Trader Joe Products That You Didn't Care For

[Kayelle]

You have an answer for everything Addie, once again we should have known to ask you first.

 

[GotGarlic]

My first husband was a fisherman, then turned to shrimping. No matter what the product, all seafood is frozen and covered by layers of ice on the boat. So by the time it is unloaded from the boat and processed, it has already partially thawed. The store will either let it continue to thaw or place it in the deep freeze as soon as it comes in.

That was, what, 30-40 years ago? Fishing and processing practices have changed. Fish is often frozen in freezers in shipping containers, not on ice, and stays frozen till it reaches the supermarket, which can be thousands of miles away from where it was caught or farmed. Sometimes fish is shipped live in tanks to a distribution center thousands of miles away.

 

[GotGarlic]

Tried to add: A lot of seafood is farmed these days, so it's caught, processed, frozen and shipped and not thawed till it reaches the store or the consumer.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

At TJ's I've never seen fish pieces frozen side by side. That would solve the whole problem. Dang.

Ditto.

 

[Kayelle]

I posted this at tonight's dinner thread, so thought I'd put it here too so it doesn't get lost.....

My hopes for a quick and easy dinner from Trader Joe's fizzled tonight. It sure wasn't up to par, and only fresh squeezed limes over the top saved it from the disposal. On top of all that, I don't think I'm a big fan of expensive Saffron, so maybe that's a good thing. Nope, this was a TJ miss big time.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

I posted this at tonight's dinner thread, so thought I'd put it here too so it doesn't get lost.....

No kidding?!
I saw this the other and thought about it... good to know! Mahalo, thanks K!

Ooohhh! Don't forget to take that package back to TJ's for a credit

 

[Kayelle]

No kidding?!
I saw this the other and thought about it... good to know! Mahalo, thanks K!

Ooohhh! Don't forget to take that package back to TJ's for a credit

Thanks for the reminder Kgirl.....I've never had to to that before so I just rescued it from the trash.

 

[Just Cooking]

I agree... Tried it once, was not impressed...

Ross

 

[CraigC]

I posted this at tonight's dinner thread, so thought I'd put it here too so it doesn't get lost.....

As with most pre-cooked, frozen seafood, it never lives up to expectations. Did it have a bad smell when you opened it? The other thing is if the seafood was "done" when it was packaged, it was overcooked when reheated. Even frozen raw seafood is hit or miss.

 

[Kayelle]

As with most pre-cooked, frozen seafood, it never lives up to expectations. Did it have a bad smell when you opened it? The other thing is if the seafood was "done" when it was packaged, it was overcooked when reheated. Even frozen raw seafood is hit or miss.

If it had a bad smell I wouldn't have cooked it. I cooked it just long enough to pink up the shrimp so the seafood was raw to start. It also cooked up creating a nice looking saffron sauce, however the problem was with the flavor. Maybe someone else may like it, but as I mentioned before, I think I don't like saffron.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

I bought this Chile Relleno when DH was having oral surgery,
thinking that I'd have something that would be quick and easy for supper
for one, as he couldn't eat at the time.
MEH! Not so much, I mean it was just okay. I ate it, but...
Too much "Salsa" for me, as I do not care for tomatoes all that much.
Not that I would ask for a refund, not that bad, but
I surly won't be buying this again.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

OMG thank you so much Kayelle, I was SRSLY considering buying this very product last week, but something seemed "off" to me. It was that the quantity of protein (seafood) didn't seem right to me (compared to the rest of the ingredients), even at the weight it seemed intended for TWO people, but at the same time I thought ONE person and throw away the extra rice.

You saved me from either throwing away the entire product or eating it via gagging myself with a spoon! (Okay, okay, I *DID* grow up in The Valley!) Yes I remember when the expression came into vogue (after I was a teener) and went out of vogue (I was a bona fide yuppie homeowner by then).

So I'll take this product only if I have a nearby spoon available for gagging purposes. Otherwise I'll take a pass.

I have become increasingly disappointed in TJ products. This is just one of them. I particularly get annoyed with their "servings for two" products. I am one person. And when I have guests (>2) I wouldn't serve them store bought food. I'd cook from scratch, and like all DC members from the heart, I can beat any restaurant any day as long as I get to pick the day.

Same problem with that EU market that tested our shores. I was a customer when they were full on "one serving." They changed their model to "two up" and lost me in the process.

I can tolerate "nuke 'n puke" products to a degree, provided I need to gag myself with a spoon only one time. But I have no room in my diet for reheated 2-serving "nuke 'n puke." One spoon session is quite enough for me!

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

This happened to catch my eye last week while at Trader Joe's
https://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/746
I knew that I had acoupla TJ's Soft Pretzel Sticks in the deep freeze,
but no Brats to go with them.
Meh, not a hit. They were kinda taste-less really.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

I was in Trader Joe's today to pick up just a few of our regular items and I saw this on the fresh baked goods display.







I thought, hmmm, coffee cake, that's always a hit in our house, let's try it.
First off, DH says "I now read all ingredients before I eat it. What's this here? It has SOUR CREAM in it?"
Well, he loves it, me, I thinks it's dry but, I make a killer Blueberry Coffee Cake
that so moist and tender!

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Wait, what? K-Girl, is it true that your DH likes something that you don't? Why, this is an historic day! We should order a proclamation!

Just kidding, friend.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Wait, what? K-Girl, is it true that your DH likes something that you don't? Why, this is an historic day! We should order a proclamation!

Just kidding, friend.

His taste buds are all out of whack!

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Really didn't like this bag of chips.
Stale, flavorless, extremely lack-luster.
I didn't bother to take it back (15 miles away from home),
just pitched it out.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

K-Girl, never, ever toss anything from TJ's. They ALWAYS give money back. In fact, I had a hunk of cheese that was moldy before the "sell by" date on the wrapper. I took photos of it all, showed it to the manager, and got credit. BTW, we're 25 miles from TJ's, so I completely understand not wanting to run back right away.

 

[JustJoel]

I bought a couple of salmon fillets from TJ’s that made both Markand me quite ill.

 

[roadfix]

My closest TJ's been closed since that shootout incident with the police last Sat.
Anyway, my wife came home the other day with a frozen bag of Multigrain Blend with Vegis. No heating, just thaw and serve. I liked it with a little extra seasoning added. My wife didn't care for it...