Favorite Item from Trader Joe's?

[Cooking Goddess]

Not a snob Kayelle, just someone who knows what she likes.

Those chocolate orange sticks are pure evil! I've had the Shaw wine, but not for a long time now. Here in MA TJ's has only 3 liquor licences to distribute between their 16 MA locations. Needless to say they're all in closer to Boston and not out here in the boonies.

As most of you know, Aldi's owns TJ;s. We have an Aldi closer to us than TJ and we'll stop there for some things now and then. Last time we were there I picked up a bag of their oyster crackers. You see, up here every time you order clam chowder or most other soups you get an ubiquitous bag of Westminster Soup & Snack Crackers, AKA oyster crackers. Haven'f found any other brand we liked as good...until now. My goodness, neither Himself nor I could tell the difference. Well, except for the price. A 10-oz box of the Westminter is $1.69 minimum, whereas I got the 8-oz bag at Aldi for 89 cents. Not bad, not bad at all.

 

[Kayelle]

Thanks GG. Personally I think that Charles Shaw wine is worthless and I can spot it right off the bat..nasty stuff to me. I have no quarrel with inexpensive wine, in fact I have a box of Peter Vella in the fridge as we speak, and enjoy it nearly daily. There's something to be said for inexpensive wine, and then there's really nasty cheap wine like CS.

On the whole, I really like TJ's products, but not this!

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Kayelle, just face the fact that people are different and have different tastes. Doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you, doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the wine. It's just you and it are not destined to be happy together. No problem, TJ's carries a huge selection of almost every you can imagine.

Here's a recent favorite of mine. I usually drink Chardonnay but I occasionally like Sauvignon Blanc (and even Merlot or Chianti). A friend recommend I try Sauvignon Blanc wines from New Zealand--they are grown in NZ's Marlborough region. I've tried three that TJ's carry and found them almost the same (no clear preference) so I've settled on Picton Bay, I think it's $7.99. I usually buy a half dozen bottles at a time.

All I can say is this is NOT your typical Sauvignon Blanc. I'm not a wine snob so I don't now all the fancy words to describe nuances in taste, but to me the NZ SVs seem to fall in the taste spectrum somewhere between ordinary Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, a kind of a middle ground between my two favorite wine varieties.

So I recommend everybody might try Picton Bay Sauvignon Blanc at Trader Joe's for a very unique Sauvignon Blanc. And note the other two brands TJ's carries are almost identical to my taste. For fun, try a bottle of each.

 

[JanetMlr]

I LOVE Trader Joe's! As a rule, I never buy prepared foods, but that frozen dessert section at TJ's is downright evil (in a good way). I especially love those pastries that you let rise over night. I have to stay out of that aisle!

One of the things I buy at TJ's on a regular basis are their sweet and spicy pecans. They are a mainstay in my salads. I make sure I always have them on hand.

At first I clicked "last" thinking I should go to the end (not sure why). I don't know how far back it went, but darn... they went on and on about wine. I've only seen beer sold at any TJ's in CT I've been to. I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I don't think I'd go to TJ's for wine even if they had it. I like my beer (that's 1 beer, or 2 for special occasions), and they have my favorite Magic Hat at TJ's. ?

 

[cave76]

I've been forced to be wary of what I buy at TJs. Some things are good or even great but many aren't.

I don't shop there often but I did last week. I bought a package of the TJ brand of taquitos with beef. I've eaten mystery meat at fast food places but this contained the the most mushy and unflavorful mystery meat I ever encountered.

Note to TJ----if you're going to serve mystery meat, please try to make it taste better and not look like something my dog barfed up. I threw the leftovers out and the rest of the package.

OTOH--- TJs has a really good round sourdough bread!

 

[msmofet]

I LOVE Trader Joe's! As a rule, I never buy prepared foods, but that frozen dessert section at TJ's is downright evil (in a good way). I especially love those pastries that you let rise over night. I have to stay out of that aisle!

One of the things I buy at TJ's on a regular basis are their sweet and spicy pecans. They are a mainstay in my salads. I make sure I always have them on hand.

At first I clicked "last" thinking I should go to the end (not sure why). I don't know how far back it went, but darn... they went on and on about wine. I've only seen beer sold at any TJ's in CT I've been to. I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I don't think I'd go to TJ's for wine even if they had it. I like my beer (that's 1 beer, or 2 for special occasions), and they have my favorite Magic Hat at TJ's. ��

The espresso ice cream is EVIL (to yummy!)!! We also like the oatmeal dunkers cookies.

I also like the coconut oil spray.

 

[Kayelle]

I just discovered Amazon.com : Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning With Grinder : Meat Seasonings : Grocery & Gourmet Food
It's excellent and $2.00 if you buy it in the store. The best thing about all their spices with grinders is they are refillable! I just refilled one with dried Porchini mushrooms.

 

[Cheryl J]

Good to know! I bet that seasoning blend is good. I like the idea of refilling the grinder jars. I still have 3/4 of a jar of their 21 Seasoning Salute (that's good, too!) left and when that's almost gone, I'll buy a jar of their grinder seasoning blend. Added to my TJ's list for next time I'm there.

 

[Kayelle]

Good to know! I bet that seasoning blend is good. I like the idea of refilling the grinder jars. I still have 3/4 of a jar of their 21 Seasoning Salute (that's good, too!) left and when that's almost gone, I'll buy a jar of their grinder seasoning blend. Added to my TJ's list for next time I'm there.

I was shocked when I discovered my TJ's rainbow pepper (excellent too) grinder was refillable! I also have the Lemon Pepper grinder. Frankly, I'd pay $2.00 for one of those nice grinders with nothing in it. My dried mushrooms in one of them is gonna be great.

I'm picking up the South African Smoke on my next trip.
https://traderjoesrants.wordpress.com/2013/06/19/tjs-south-african-smoke-seasoning-spice-blend/

 

[Aunt Bea]

I was shocked when I discovered my TJ's rainbow pepper (excellent too) grinder was refillable! I also have the Lemon Pepper grinder. Frankly, I'd pay $2.00 for one of those nice grinders with nothing in it. My dried mushrooms in one of them is gonna be great.

I'm picking up the South African Smoke on my next trip.
https://traderjoesrants.wordpress.com/2013/06/19/tjs-south-african-smoke-seasoning-spice-blend/

Thanks for the tip about the refillable grinder!

I was looking at TJ's spices today after reading a thread about spicy food. The refillable jar appeals to my frugal nature!

I need to stop in and see if my Trader Joe's has the Rainbow Peppercorns mixture of Brazilian Pink, Indian Green, Malaysian White and Indian Black Tellicherry Peppercorns. I would like to be able to add a few allspice berries to the peppercorns and see how that tastes.

 

[Kayelle]

Thanks for the tip about the refillable grinder!

I was looking at TJ's spices today after reading a thread about spicy food. The refillable jar appeals to my frugal nature!

I need to stop in and see if my Trader Joe's has the Rainbow Peppercorns mixture of Brazilian Pink, Indian Green, Malaysian White and Indian Black Tellicherry Peppercorns. I would like to be able to add a few allspice berries to the peppercorns and see how that tastes.

Glad you like the idea AB. It not only appeals to my frugal nature, but I'll be glad to have an empty one to quickly grind up spices I'd normally have to grind in my dedicated coffee grinder.

 

[Cooking4to]

I like their red palm oil {great butter substitute} , the price is the best part of it, before I found theirs for under $9.99 a jar I used to buy at a local market for almost double what they charge, and TJs seems to be better quality...

I also like their 21 seasoning salute, it is great for a fast seasoning mix, I like cutting some steak tips, wiping them with melted butter, sprinkling them with the 21 ss, and grilling them up super fast, so it crisp-ies them up a bit, the inside is red outside dark and crunchy, MMMMMMM Yum... Its a busy seasoning, and works well when heated, I have yet to see the meat that it doesn't compliment, chicken, fish, sword, lobster, crab, turkey, pork, stews, tips, strips, roasts, brisket, etc etc etc stuff is good, and the best part ITS 2 BUCKS A BOTTLE!!!!!! Such a nice spice for $2 a bottle, is insane...

 

[GotGarlic]

Glad you like the idea AB. It not only appeals to my frugal nature, but I'll be glad to have an empty one to quickly grind up spices I'd normally have to grind in my dedicated coffee grinder.

Just wanted to mention, I do the same with Penzey's

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...I'm picking up the South African Smoke on my next trip..

I have that one and love it on chicken breasts! I have a sample jar of Penzeys' Berbere that is too hot-spicy for me, so Himself gets that one. I'm perfectly happy with the African Smoke. I also have a small selection of different smoked salts (maple, hickory, etc) that I got at a spice shop in, of all place, Coshocton, OH.

Thanks for the tip on reusing the grinders. I figured the TJ's ones were like others - one use and pitch.

 

[msmofet]

I love their bagged greens and baby spinach.

I will be making a TJ run soon for turbinado sugar, baby spinach, freeze dried strawberries, mesquite honey and egg noodles. It will probably cost me $100.00!! LOL I always find things new or things I forgot I was getting low on till I walk down the isle. DD loves the "clusters" cereal.

 

[eeturk]

I love their almond milk (doesn't have the chalky flavor that some others have), frozen croissants (kouigns amann, pumpkin, almond), Mediterranean hummus, Persian cucumbers, ice cream, whole grain pita chips, honey wheat pretzel sticks, onion dip mix, vanilla almond "just the clusters" granola, coconut oil spray.. I could go on and on! Love trader joes, wish they had stuff like ziplocs and all that so it could be my primary store.


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[msmofet]

I forgot the coconut oil spray, coffee ice cream (intense coffee flavor) and eggnog (doesn't have that chemical after taste).

 

[Cheryl J]

Mmm...I'm going to have to try to dried porcini mushrooms idea, Kay. I love mushrooms and would like to have a dried sub when I don't have fresh, since they only keep for about an hour....

I can't recall anything I've bought from TJ's that I didn't like....although there must be something! I love their hummus too...the eggplant hummus is fabulous, as is their roasted red pepper. Their cheese section is great - they have such a good selection, and the prices are so much better than I can get in my local supermarket. I love their smoked gouda.

 

[msmofet]

I grind my dry porcinis in my mini FP and put in a Tupperware "midget" (that's what they were called when mom was a Tupperware dealer) container. I keep it in the fridge and sprinkle the powder in meatloaf mixture, soups, pot roast simmering broth, gravies etc.

 

[Cheryl J]

I remember the 'midgets' from way back when!
I seriously need to get some dried porcinis...thanks MsMofet for another testimonial. I'm sure I'd love them in so many dishes.