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

their chocolate is generally great and v cheap

ack!

TJs round our way was giving free sample bags of the Salsa Verde Tortilla Chips. Given that I was asked "how many?" when I said I would try some, my expectations drifted from "poor" to "must be disgusting"

Love that Chocholate Lover's bar, even with all the lead a cadmium

https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-cadmium-in-dark-chocolate-a8480295550/

you can have a little lead and cadmium, as a treat

honestly, i was very enthusiastic about cooking at the beginning of the pandemic and went through waves of cooking a fair bit and then being completely burned out. having enough room at my place to buy a chest freezer was a boon -- i'd roll through trader joe's and buy half a cart full of frozen stuff and not have to do any shopping for weeks at a time.

there are occasional exceptions but imo the quality/price ratio of their frozen foods is a lot more predictable than standard grocery stores. that and, with a few exceptions, the local grocery chains here have been cranking up food prices like crazy

It kind of depends on what kind of cook/eater you are. I think if you enjoy cooking, TJs def isn’t the main place you’d shop but it’s great for people like me who hate cooking and hate thinking about food - their choices are limited so eliminates a lot of decision fatigue for me.

i don't agree with this. at least from my pov they have most of the staples i need

it depends on the size and location of the store imo

we have exactly one and it's in the suburbs

TJ’s is my primary for most food. There are a few items that I go to the Walmart Neighborhood Market for and all non-food household supplies.

huh, i believe you but i've used 4 regularly in my life. 2 in sf, one in Chico, other in SoCal and they all had similar stock even though store sizes varied greatly. maybe it gets dicier outside of CA?

xp

Looking at my spending data for the past four years, of all the money I've spent on groceries, 53% of that has been at Trader Joes. 21% at Walmart, 9% at Mariano's, 17% other.

TJs is more or less primary for us, and more than fulfills our ingredient needs. Proteins (tofu, chicken, fish, plus other sometimes stuff like ground beef/pork or whatever), plenty of sturdy vegetables (Brussels sprouts, carrots, potatoes, peppers, et al.), spices, fruits, cheese, garlic/onions/shallots, wine, flour, eggs, canned veggies, and so on. The only weak links for me are salad greens and bread, but I can pick them up somewhere else on the way home. And of course TJs has tons of snacks and frozen goods. So I don't know what else I'd need beyond something really specific for a specific recipe.

Best chocolate bar is this one, btw, though it may be seasonal:

https://preview.redd.it/h714cairdtka1.jpg

https://preview.redd.it/h714cairdtka1.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=823819a41be476b563631d90dcc4899185a3bde9

I only buy bag salads.

See, I think their bag salads suck and go bad really quickly. Especially here, there are all sorts of local clamshell options that are and stay much fresher, longer.

clamshell option is the worst/most wasteful form of packaging of all time

You can recycle it at least, can't you? We recycle ours.

you put them in a recycle bin. they possibly end up in a landfill.

many xps thanks for the inside bean info, Xii!

For 100% sure the plastic produce bags go in landfill, though.

I think a shocking amount of 'recyclable' plastic goes straight into the landfill - if not here, then in Bangladesh where they'll probably burn it

That's why I don't like to buy fresh fruit in a plastic box

yeah TJs not the best for produce packaging. I will defend some of their breads. Good brioche buns and english muffins. The ciabatta demi-baguette is my go to for fast grilled bread.

I think a shocking amount of 'recyclable' plastic goes straight into the landfill - if not here, then in Bangladesh where they'll probably burn it

That's why I don't like to buy fresh fruit in a plastic box

I've stopped buying bloobs for precisely this reason. Unless the plastic has a 1 or 2 inside the recycle symbol, recycling centers are probably going to put it into the landfill, IIRC because of the cost involved in recycling (also because if the plastic is too dirty). That said, I don't know how much of an affect that I as a single consumer can have on the environment, especially considering industrial-scale waste nightmare.

I've had a lot of visitors over the last year and am startled at how wasteful they are, contributing mountains of plastic containers and bottles of water and cardboard boxes to the pile that I end up having to put into the recycling bin.

I am addicted to Trader Joe European Style Whole Milk Yogurt and go through a large container of it every few days, and I feel really bad about the amount of plastic involved, but I haven't found decent yogurt that comes in better packaging. I wish there were, like, a gas station for yogurt where I could just fill up a jug from a pump.

idk I was just shopping at Target, and with the exception of onions and avocados in their non-supermarket stores, everything is in plastic. we’re not going to stop it from the bottom up and in most of the country or most stores at least, that’s what you get because small stores aren’t rotating product under a couple produce sprayers

aside from that dire tangential note, the Organic Elote Corn Chip Dippers are a delight. alone, with salsa or cheese dip, really anything

I haven't found decent yogurt that comes in better packaging

I guess you could always make your own. My parents used to do it when I was little.

i used to think "every bit counts" when it comes to plastic waste but you're point is probably right, mh. like it's a bigass world with neverending plastic at this point.

at least those yogurt containers are likely to get recycled, Lily
xp

Hopefully plastic-eating bacteria gets scaled up soon

If not it’ll evolve eventually

I seem to recall a great Carlin bit about plastic. The gist being, what if the planet *wants* plastic, and evolved us to harvest it for them, while simultaneously ensuring our own doom? So that it can live happily ever after with all the plastic and none of the people.

I wish there were, like, a gas station for yogurt

I was actually looking around for local bulk white vinegar, so I could just bring in a gallon jug rather than buying a new one - alas, this doesn't appear to be a thing

When my sister lived in Sacramento, she would shop at a store called Refill Madness, which only sold items in bulk. You had to bring in and tare your own containers. Idk if that concept is widespread (nothing like that exists here in the Inland Empire) but I think it will become more prevalent over time to the point that mainstream stores will also have to start accommodating it.

There is a store in Pasadena that does that, though I've never tried it. And we used to have a food co-op where you could do that for some items.

There are a few places/products that encourage that, especially for shelf-stable stuff like shampoo. A few years back I want to say I heard a radio piece on how difficult it was to find a pizza place that would allow you to pick up the pie minus the box, using your own container.

https://www.wbez.org/stories/can-you-get-takeout-without-a-side-of-trash-in-chicago/fdab4761-534c-4cb2-9131-17979e34ae66

https://preview.redd.it/gdbv8dnsntta1.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=133b2e5b0d90d6574e60b0667937f0cde3ea41da

Top two look like hippos, middle two like goats, far right is a horse, lower left maybe a tiger, or a polar bear.

Maybe top center is a rhino with a truncated horn.

animals.

I just ate an entire Jalapeno Cheddar Bread in one and sitting and aside from feeling like I'm about to burst, my biggest regret is that I don't have any more to eat tomorrow.

The French onion focaccia is really good too. Also those new Thai noodle rice snacks.

Picked up the chai black-tea concentrate last week, mixed it with milk, and am absolutely hooked.

how caffeine-y do you feel it is (one tbsp for 2hrs alertness, 5tbsp for neversleep)?

TRADER JOES AMERICAN CHEESE DOES NOT MELT CORRECTLY

I'm usually pretty good about bringing my own bag to Trader Joe's, but after making an impulse stop last night (I was getting my 16-yr old some driving at night hours in on the road) I realized I forgot one. "What about that?" she asked, pointing to the collapsable crate I'd bought at Costco but not yet brought out of the car. "That's perfect!" I said, excited. And boy did the Trader Joe's crew get a kick out of my BYO crate, ooh-ing and ah-ing over it, pawing at it, congregating by the register to admire it. And as I left I absolutely know the guy scanning my stuff loved telling me "your receipt is in the crate."

lol

Okay, my local was out of Vermouth so I decided to try this oddball instead... Pronto! Made in Italy, 24% abv, $9.99 for 750ml

Bitter, sort of like Campari or even Cynar, a muted plum color... poured over ice with a splash of lemonade (in the American sense), it's pretty darn good for the price! The label mentions 'intriguing aromatic herbs and a hint of orange peel'.. I might be buying this again, very refreshing in the hot California sun

https://i.imgur.com/NCRHhXO.jpg

good to know! Very sad about the hatch unexpected cheddar spread being done.

huh, really curious who is actually making that amaro

the amaro person