I saw this yesterday and had to put it in my cart as I’ve found some of Trader Joe’s Indian Fare dishes they sell in these shelf stable pouches which are super convenient and pretty goodas I’ve found in the past for example, the yellow dal. They are all MADE IN INDIA.
This new pouch is a CHICKPEA CURRY made with coconut milk is a new addition (May 2024). I didn’t taste this yet but will soon and review it. Meanwhile here is what TJ’s says about it…..
“Made with a relatively simple recipe that includes coconut milk, chickpeas, chopped veggies, and spices like turmeric, cinnamon oil, and dried curry leaves, this heat-and-eat Curry achieves a remarkably complex, yet beautifully balanced mix of flavor, texture, and aroma—and all after a single minute in the microwave, or a few minutes submerged in boiling water.”
$2.49
Convenient for the pantry!
Also be sure to try some of their frozen Indian items…. some are really good.
Being able to pick a few leaves of basil whenever you want some is a pleasure. The smell you get from fresh basil is amazing, say ripped up on top of your plate of pasta. Yum. So once or twice a year if I see it, I buy a new pot of ORGANIC BASIL at Trader Joe’s. They sell the big pots for $3.99, a pretty good deal. You can get a smaller pot of herbs for even less ($2.49)
There are lots of plants in the container, at least a dozen if not more. So sure you can just take this pot home, put it on a sunny window sill and pick off some leaves when you want them. But the reality is if you leave it as it is, the plants will last maybe a few months.
You need to re-pot it, if you want it to thrive. I’ve learned the hard way that the trick with these herb containers you buy at the supermarket is, if you want them to really flourish, you have to take them out and re-pot them. You heard me. You need to get your hands in some dirt!
Why bother? Well basil grows quite easily and pretty fast. Each one of those little plants will grow and grow and each one sends out lots of roots. If you just just leave all of those plants together in the orginal pot they will get way too crowded, and the roots will kind of strangle each other. Become “root bound”. Maybe after two or three months the plants will start to look worse and worse as they all fight each other to survive in that limited space. Therefore with these, the best thing to do is when you get the plant home is take it out of the pot. Break them up (gently) and replant them in a number of pots. I save old pots for this to re-use.
You gently separate the roots, very carefully with your fingers and get one or two or three plants max in a bunch and re-pot them. To really see How To just search YouTube where you will find lots of instructional videos on How To re-pot a basil plant. Of course you will need a few pots and dirt to do this but its worth the effort as the plants will live a lot longer. And you will get lots more basil as a result. A dollar store is good place to find soil and pots cheap.
I wish as well as this Italian basil that Trader Joe’s also carried THAI BASIL too. Never see that there. But they do have other herbs like rosemary, oregano, mint….
This is one of those rare Gluten Free products where the GF version is just as good, if not better, than the original one made with whole wheat.
I really like Trader Joe’s regular “Seeds and Whole Grain CRISPBREAD” which I reviewed before. Though I am not Gluten Free, I saw these and wanted to try the GF version of the terrific Norwegian crispbreads Trader Joe’s has. The ingredients are similar, mostly seeds, however the regular version has wheat in it.
They are all very hearty and very crunchy and are great as a cracker or as the base for an open faced Scandinavian style sandwich. Super with a spread or some cheese or even just butter. Or by itself it you like.
The GF version is also terrific. I can eat gluten so I don’t have to get the Gluten Free version but this is so good I would still buy it. Its excellent, really tasty. A little similar in taste and texture to the original one, but this GF version of course does not contain the whole wheat the regular version has, so no gluten here.
This version is made from sunflower seeds, oats, sesame seeds, flax seeds, rice bran and a few other ingredients. Healthy. Made in Norway. I love these style of breads and this gluten free one is also really good. The Gluten Free crispbread cost a bit more than the other ones. These go for $4.29, as compared to the regular Seeds and Grains Crispbread ($2.99).
This is a single estate EVOO from of all places… wait for it…Australia! I was a bit surprised too read the sign above saying “Australian Olive Oil”. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard an Aussie olive oil before, so I had to give it a try. And you know what? I liked it. It’s good and yes “fruity and smooth”.
Trader Joe’s has this to say about it….
“Made with Early Harvest olives grown on a single estate, which are then cold pressed to preserve even more flavor, this extra special EVOO can be used in all the same kitchen contexts you’d employ for an everyday olive oil, like sautéeing or roasting. To take full advantage of its smooth and fruity profile, and nutty, delicately tannic finish, however, we find it truly excels when enjoyed as a base for a salad dressing, or when dunked with hunks of crusty bread.”
The price is pretty decent ($7.99 for 500 ml) and I would say this is worth trying. If you do want to try this I don’t expect it to be around for a long time as TJ’s says this is item is “limited” which means when they sell out existing stock, that’s probably it.
I love mochi generally – specially I mean the soft confections one can find in an Asian bakery or grocery store. Those a pillowy, soft very chewy sweet confections made from sweet sticky rice and that have something on the inside, for example sweet red bean paste. Trader Joe’s sells something frozen which are mochi with ice cream on the inside, frozen. They are really good.
But this new item is a small bite size treat which is a little like that but different. These have a thin layer of something like mochi and an interior of “boba” like tapioca in the center. They are each wrapped individually.
“You can think of this candy version as a deconstructed bubble beverage, where the center of each piece is precisely that pearl (aka tapioca ball) that usually lives at the bottom of your Boba cup. Each individual, caramelized- brown-sugar flavored pearl is surrounded by a creamy coating, then given a classic Japanese rice-wrapper treatment.”
If these sound good, give them a try and see what you think.
I found them OK but didn’t love it. My wife at first thought the were just OK however she kept eating them. Lo and behold she decided she liked them after all (she finished the bag).
When I saw this new Small Lot coffee I first did what I always do. I try to smell the coffee. Actually one can usually get a whiff of it’s smell just by giving the bag a gentle squeeze near the round airvalve. I gave this one a whiff and thought it smelled good. Promising.
When I tasted the brewed coffee though, while I liked it a bit, there was something about it I just didn’t love. Frankly one reason being I am currently “in love” with another coffee right now and have been since I first tasted it. The Trader Joe’s coffee I’ve been crazy about for the last month or two has been their excellent Organic BOLIVIAN BLEND. That may be one of the best coffees I think I ever have gotten there.
This new Small Lot coffee is from Ethopia. Its African. Now African coffee are are unique and different than Latin coffees.
They are frequently referred to as being “wine-y” and having a bit more pronounced profile with a bright acidity it them. I have tasted and really liked many African coffees. Let’s face it when it comes to coffee – Ethiopia is The Source. The Beginning. Historically thought of as the locus, the Origin of Coffee, period. Coffee and coffee culture to is said to have begun there many centuries ago. Ethiopia and Coffee are linked in a way perhaps like no other place in the world.
If you like African coffee you might like this; It does has a typical “winey” profile which many African coffees exhibit and some people really like. I do sometimes but I didn’t love this coffee. I will give it a few more chances to win me over. But again one reason is at the moment my taste buds are really tuned in to “my new coffee” that Bolivian Blend coffee.
If you’ve never had an African coffee, you might want to taste this and see what you think for yourself. However I would first recommend another African coffee there. Trader Joe’s other Ethopian coffee, the Fair Trade Organic Ethiopian Blend Coffee…. which has gotten many good reviews from a number of sites and one that I do like a lot.
Or try the “best of both worlds” – a coffee which is a blend of African & Latin coffee (Afro-Latin Blend BUUNNI Azmari coffee) That one is another excellent coffee at Trader Joe’s and one that is on my top coffee list there.
“Combing the rich flavors of dark chocolate with the resounding crunch of resounding crunch of roasted almonds and pretzel pieces, then finishing with a sprinkle of sea salt. This is a satisfying snackable bark, one that is well worth every bite”
“The Bark you’ll find within each bag starts as a thin(ish) slab of rich Dark Chocolate, studded with crunchy roasted Almond & Pretzel pieces. Our supplier then sprinkles said slab with Sea Salt, breaks it into snackable pieces, and packages it up for your enjoyment. The end result? A sweet, chocolatey treat that’s well worth every bite.”
This is as good as it sounds. The chocolate bark is a little bit thick and slightly crunchy, a mix of sweet with a tiny bit savory. The very decent chocolate is mixed with pieces of roasted almonds and bits of pretzels mixed into the bark that all in all make for a very satisfying snack or treat. I thought this was yummy. I would buy it again.
“Kosher for Passover. Light and crispy with a mild flavor”
(seasonal item)
I like how Trader Joe’s puts a nice spin on matzos by saying they have a “mild flavor”. Let’s face it, made from just flour and water, matzos are at best bland so yes they do have a “mild flavor”. I find them almost tasteless on their own. But put some butter on them and then we’ll talk!
I tasted these Trader Joe’s matzo and they tasted like well matzo. In my time I’ve eaten plenty of matzos, and I am pretty Meh on them but especially with a premium butter all over them they make a good butter delivery system. While as a “cracker” or for a “base for hearty toppings” they remain rather bland, I have always found matzos to be best as a vehicle to put things on like a huge spoon of sweet delicious charoses (a sweet yummy mix of chopped apples, nuts and honey) or maybe made into a Matzobrei … as with addition of butter, eggs and some good jam and fried up they are pretty good.
Price wise this box of Matzo seems to be going for about half the price where I’ve just seen them in a supermarket and at Zabar’s. There they are at least $5 / box so this price is a plus.
If you are in the market for some matzo for your Seder, grab a box, and give these a try.
This is a recent, new addition to the fish area with the Fresh Salmon. Trader Joe’s has come up variation, a pre-seasoned version with spices already added to their popular fresh Atlantic Norwegian farmed salmon. The fish marinates in the package and get imbued with the flavors. OK so what’s “blackened” mean anyway you may ask? Well “blackened fish” is a preparation and seasoning trend that came out of New Orleans years ago, where it was made famous by the late N.O. chef Paul Prudhomme. The spice blend gives food a dark burnished or “blackened” color when cooked. Years ago it was a huge cooking trend especially as the dish, “Blackened Redfish”
“The typical spice blend for blackening is a mix of thyme, oregano, paprika, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, sugar, salt and pepper.”
Trader Joe’s says this:
“Over the years, we’ve received many requests from our customers for pre-seasoned salmon, to make it even easier to go from the fridge to the dinner table. That’s precisely why we’re introducing Trader Joe’s Blackened Salmon to our fresh meat and seafood section.
These boneless, skin-on fillets come ready to cook with a mélange of savory (and slightly spicy) seasonings, including garlic, onion, smoked paprika, chipotle peppers, and demerara sugar all over it. As the fish cooks in an pan, oven, broiler, or especially the air fryer, this layer of seasonings creates a flavorful texturally satisfying Blackened outer crust.” https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/blackened-salmon-seasoned-boneless-fillet-078215
It all sounded interesting to me and decided to check out these Blackened Salmon fillets to review.
As they say one can broil, pan fry or bake it as per the package and mention it works especially well cooked in your air fryer! (I don’t have one so can’t say)
I cooked the salmon pan frying it skin side down in a hot cast iron pan for 3-4 minutes, then put it under the broiler. Doing it this way can get the skin a bit crispy. I only gave it another 2 minutes on the top side under the broiler. As these fillets were on the thin side I was very careful not to overcook it. Personally I hate overcooked fish. My cook on fish is always to do it “just until it flakes”. In salmon’s case I like to still end up seeing the tiniest bit of pink. My wife sometimes makes me put her piece back for another minute, which to me is over cooked but I do hers as she likes.
So how did this “Blackened” salmon taste? Very good actually, the two of us found this seasoned salmon to quite tasty. I didn’t think they put a ton of seasoning on the fish so it wasn’t overdone with the spices and had just enough seasoning to add some nice flavor but not overpower the salmon.
I served the salmon with pieces of lemon and to go with it, some buttery mashed potatoes and a salad. This combination made a perfect yummy dinner that we both really enjoyed. In fact I could have easily eaten another piece of salmon! It was that tasty.
Trader Joe’s charges a bit more (of course) for the pre-seasoned salmon. $10.99 a pound whereas the regular fresh Atlantic Norwegian salmon goes for $9.99. I could not help thinking is it worth my paying an extra dollar per pound for a few spices? Literally all they do with this was sprinkle a tiny bit of seasoning and we know this added cost is for this additional “labor” as well as a little bit of spices (1 gram?).
I like this “blackened salmon” but I bet the reality is I will probably save a buck or so and buy the regular salmon as usual and add my own seasonings – which I normally do anyway. I can try to approximate their mix of “thyme, oregano, paprika, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, sugar, salt and pepper” and let it marinate with the spices for a hour or so before I cook it.
Certainly some people will prefer the slightly easier route of having it already seasoned which is why TJ’s came out with this in the first place. In any case I’d say this seasoned salmon is worth trying so check it out.
UPDATE: MY TRADER JOE’S HAS A SIGN NOW THAT SAYS: “ASK AN EMPLOYEE FOR KIMBAP. LIMIT OF TWO PER CUSTOMER” – ergo try asking for if if you don’t see it on the shelves*
For months I’ve wanted to try this (relatively) new product Trader Joe’s introduced, ever since I first heard about it. But I could never find it in stock!! This went on for maybe six months. I never saw it in stock. Well it seems this is one of those Trader Joe’s products that blew up and went VIRAL due to social media.
“Trader Joe’s sold out of kimbap, its latest viral offering, thanks to TikTok”
In fact, I read that Trader Joe’s started to put up signs to limit any customer to buying just 2 packages.*
I could never buy it! But finally saw it yesterday and I literally I grabbed it. A day or two later, when I went back I actually saw some on the shelves so they had it so hopefully they’ve increased supply.
I’m not Korean. My wife is. So I have eaten a good amount of the real McCoy – freshly made KIMBAP (also called gimbap). I love it, just like I love all kinds of sushi or any Rice and Seaweed combination which is a match made in heaven.
A few years back my wife had a “secret little place” – a small window storefront in NYC’s Koreatown / 32nd Street area. At the time she worked nearby there. She would bring home kimbap from that little shop from time to time. I’ve since learned the kimpab shop is called “EM-O”. The kimbap from there is fantastic. If you ever have a chance to go there I suggest trying one from there (though they used to be about $7 each and now I understand they are about $11)! If you taste one from there (or a restaurant) you will have a basis for comparison for this stuff from TJ’s. No, this is not close BUT ….
Trader Joe’s came out with (frozen) kimbap, that is Made in Korea. Apparntly Costco also sells a similar item too.
“Known in Korea as gimbap, from gim for “seaweed” and bap for “cooked rice,” kimbap is similar to—but decidedly distinct from—a mega-sized maki sushi roll. Whereas maki is typically made with vinegar-seasoned rice and focuses on one filling (like a single variety of vegetable or fish), kimbap is made with sesame oil-seasoned rice, and can contain all kinds of combinations of savory fillings. Trader Joe’s Kimbap, for example, takes a veggie-forward approach. Our supplier, a kimbap expert in the Republic of Korea, arranges an assortment of sauteed greens, crunchy root vegetables, and crisp pickles around a base of braised tofu, wraps it all in a layer of rice and seaweed, then slices it into two-or-three-bite-sized rounds.”
My wife who is skeptical about all Trader Joe’s items was naturally quite skeptical that this frozen kimbap could be any good. Interestingly we both had the same reaction. “This stuff is better than I thought it was going to be”. So a qualified thumbs up. Sure its not like a freshly made kimbap from a special place that mades them.
However it was better than we thought. Its actually tasty. I don’t know if TJ’s Kimbap would impress most Koreans who grew up on their Mom’s kimbap but, as clearly the popularity of this has indicated, this might do in a pinch to satisfy your cravings. Especially I think if you do one of the things they suggest on the package. Grill the slices for a few minutes in a little bit of sesame oil. We had it both ways and liked the grilled ones better than non-grilled so I think that a little grilling will improve it and is worth your trying. Naturally the big difference between the freshly made stuff that you might get in a restaurant or made by your Korean grandma is just that, it was made fresh a few minutes ago. So like Sushi, of course that fresh handmade rice roll will be ideal eaten right then as the rice will be soft and slightly warm while the outer wrapping of seaweed will still have a nice crispy texture and crunch as you bite into it. Which this doesn’t of course. Naturally the process of freezing it and and then defrosting/microwaving it gives you a little mushy texture in both the rice and seaweed wrapping.
However even having said all this, Trader Joe’s Kimbap is still kind of tasty. Again we thought it would be terrible and we both said “this is better than I expected” (and again one of us is Korean/Japanese).
Koreans make many varieties of kimbap; it can contain lots of things, for example some are made with beef bulgogi however this Trader Joe’s one is a vegetarian version made with braised tofu and vegetables which include a few things like Burdock Root a crunchy root vegetable.
INormally kimpab is eaten at room temp. The package says to microwave it from frozen and not to defrost it, so I did as suggested letting it sit afterwards in the package for a minute. The rice came out just a tiny bit mushy and I thought next time I may try a 15 seconds less microwave time. One day I might just try defrosting this and see what that does in spite of what they say.
You can eat it right away as is. However they suggest on the package to pan fry it a bit with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil. Let the slices grill on low for about 5 minutes per side. You can give it a little more flavor sprinkling toasted sesame seeds or FURIKAKE on it. Maybe make a little GOCHUGANG sauce to drizzle on our serve on the side to. I think this would match well with other food items (grilled chicken, shrimp, beef) or maybe even TJ’s vegetarian beefless BULGOLGI
One user on Quora, recommended putting a spoon of spicy tuna on each piece which should like a great idea.
$3.99 per package. I would buy it again. If I can find it that is!!!
MADE IN KOREA
If you are interested in HOW TO MAKE KIMBAP and maybe someday want to try it DIY; here’s a link I found:
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
Recent Comments