Trader Joe's Products (2017–)

[Maison Rustique]

The slightly smoked salmon is a canned product? I want to be sure to look for it next time I go.

[rotuts]

@Maison Rustique 

 

yes it is :

 

 

fantastic stuff .  drain the oil .

[Maison Rustique]

Thank you, @rotuts!

[rotuts]

this AM :

 

no spanish olive oil .

 

no sicilian olive oil 

 

low on the california olive oil.

 

 

so if you use these , and see them , stock up !

 

as the news suggests , EVOO is 'under pressure '

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Mini Trader Joe's cheese report.

 

"Figgy cheddar cheese" (made in the UK). This is pretty tasty, although I am not a huge fan of the soft texture (think play-doh).

 

This baked sheep's milk ricotta from Sicily looked very promising, however it is completely tasteless and the texture is not pleasant either (it's pretty hard, and dry). I tried toasting it in the oven, adding olive oil and herbs, and it did not help. Useless.

 

 

This "Gran Capitan Oliva Negra" from Spain, a hard cheese) has an ok flavor but it is way too boring and went weird/ moldy before I could finish it.  The aged (anejo) Manchego at Trader Joe's is a million times better than this industrial-tasting cheese, so don't waste your money on this.

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by FrogPrincesse
typo (log)

[Maison Rustique]

Thanks for the cheese report, @FrogPrincesse. I'm going today and likely would have picked up some of these. I got that baked ricotta last time and found it just as horrid as you did. I should have posted about it to save others from making the mistake.

[rotuts]

just a few days later , ie thisAM :

 

no Spanish EVOO

 

no Sicilian EVOO

 

no California EVOO

 

but they had this , the only EVOO :

 

 

looks like the real stuff , but its from Italy , so one has to be en garde 

 

$ 12 // liter .

 

and that portion of the shelf was not full .  TJ's likes to keep their shelves full.

Edited December 15, 2023 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

I tried the above EVOO .

 

I liked it. 

 

it has ' green ' flavors that are quite nice.

 

and a pepper-ey  finish .

 

if its still there next week 

 

Ill get a few more bottles .

 

you know , ' just in case '

 

 

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

44 minutes ago, rotuts said:

I tried the above EVOO

That one was my go-to olive oil for quite a few years. Before I switched to the kalamata stuff. Maybe time to try it again!

[rotuts]

I enjoyed the Kalamaat for quite some time.

 

have not seen t for a long while.

Edited December 15, 2023 by rotuts (log)

[weinoo]

I really like the current crop Mandarin oranges from California.  Not the ones from anywhere else that they sell.

[FrogPrincesse]

Easy dinner with ingredients from Trader Joe's. The tikka masala sauce is pretty good, and the garlic naans are decent (from the freezer section). For the meat, I used boneless skinless chicken thighs. Not pictured - I added some non-TJ's chutneys on the side (mango and plum), and yoghurt/raita.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2023 by FrogPrincesse
Typo (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

This "aged sheep's milk cheese" from Spain is pretty good (I wonder if it has a name). It's marinated in olive oil. The texture is a bit like a Manchego. The flavor is quite mild, a bit nutty.

 

 

 

 

[rotuts]

over here 

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/153705-cuisinart-combo-steamconvection-oven-part-3/page/107/#comment-2412890

 

Thai shrimp gyoza  and fish sticks

 

two of my favorite TJ's frozen stapes.

[FrogPrincesse]

I find the frozen gyozas, dumplings etc at TJ’s quite good in general!

 

I wouldn’t buy these “savory herbed (boneless skinless) chicken thighs” again. They are juicy but also weirdly rubbery (the haricots verts, also from TJ’s, are a staple). The pesto chicken breasts are much better.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 20 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Maison Rustique]

For some reason, the chicken I've gotten at TJ's always has an odd texture to it.

[Katie Meadow]

3 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:

For some reason, the chicken I've gotten at TJ's always has an odd texture to it.

I think the Empire Kosher chicken from TJ's is very good. The organic Empire kosher chicken was even better, but they don't carry that any more.

[Maison Rustique]

12 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

I think the Empire Kosher chicken from TJ's is very good. The organic Empire kosher chicken was even better, but they don't carry that any more.

Yes, agree with Empire Kosher. I forgot they carry that. I was really referring to their own packaged chicken.

[rotuts]

I know this will jinx everything

 

but Ive been enjoying very tasty Campari's from TJ's recently 

 

they have always been good , so far

 

but the recent several packs are even better   larger and a deep red

 

I now buy ' ahead '  and keep them on the counter for 4 or 5 days 

 

tonight :

 

 

Campait Ts  , window green onions  a TJ's EVOO

 

( one of the ones mentioned above )

 

and salt .  nothing else.   enough EVOO  to seriously notice.

Edited January 21 by rotuts (log)

[weinoo]

While not exactly a Trader Joe's product:

 

 

 

These Pink-A-Boo strawberries are nice.  I've liked pink strawberries in the past, but hadn't seen them at the local Trader Joe's.  I do feel that the first of the year strawberries from Florida (whether pink or red) are some of the better commercial strawberries, at least for the first couple of weeks of that season.

 

Once all we start to see here are strawberries from Watsonville, I prefer to wait for local product (Tri-Stars) or avoid them altogether.  I can source Harry's (as I'm guessing @blue_dolphin sometimes does); they are great, but crazy expensive here.

[rotuts]

Ive hneen making TJ's Fz fish sticks and fish nuggets in the CSO

 

for some time.  I thought they were very similar , just a different shape.

 

TJ has been out of the nuggets for several months.

 

they cam in and I tried them in min AirFryer :

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/143952-the-air-fryer-topic/page/37/

 

 

they came out fluffy , crispy, and I noted the fish in these is actually fish pieces.

 

the AF made all the difference.  4 star result.

[rotuts]

I get Tj's chicken sausages from tie to time.

 

the jalapeno is a favorite .  

 

 

this package got lost in the freezer for a few months .  it pack might have had a small puncture , thus :

 

 

Ice Block.  I rinsed off the ice , and place it in my new AirFryer

 

 

it seems to not go higher than 400 F on AF .  I haven't looked into this too closely

 

AF'd them , from frozen , cold start 400 f  maybe 12 minutes ?  didn't make a note .

 

 

far tastier than I thought they would be , a little dry in the middle   after all that water came from somewhere .

 

from now on , Ill make sure the pack is sealed when I buy them.  and freeze them 

 

than cook them this way .   delicious .   mayo // dijon // windy GO's

[Shel_B]

On 12/7/2023 at 5:58 AM, Maison Rustique said:

I tried that Tikka Masala last time I went to TJ's and we liked it a lot! Great for what I call fast food (as opposed to greasy burgers and cold fries).

I've not seen that in my area. I'd like to try it as I'm starting to explore the flavor profiles of Indian food.

[palo]

Why shop at TJ's

 

FOOD? EDIBLES???

 

Who cares!!!

 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/10/business/usd2-99-trader-joes-bags-sell-for-almost-usd150-on-ebay/index.html

 

p

 

 

[rotuts]

TJ's  Fish Nuggets and TJ's TaterTots 

 

from Fz , AF  cooked togheter:

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/143952-the-air-fryer-topic/page/38/

 

 

outstanding.