The Trader Joe's Product Discussion Thread (S/D)

this is the Good Focaccia: https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/focaccia-bread-with-roasted-tomato-and-parmesan-064435

We have stopped going almost entirely. So much of their stuff is utter trash, and the few things they do well aren’t worth spending time for.

TJ's makes its reputation and its main profits as a seller of slightly exotic convenience foods and snacks, but I value it almost entirely for its selection of nuts, seeds and dried fruit, wine and cheese. It's also where we buy our laundry soap and TP. Since most of what we buy there has a long shelf life, since the pandemic started I've cut back to shopping there about once every two months.

Same thing, but because they don't have booze (Pennsylvania liquor laws eyeroll) and the nut prices are better at Aldi, I really only need Trader Joe's for shampoo and one or two other sort of BS items.

Even though they stopped carrying soy milk, I still go there every other week for non-dairy milk because their almond milk is the only one that I've tried that doesn't taste gross.

Also their sliced whole wheat bread is under $3 which is ridiculously cheap.

TJ food is probably 90% of my diet.

I value it almost entirely for its selection of nuts, seeds and dried fruit, wine and cheese

Co-sign on the nuts and cheese. Those 2 alone are worth a trip. Also good for other staples at reasonable prices.

the nuts are good. their definition of "sharp" cheddar is like the cheese you would give a little baby or a weak child in europe, but that's a usa thing not a tjs thing.

try the frozen Ploughman's Lunch?

I never buy cheddar there. But I like the brie, manchego, Stilton, Cambozola, gouda, etc.

the English Coastal cheddar is pretty nice i think. no chakri mix today, very disappointed! still mad they got rid of the faux-stoned wheat thins.

We buy the unexpected cheddar sometimes. We get the parm reg, manchego, cotija, mozz, and goat cheeses frequently.

I like the white Stilton with apricots

I like the Autumn cheese when they have it, also the double-cream Gouda, the Cheddar/Gruyere "melange" mix, and St. André

the nuts are good. their definition of "sharp" cheddar is like the cheese you would give a little baby or a weak child in europe, but that's a usa thing not a tjs thing.

― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Sunday, May 1, 2022 7:20 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

lmao

lately i've been a fan of the various smoked lox and prosciutto products. it's nice to be able to spend like $4 on a small portion that i can use up in under a week. really elevates a sandwich or bagel.

I wonder about store-to-store variations, particularly regarding flowers. I'm not sure how many stores are about to be deluged with peonies, but if your store sells them in the next month or two you should buy them, they are beautiful

Is there any good, like delicious level good, olive oil at TJ?

I always buy the "Trader Joe's Premium 100% Greek Kalamata Extra Virgin Olive Oil", but it hasn't always been in stock lately.

I buy the .5 liter California grown one in the tall, cylindrical bottle.

I always get the Spanish olive oil and it is delicious and flavorful. It is in a different bottle but same good flavor imo

Love the California one best, but it was absent from my local for most of 2021.

+1 on the spanish oil, that's the one I always buy

like the California one too, and it is now back in stock at my local store

I didn't buy them, but the crispy jalapeño pieces looked intriguing

^^^^spouse is in love with the crispy jalapenos. He puts them on everything. And eats them straight.

Getting tired of TJs eliminating useful staples.

Locally, the whole wheat lavash disappeared 2 years ago. Now I have to make another trip for salad wraps. In the past 2-3 months, the vegan meatballs.

The vegan meatballs were great, one of the best items in the store. The vegan meat lover's pizza they introduced is repellant, too salty by 120%.

RIP vegan meatballs!

A lot of stuff is missing because of supply chain issues

Scotch Bonnet cheddar is great i just housed a whole block

From what I can surmise, TJ's business model is unusually vulnerable to the current disruptions in the global supply chain. It seems like they seek out smaller-scale providers in numerous countries, give them the opportunity for rapid growth by signing a big contract, and beat them down mercilessly on the unit price as the cost for that opportunity. With all the pandemic disruptions, those smaller providers that were operating near the margins are getting crushed between the big dogs who can absorb higher commodity and transport costs, and their low-margin contract with TJ's.

the vegan meatballs were fine and convenient, but it's so easy to ball up and saute impossiballs

xxp

a few days ago I bought a couple of bunches of peonies (they have just come in over the last week). I chose two different red varieties, since they are the most scarce. I was worried that they all wouldn't open up, but my god, they just grew and grew in front of my eyes, they are so beautiful

huge flowers

Also got peonies this weekend. Absolute bangers.

I look for flowers that have buds that are not too tight and that have big thick stems. When I get them I cut the ends to the right length for my vase and cut off any leaves that would be submerged in the water

The leaves of peonies are particularly beautiful, so that's a big feature

they have a slightly floral but also animalic scent

The ube mochi pancake/waffle mix is back!! Strongly recommend if you enjoy mochi and pancakes.

Apparently they finally stopped carrying the Italian Sausage Tofurky packs (which were significantly cheaper than anywhere else in town), which was like the primary source of protein in our diet, lol.

We put those in everything, RIP.

still enjoying the peonies. over the last month they have had many different hybrids, all beautiful

Key lime pie is back!

I've recently discovered that it will slice even when completely frozen, so you can keep it in the freezer and cut a piece at a time, rather than defrost the whole thing at once.

hm

I’ve been saying this pic.twitter.com/d7AOkLqji0

— cancela lansbury (@gossipbabies) June 30, 2022

haters gonna hate

never trust anyone who says "i wouldn't even feed that to my twink"

the kind of person who says that also likely does not do their own regular food preparation and cooking other than for instagrammable moments every other weekend.

I went through a phase where I thought that way about Trader Joe's. It was before I knew how to cook good food efficiently, and I was also (more entirely) an asshole.

Has anyone in NYC or the Northeast US been to Trader Joe's lately and bought a flat box of peaches? Could you post the specific kind that is available? It should be printed on the side of the box.

the strawberry & jalapeno crisps are... complicated. they are NOT good on their own the way the raisin & rosemary ones are, like unpleasantly spicy. but they're a lot better with a piece of cheese on them I guess.

xpost Obviously not the east coast, but we just bought a flat box of peaches at TJs, and the packaging was different. Don't have it handy, but there was a big "Hollywood"-something ad on the back, so I would guess ... California?

Our friend who works at TJs currently recommends the house brand Bomb Pops.

I have this nagging feeling that there’s a horrific expose just waiting to be written about Trader Joe’s but nobody actually wants to write it and make themselves and all their friends feel bad about shopping there. Anyway I’ll keep buying that garbage!