eating straight.  Saves me a trip across town where there is a greater selection of more interesting, and expensive, cheeses. Glad you mentioned it, @blue_dolphin It'll be in my fridge frequently.

In all this talk about feta, no one has mentioned French feta. Take a little trip to Oakland to the Pasta Shop. I've been addicted to their French feta for a million years. It's very creamy and delicious. I have never found it any where else.

[Shel_B]

1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

In all this talk about feta, no one has mentioned French feta. Take a little trip to Oakland to the Pasta Shop. I've been addicted to their French feta for a million years. It's very creamy and delicious. I have never found it any where else.

I've seen it at Berkeley Bowl. You're right, it's lovely.