Trader Joe’s SALTED CARAMEL MOCHI

27 Apr 2026 1 Comment

by promacnyc in dairy, frozen, ice cream, Meh, New, News, Products, Trader Joes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,


NEW ITEM

Trader Joe’s Salted Caramel Mochi, Ice Cream wrapped in a layer of sweet chewy mochi (sticky rice).

Here’s what they say about it: “Each bite starts with the sweet, tooth-sinking sensations of the outer Mochi layer, which quickly gives way to the rich, full-flavored, and buttery-sweet Salted Caramel ice cream within.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/salted-caramel-mochi-083237

Here’s my honest review. Basically, I love most anything made with Mochi (sticky rice). I love that chewy texture. I’ve really liked most of the Trader Joe’s mochi ice cream combos they have come out with. I think one in particular is a knockout: the BLACK SESAME MOCHI ICE CREAM. I find that one to just be terrific and a bit of an unusual flavor, we don’t see too often in the U.S.

The Green Tea mochi ice cream is also good as well as the Strawberry flavor and the Mango…. So they quite a few flavors of these mochi ice creams. I think with now this Salted Caramel one, they have or had six flavor combos.

This new new Salted Caramel flavor got some buzz on the internet about how great it was. So I wanted to try it and see how it stacks up against all the other ones. Here’s my honest review.

I have to measure it against the other ones. I thought it was OK however I wasn’t terribly impressed with the salted caramel flavor, which lets face it, unlike say a fruit flavor, is a bit harder to compare to the real thing. I mean you know instantly if mango mochi tastes like mango. I think its harder for “salted caramel” which is the natural flavor combo of caramelized sugar plua butter with a bit of salt).

I wanted a second opinion, so I asked my wife to taste it too. She basically had the same reaction and said it was “just OK”. So we both found it just ok. We didn’t think the salted caramel mochi was as good as some of the other flavors, especially say compared to the (great) black sesame mochi, which we both loved as well as many of the fruit ones, like mango.

The outside wrapper is brown and pretty sticky. Usually the wrappers made from white sticky rice look white. So I assume there must be caramel in that as well as the ice cream as per the ingredients on the label. the combo of the white salted caramel ice cream inside and the brown mochi wrapper are a bit Meh and Underwhelming where as I really like many of the fruit ones (mango) and the standout (black sesame) And by the way, I do not see “butter” in the ingredient list. But I do see “miso” listed (??) which I imagine is part of the “salted” flavor?

So I didn’t hate this but I didn’t love it either. Again its OK but I would not buy this again. I would way prefer to buy my favorite, Black Sesame version, which if you havent tried it, I would recommend. Or Mango. Maybe Green Tea.

Of course this is IMHO. Some on Instagram do give this new flavor, high praise reviews of its a “must try”, “addictive” “gotta have it” – so your call.

As per TJ’s let all mochi ice cream treats defrost a bit before eating them to get the full flavor and texture profiles.

$4.99 (6 small ice cream pieces) 6.8 oz

Says GLUTEN FREE

Trader Joe’s Homestyle ANGUS BEEF MEATBALLS

25 Apr 2026 1 Comment

by promacnyc in Trader Joes Tags: , , , ,


These ready to cook meatballs from Trader Joe’s are a fairly recent item, sold fresh in the meat section. I wanted to try them for while and finally got around to trying these.

Now it’s $9.99. Yes it went up as beef prices have skyrocketed. Still not a terrible deal. There are 12 meatballs in the package which is (24 oz or 1 1/2 lbs) Trader Joe’s has this to say about them:

“…Our supplier’s recipe starts with a base of tender, ground 100% Angus Beef, to which they add a bit of panko breadcrumbs…along with onion and garlic purée, a blend of aromatic herbs like basil and oregano, as well as grated Parmesan and Romano cheeses”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/homestyle-angus-beef-meatballs-081242

Cooking: The box has instructions for cooking the meatballs in the oven (at 400 for 15-20 minutes) as well as for Air Fryer (at 400 for 10-15 mins)

I find it funny they don’t say anything about what I would call the traditional grandma method to cook meatballs: Brown them then simmer in a pot of tomato sauce. You can just put them into the sauce without browning, which is the way my mom used to make meatballs.

Its a little more work and mess to brown them, but I do like the flavor you get with browning. Plus you can get that tasty “fond” left in the bottom of the pan which will add a lot of flavor once you deglaze that and add that into your meat sauce.

Sauce: As you choose. You could use TJ’s very decent $1.99 jar of tomato basil MARINARA sauce (24 oz). Or for a bigger batch use two jars. Again, I would suggest the traditional browning and simmer method but thats your call if you want to bake these or Air Fry them and add sauce later depending on how you are serving the meatballs.

To cook them I did it the traditional Grandma way: browning them in olive oil on all sides, deglaze the pan, and then simmered in sauce for 15-29 minutes or so. We served them in the classic way of: Spaghetti and Meatballs. These are great for that of course.

If you want something really special for your sauce you could level up and use that $5 jar of TJ’s superb CARO SUGO sauce!

We used it to make “Spaghetti and Meatballs” for dinner, eat about 3 meatballs each and had enough left for another meal for later in the week out of the one package.

REVIEW: I would say these were pretty good. Of course I could not compare these to “Grandma’s homemade meatballs” but these were not bad at all. These were pretty tasty served up as spaghetti and meatballs. Flavor wise we did think they could have used a bit more of everything (garlic, seasonings, cheese…) Now I do make meatballs from scratch, which are great, but honestly I have not made meatballs in a LONG TIME! So I would call these the next best thing to home made and pretty easy. They had a good meatball texture, being neither too soft nor too firm. You can fix these up easily for more flavor.

FIXING THEM UP: You can easily improve these by adding a few things such as, Dried Herbs, Garlic. Cheese… I wish these had way more cheese but you can fix that by grating on a ton of Pecorino or Parmesan when you serve them. Fresh basil would be a knockout punch. The sauce you serve them with will help of course.

These would work for making “meat sauce” (break them up). Use them for making Heros or Subs like in the picture (Meatball Sub). Or match with any kind of pasta. I read somewhere that someone even used these to make “Italian Wedding Soup” (he made them into smaller meatballs). So get creative. Overall, pretty tasty even if they will not fool Grandma. Naturally you could do a few things to the uncooked meatballs. Reform them into either even smaller meatballs. Or bigger. Take make these about 1 and a half size. Or go the other direction : use these for a Meat Sauce, Ragu or Bolognese style sauce using either jarred sauce or making your own.

$9.99 (24 oz / 12 meatballs) – (I think they used to be $8 when they came out a year or so back?)

You could spend about $13 total to make a spaghetti and meatball dinner which would easily feed 4 people. Using these 12 beef meatballs, a pound of spaghetti, plus a jar of marinara . That works out to about $3 bucks per person which is not terrible for a super tasty meal. Meatball subs? Maybe a few bucks more for the hero rolls.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/90321/meatball-sandwich/

https://www.instagram.com/reels/C2550-UvU2b/

Trader Joe’s ORGANIC MEXICO CHIAPAS Coffee

23 Apr 2026 1 Comment

by promacnyc in All Natural, coffee, fresh, General, Mexican, New, News, organic, Prices, Products, Rave, review, Staple, Trader Joes, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


“MEDIUM ROAST – With notes of milk chocolate and stone fruits”

100% Arabica. Whole Beans. Organic.

NEW ITEM

“You’re likely familiar with our rotating roster of limited-edition Small Lot Coffees—carefully sourced, single-origin offerings that tend to be available only in small quantities, and only for a short time.”

This is not a Small Lot however Trader Joe’s says this coffee captures the spirit of their Small Lot coffees. They managed to find enough supply to have this on a regular basis. Trader Joe’s has this new coffee from Chiapas, Mexico.

This is an excellent coffee.

Chiapas is the southern most part of Mexico and has the Sierra Madre mountains. These beans are grown high up there between 4,000 and 6,000 feet. This coffee is “grown by a collective of nearly 2,000 small farmers.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/organic-mexico-chiapas-coffee-082814

“… thanks to our longstanding relationships with some exceptional growers, we’ve been able to secure a supply of Trader Joe’s Organic Mexico Chiapas Whole Bean Coffee large enough to offer every day. It captures the spirit of our Small Lot releases—high-quality, single-origin craftsmanship—only this time, it’s here to stay.”

I really really liked this. High quality indeed. These beans smelled great upon opening the bag. Ground up fresh the coffee smells even better.

ROAST – You can never count on when TJ’s says Light or Medium. This bag says “Medium Roast”. However to me it’s clearly darker than Medium. I might say a dark medium or a light dark roast? As you can see the beans are just a tiny bit shiny. Whatever they call it the roast is perfect for these beans.

This made a wonderfully flavorful cup of coffee, which they describe as “with notes of milk chocolate and stone fruit”. I made it in my MOKA POT. I even got a bit of crema. It should work for any brewing method. Delicious.

I would not mind having another bag at all. This coffee is a keeper!

I would buy it again.

$9.99 (12 oz bag)

Trader Joe’s ORGANIC PERU CAJAMARCA Small Lot Coffee

20 Apr 2026 1 Comment

by promacnyc in All Natural, coffee, DIY, drink, fresh, Meh, New, News, organic, Pantry, Prices, Products, review, Staple, Trader Joes, update, vegetarian Tags: , , , , , , ,


“Our supplier gives the beans a light roast, highlighting the inherent notes of molasses, dark chocolate, sweet plum, and apple. You get a crisp, clean cup with dense, satisfying flavors.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/organic-peru-cajamarca-small-lot-coffee-082029

I am pretty sure this is the first coffee from Peru I may have tasted.

I found this latest Organic Small Lot coffee from Peru at Trader Joe’s to be pretty interesting, if not astunning remarkable find a few of the Small Lot coffees they’ve had in the past that were amazing (For that read my post on the UGANDA RWENZORI coffee). This is in the middle. Brewed up this was pretty good, a bit fruity with notes of “chocolate, molasses and apple or plum”. I get a bit of a wine-y after taste note that I usually associate with some African coffees.

Try this is you like to try every Small Lot they come out with, as I do, hoping for the best. This is not that but good. Overall though as my standard every day drink these days I prefer the Bolivian coffee they have.

$9.99 (12 oz bag)

Hacks to keep your Trader Joe’s produce as fresh as possible

07 Apr 2026 Leave a comment

by promacnyc in All Natural, DIY, fresh, General, News, organic, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rant, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


I’ve thought about posting something like this for awhile, instead of a review. The issue: Wasting money. Wasting food. Argh !!! I’m sure you are with me. I just hate discovering produce wasn’t used fast enough and is basically garbage now. I hate to throw out food. I’m sure you feel the same. With everything costing more and more, frankly now it seems more important than ever.

We all know all too well, the horrible feeling of looking in a bag of greens or something only to find something black and melted and looking like it’s ready for the garbage. Some things go faster than other. Pre-washed soft little greens for one.

Say washed, ready to eat Mixed Greens at Trader Joe’s. I’ve found those really don’t last long. Great for 3, 4 days. They go bad pretty fast. Faster than almost anything else I buy at Trader Joe’s as the little mixed lettuces are very delicate. After four days, I will usually find a few rotten pieces deep in the middle.

So how do you keep your veggies and stuff from going bad for as long as possible?

Every vegetable and package presents a different challenge. A lot of stuff at Trader Joe’s is packaged in plastic. Most? Way too much plastic and of course Plastic doesn’t “breathe”. Moisture is both the friend and enemy with veggies. Just enough is good to keep them as fresh as possible. But if no air, it will rot faster.

My so called hack is a mix of air (holes) and paper towels to try to regulate the moisture in the bag.

AIR FLOW. What I usually do is I make holes if there aren’t any already. Even if there are (bagged carrots for example) I may add some more holes. What I do is a combination of things to regulate the moisture. Sometimes adding a paper towel in the bag to absorb moisture (and provide it slowly). On occasion both the two together, poking lots of holes and a paper towel in the bag. It’s tricky as you don’t want stuff to dry up, but not have too much moisture either.

For example take that bag of ARUGULA – which I buy frequently. The first thing I do before I put the bag in the fridge is take a sharp pointy knife – and STAB IT all over to make a lot of holes. Seriously stab it. Not two or three holes. I stab the bag maybe 10 times on each side. A lot of little holes to make it more breathable. I might slit open the bag and put a paper towel in along the side.

Mixed greens? Air holes and paper towels in the bag. Close up with a clothes pin or similar.

GREEN ONIONS – Same thing. Air holes all over.

Once you open a bag, which I usually do with scissors, i use clips or clothes pins to seal shut.

With green onions, sometimes I will remove them all from the bag and wrap a paper towel around the bottom which is barely moistened with a few drops of water to keep those root ends moist. A wonderful Cantonese chef I watch alot of cooking videos of, recommends standing green onions upright in the fridge, in a plastic bag with the roots wrapped in barely moist paper towels. That does work but I usually have them horizontal.

What about say a package of PERSIAN CUCUMBERS? They have cardboard on the bottom which is breathable, so better. The plastic wrapping them, I pierce all over and make (more) air holes. Keep loosely covered.

What about Trader Joe’s plastic square boxes of parsley or cilantro? I stab the plastic box like crazy to make holes in them and take a paper towel and wrap up the whole bunch of parsley in the paper towel. Maybe add a few drops of water to keep it moist – barely. Freshen every few days.

Another thing I do, is when things start to look no longer perfect is I will cook the greens when they get past prime time (a bit not garbage). Lets say I have half a bag of arugula left over, It looks a little past it’s prime but not too bad. Not great for a salad but not ready to toss in the garbage. So I cook it. I remove any really bad leaves, give it a quick rinse, and toss it in a pan with oil and garlic. Sauté it for a few minutes till wilted. Arugula is great to cook with too. Or if I’m cooking something, throw it in at the end for 1 minute or so till its wilted / cooked.

Hope these ideas help.

Trader Joe’s versatile THAI STYLE PEANUT DRESSING

04 Apr 2026 1 Comment

by promacnyc in All Natural, Asian, condiments, fresh, General, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, spices, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Trader Joe’s Thai Style Peanut Dressing

I really like this very versatile dressing. Sold in the refrigerated section near salad stuff. Sure this a “salad dressing” but it is also more than that.

Trader Joe’s has this to say about it: “When is a salad dressing more than a salad dressing? How about when it’s also a great dip, condiment, marinade, sauce…”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/thai-style-peanut-dressing-080035

Salad dressing, a marinade, a glaze, a condiment, even a dipping sauce for your dumplings!

It can be used for all those and maybe more. This is really versatile and useful to have in your fridge. It is of course peanut-y and a typical Asian style mix of sweet and savory. We tried it as a salad dressing. Very yummy. After we poured some over mixed lettuce and arugula my wife said “I think this would also be great on noodles“… Yes! Toss some into your noodles. Or grilled chicken (use for a marinade and a glaze). Or Salmon. Or Shrimp. Or Baked Tofu. Or an omelet. A dipping sauce for dumplings. Cole slaw. Grilled vegetables…. you name it.

It is a bit sweet (from agave syrup) and of course very peanut-y. Has the tiniest amount of spice listed as the last ingredient but I can’t really detect any level of “spicy” here. If you want that, just add your favorite spicy stuff. You can even top with some crushed peanuts (this is smooth) for added texture. I really like this!

You will find it good on or with so many things. The cousin of this, also very good is TJ’s TOASTED SESAME DRESSING.

It lists 120 Cal per 2 tbls

$3.99 bottle (12 oz)

Great with chicken. Marinate some boneless breast or thighs in a bit of this sauce for 1/2 hour. Grill or broil them. Brush on some sauce in the last minute cooking to get a wonderful glaze. Serve with more sauce.