“FLAVORFUL AND HEARTY, GREAT FOR MAKING LARGE SANDWICHES”
For years I’ve been buying the good bread Trader Joe’s calls “San Francisco Style Sourdough” . I’ve found it’s just a great all around sliced breadat an affordable price to generally have on hand. They eventually came out with this variation on that one. This new sourdough loaf they call “CRACKED WHEAT SOURDOUGH“. Also quite good! It’s a slightly heartier version of that original SF style bread.
Here’s my honest review of Trader Joe’s (new) CRACKED WHEAT SOURDOUGH loaf sliced bread.
It’s very good. This cracked wheat version is a nice variation. They’ve added cracked wheat which gives this one a little bit of a heartier taste and texture. It also has slightly thicker slices compared to the original San Francisco style bread.
The Cracked Wheat Sourdough Bread has some whole wheat flour mixed in plus a bit of cracked whole wheat. This bread is little darker than the SF style bread. This is a light brown with flecks of cracked wheat visible. Like the original SF bread, this is a round, sliced loaf which is 24 oz (1 1/2 lbs). The loaf is sliced a bit thicker. Here, one loaf has about 13 slices, compared to the “SF style” loaf which has about 16 slices. The slightly thicker slices make it “heartier”, which might be good for building hearty sandwiches for one thing, or just a bit bigger piece of yummy sourdough toast.
The cracked wheat in the recipe makes a hearty slice with a nice soft chewy interior and a nicely chewy crust.
This bread makes a nice hearty slice of toast. I just find it reaches its full potential toasted or grilled, even a little bit. Which is true for a lot of breads.
Tip: I find this is best toasted or at least warmed. I say this bread is made to be toasted, even if just lightly.
BREAKFAST TOAST: I toasted this up till golden brown, and it does makes a great piece of toast. I spread it simply with some good butter and a little jam. So if for nothing else, this thick sliced bread will make you a hearty slice of toast at breakfast, though you will find plenty of uses for it as you will see below.
Now just as is, un-toasted, this bread is fine, but for me, nothing like what it tastes like, after being toasted, even a little. Toasting or grilling this even a wee bit, really brings out the flavor as well as texture.
Of course the thicker slices here will make great sandwiches as it will be a bit sturdier than the slightly thinner slices of the SF Style Sourdough (also great toasted). Sturdy enough to even make a Dagwood sandwich. These thicker slices would certainly, as TJ’s sign says, just be perfect “for making large sandwiches” not to mention Open Faced sandwiches. Think of this for some Avocado Toast as it will be perfect, for one just idea. Grilled cheese? A No Brainer. How about a Tuna Melt? Yes again.
I made a closed TUNA MELT with the Cracked Wheat bread, and that turned out great.
I also used the bread to make an open faced sardine sandwich on a slice of this, lightly toasted. Toast bread, spread a little butter then load it with my favorite smoked sardines from TJ’s mashed up with a little mayo and lemon juice. Very yummy.
What about this bread for Grilled Cheese, you ask? Perfect for grilled cheese sandwiches of any kind. I made a yummy grilled cheese kimchi sandwich (no really, that is a thing now and it works great!) I used cheddar and mozz with a little bit of TJ’s KIMCHI. Super delicious.
So good for sandwiches and good just toasted for breakfast spread with some good butter, with or without jam.
For my next endeavor using this bread, I am thinking of doing an “egg in the hole” for next Sunday’s breakfast, which I expect would be great using this hearty bread grilled up.
So my review is that TJ’s sliced cracked wheat sourdough bread is it is well worth checking out if you want slightly healthier sourdough at Trader Joe’s and you want your slices a little bit thicker.
(PS – This seems pretty popular and sometimes they do seem to sell out of this, but it usually comes back in a day or so; Ask the store Captain if you don’t see, it when they expect it back in stock)
STORAGE – Generally I will freeze it if keeping it more than three days in the fridge. Since it’s sliced, its pretty easy to take out a slice or two as needed. In the freezer its good for a month or two, but can get freezer burn if you are not carefully wrapping it. So wrap tightly. Double bagging it, isn’t a bad idea. Many people I know, always keep bread out on the counter at room temp (bread will develop mold after maybe a week if no preservatives like this one)
Double Concentrated Tomato Paste, Ingredients: Tomatoes. Salt
For some time I mourned the loss at Trader Joe’s of their handy Italian TOMATO PASTE in a tube which they “discontinued” maybe a year or two back. At the time I asked the TJ’s Captain to look it up and he said it was not even on order and that he was pretty sure it was gone for good. Fortunately it magically appeared back on the shelves recently at my Trader Joe’s and for that I say, HOORAY! So did Trader Joe’s change their minds? Did they lose a supplier and could not find one for years? Who knows? In any case I’m just glad to see this as this is a product I used to buy all the time.
Sometimes you don’t need that whole little can of paste, so the great thing about the tubes of tomato paste – an essential kitchen item, people – is obvious. Say you just need 1 tablespoon of tomato paste for something. Now you don’t have to open a whole small can up. Then figure out what to do with the rest. With the tube one just squeezes out the tablespoon. The paste in the tube can last a few months in the fridge. Which is better than finding that half used up can of tomato paste in the back of the fridge which I forgot I had, which now looks bad so I throw it out.
$1.49 (which is half what the tomato paste in a tube costs at regular grocery stores)
BTW did you know that tomato paste is one food that is Pure Umami*?
GOOGLE:
*Tomato paste is a great source of umami flavor:
Umami-rich Tomatoes are naturally high in glutamates, which are chemicals that create umami, the savory depth of a food. Concentrating the flavor of tomatoes into tomato paste makes it a powerful umami ingredient.
Versatile – A small amount of tomato paste can add a lot of flavor to many dishes, including soups, sauces, stews, braises, and bread dough.
Easy to use – A tablespoon of tomato paste can have the same flavor as 100 fresh tomatoes.
Flavor develops with browning – Browning tomato paste in the skillet caramelizes the natural sugars in the tomatoes, which enhances the umami flavor and reduces acidity. To brown it, just add some tomato paste into oil or butter on med/low heat and gently stir for about 3 mins or so till it darkens in color.
Other ingredients that are high in umami include: Miso paste, Soy sauce, Aged cheeses, Potatoes, Dried mushrooms, Anchovies, and Fish sauce.
“Our newest Cream Cheese Spread is celebratory, creamy, super savory, and full of flavor for all your summer schmearing needs. Trader Joe’s Red Bell Pepper, Garlic & Parmesan Cream Cheese Spread is a zesty combo with a heavy-handed sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, is flecked with red bell pepper, and studded with minced garlic throughout.”
( FYI it says “Limited”) so you may or may not find this…)
When I just tasted it on a spoon by itself. It seemed a bit on the strong side, predominately tasting of parmesan cheese. Of course its meant to be a spread, so I put a shmear of this cream cheese on a cracker. They were very good together. I used this spread the next morning on a toasted bagel spread with this stuff, topped with lots of slices of cucumber. That was quite good. It was good on bread and many things. In fact, I can easily see using some of this added to a pasta dish, thinned out with a bit of pasta water to make a creamy sauce. I’ve learned recently that some Italians actually use cream cheese mixed into pasta to make it creamy! I think this could match well in a sauce with sauteed cherry tomatoes.
So I do think this is worth a try if you see it. I would buy it again and experiment some more with it on different things, IF I can find it.
Trader Joe’s sells some fresh “PIZZA SAUCE” carried in the refrigerated case, near the pizza dough. The sauce goes for $2.69 for 10 oz. I decided to give it a try.
The other night we planned on making a fresh pizza from scratch (I made my own dough using the famous Jim Lahey recipe). When I was ready to assemble the pizza for cooking I used this sauce.
Now my Go-To typically for tomato sauce for making pizza might just be to use TJ’s very decent jarred Marinara. Either the Plain version or the Roasted Garlic version. I like them both.
So here’s my honest review of this fresh sauce. “Just OK”. I would find it hard to recommend. I just tasted it on a spoon. I could swear it gave me a bit of a bitter aftertaste. Possibly from so many dried herbs? It is thick with a lot of ingredients. Too complicated?
I gave it a chance and used it to make the pizza. The pizza turned out OK and yes the sauce was a bit better now cooked but again “just ok” so would stick to my Go-To (and cheaper) jar of TJ’s Marinara – or whatever sauce you like at TJ’s).
So instead of this I suggest using TJ’s regular or ROASTED GARLIC MARINARA if you are making your own pizza from scratch – using either Trader Joe’s pizza dough or your own dough or whatever – and add your mozzarella or favorite cheese(s). Or their prepared Pizza Base.
To top my (marinara) sauce for our pizza I will add a pinch of dried herbs like oregano, maybe some crushed red pepper. Usually I will add fresh garlic. Later I will add fresh basil, cut with a scissors. Then give it all a drizzle of EVOO.
This will be way better than this prepared “pizza sauce” and the Marinara is cheaper to boot. You will plenty left over too to use in another dish, or freeze for later.
I would not buy this again.
Speaking of fresh basil – Here is the legendary late, great Dom DeMarco cutting on some basil with scissors. The Master at work and whose pizza’s I was lucky enough to get to enjoy many times, sometimes waiting a hour or more…. RIP Maestro Dom.
Trader Joe’s new GREEN OLIVE FLATS Italian Lingue Crackers.
These are typical Italian style crackers, almost in the bread stick family. These ones however are flat and long, thin with a few bumps. They are very tasty. Light and crunchy, and one can definitely taste the flavor of green olives which you see a few bits and pieces of.
My review is these are yummy. Three of us tasting these for the first time all agreed that these were quite a good new Trader Joe’s product. Frankly we all liked them so much we pretty much devoured most of the box tasting them! “Just one more bite….”
Of course these would match well with a pasta dish, again kind of like bread sticks. But naturally they would be good with almost anything you could think of. I just imagined wrapping prosciutto or any good thinly sliced ham around them, again like one might do with some bread sticks. I can seeing these being great on a cheese plate.
BTW- “Lingue” means tongue in Italian. As in, that’s what it looks like!
This is a “Limited Edition” Trader Joe’s new addition to their cheeses. Trader Joe’s “April 2024 Spotlight Cheese”
A few months ago I saw it and made a note to get it the next day but as luck would have it, the next day I didn’t see it anymore. As they say “Limited Edition”. But after a few months, luckily I saw it appear again yesterday. I grabbed one to try for review. In short, if you are lucky enough to see this cheese in stock, I say Grab One while you can! Its very good!
“Crafted in the style of a Red Leicester, Ivy’s Red is a special edition among Wyke Farm’s variety of Cheddars. It definitely stands out for its burnt-orange color and nutty & fruity notes, which are delivered with a firm texture that is rich, creamy, a bit tangy, and… moreish. All this complexity develops over 12 months of aging, and benefits from the skills of award-winning cheesemakers.”
I loved it and found it delicious. Nutty, tangy, its a slightly crumbly reddish special English cheddar from Somerset, England. Very high quality. The kind of cheese that a high end cheese shop would sell (and probably for a lot more).
I tried it on its own, with a slice of apple and put on my new favorite TJ’s cracker (Savory Square). Just delicious. I can certainly imagine people putting this on a nice cheese board! You can’t go wrong with this.
Trader Joe’s SAVORY SQUARES Vegan Cheddar Style Crackers made from nuts and seeds. (Gluten-Free)
My neighbor bought these and told me to come try them to review them.
The two of us, neither being vegan nor gluten free, were still quite impressed with these. Both of us were quite surprised at how good these new crackers Trader Joe’s just came out with are. Gluten Free or not. They taste great. Yes “cheesy” without cheese or dairy. The main ingredients are tapioca flour, almond flour, sunflower seed flour, flax seed meal, potato starch, yeast extract and other things.
Made with all these kinds of nuts and seeds and other things they have a very Savory taste and cheesy as well. Both of us who you could say are hard core cheese lovers said like the way they did taste a bit cheesy. These are one of those products that are so good you will like them if you are vegan or non-vegan, gluten free or non gluten free. Thats how good they are.
If you just gave me these and didn’t tell me anything I would just assume they were regular cheese crackers not something that was vegan or gluten free. I would just say these crackers are really good, period. Meaning anyone is going to love these. This is not one of those gluten free products that is a mere shadow of the original its trying to come out like. This is a really terrific cracker that I expect anyone would love. They are so flavorful. Full of “umami”. Really these are the bomb people.
We ate the crackers just by themselves – again, terrific – but as we are definitely not vegan – we are both total Cheese Heads, we said these crackers are great. Now lets put some good cheddar cheese on them and see how they are with cheese!
Yes as good as they are by themselves of course we cheese freaks thought they went great with cheese too. If you do cheese boards these will go well with any kind of cheese, or any other topping for that matter.
But if you are Vegan, or Gluten Free you will love these for being that AND tasting really good!
The only downside of these is they don’t give you a ton in the box and they go fast!!
My wife’s gotten addicted to these. She is buying them every time she goes to Trader Joe’s. She says they’re the best cracker she ever had.
$3.99 box (5 oz)
Trader Joe’s says this:
“The cheese cracker is a time-honored treat, a classic savory snack for kids and adults alike. However, it’s not always an option, dietarily speaking, as most tend to be made with gluten and dairy ingredients. That’s where Trader Joe’s Savory Squares come in. Made with a mix of nut and seed flours, these superbly snackable Squares achieve an unmistakably Cheddar-y cheesiness and satisfyingly crispy crunch, all without the use of any gluten or animal-based ingredients.
Excellent for everything from simple, everyday snacking to scooping up your favorite creamy dip, these Savory Squares are ideal for bringing along on road trips, toting to board game nights, or packing into school lunches. They can be enjoyed totally on their own, as a standalone snack, or mixed in with other savory treats”
Trying this for the first time, left me impressed. It is quite good. A very tasty English cheese. Here I find the addition of the onion/chives enhance the cheese, they don’t overpower it.
This is the kind of cheese you might find at an English pub. A semi soft cheese. Neither hard nor soft, its a bit softer than regular cheddar. Speaking of which this is fairly different than regular Cheddar cheese; as a “Gloucester cheese” is its own thing.
I first tasted it on its own, then on some plain crackers and found the flavor really lovely in both cases. Just very tasty. I think this would be great on a cheese plate or cheese board.
Equally nice is the way this cheese melted, which was very easily, as its not very hard to begin with. So this will be great to melt on things and cook with. I put it on a taco and it melted easily and was delicious especially when I let it get little brown. It would be great of course mixed into scrambled eggs. Would this make a great Welsh Rarebit? I think yes, so I intend to try that sometime.
This cheese is going for $10.99/lb, my hunk coming out to about $5. It is an Imported premium cheese, so that is not bad.
Many people wonder how to use Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo, so here’s one idea that I use it for quite frequently. I cook up potatoes and onions and add the Soy Chorizo to it for a very tasty (vegetarian) version of the famous Mexican dish “Papa con Chorizo” (potatoes with chorizo).
Here’s my recipe . We substitute Trader Joe’s soy chorizo for real pork chorizo making this dish vegetarian. Some people may not even know that its vegetarian when they taste it. In fact, though I’m not vegetarian I like this quite a bit as its a bit healthier. I make this dish about every other week as an easy dish which is good to have on hand in the fridge as it can make a few things. This is especially good as a filling for quesadillas, tacos or burritos, it works really well with eggs too mixed into it. You can make up a whole package of the Soy Chorizo to have on hand for the week.
INGREDIENTS
Trader Joe’s SOY CHORIZO
Trader Joe’s TACO SEASONING (optional)
Potatoes (waxy potatoes are best, like Red potatoes, Yukon Gold or similar) 1 pound
Onion (medium – diced)
Fresh garlic (optional, chopped)
(optional – fresh cilantro)
I usually make this for about 2 people/portions. Adjust amounts as needed
RECIPE – Soy Chorizo with Potatoes
Boil about a pound of potatoes cut in half in lightly salted water. Cook for about 12 minutes or so or just until done, meaning when a knife goes in pretty easily.
Drain and rinse them with cold water until they are cool enough to touch. Cut the potatoes up into bite size pieces.
In a cast iron or non-stick skillet, sauté an medium size onion (diced) in about a tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes (add a few cloves of fresh chopped garlic too if you like). Toss in the diced potatoes. Let potatoes and onions sauté together on medium heat until the potatoes take a little bit of color which may take about 10 minutes or so, stirring gently every 3 minutes. Sprinkle on some Taco Seasoning (optional) if you like. If you are not using it, just add a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Next add your Soy Chorizo. Lower the heat. Gently mix in and combine the Soy Chorizo into the onion and potatoes. How much chorizo to use is up to you. I usually add about 1/2 the tube for about about a pound of potatoes but you can add more or less as you see fit.
Saute the mixture on low heat for about 5 minutes or so and it’s ready. If you like cilantro, sprinkle on a big handle of it, chopped up, which brightens the dish really nicely.
Optional: Eggs work great with this mixture. If you want them at the end just mix in 3 beaten eggs and let the eggs cook slowly until done. Serve immediately with warm tortillas or make quesadillas with this as your stuffing.
PAPAS CON CHORIZO is a tasty mixture which is great for tacos or burittos and my favorite, cheese quesadillas. To make those,use flour tortillas, (or corn if you like) and sprinkle some grated cheese on the tortilla in a lightly oiled pan. Top with the potato mix, fold in half and cook for a few minutes on each side until the cheese is melted. For even cheesier ones, also put a little grated cheese under the tacos and let them get golden brown and a little crusty. These are really my favorite. And if you want to use corn tortillas instead, those will also be great with this filling.
Besides tacos or tortillas, mix this potato mixture into scrambled eggs for a great dish.
Getting near St. Patrick’s Day, I saw two new Irish cheeses in the cheese case at Trader Joe’s.
They looked interesting so I decided to try them.
The first one is called IRISH PORTER CHEDDAR CHEESE. As you can see, it’s got yellow areas mixed with brown areas which I imagine is the porter beer (the brown color makes me think of Guinness though that is technically a stout) Its a nice mild cheddar cheese. I think the porter mellows it out nicely. When you slice this cheese it looks really interesting with a pattern of swirls of brown and yellow.
The second cheese is also a cheese with a little something extra, here an IRISH CHEDDAR CHEESE with Irish Whiskey. This cheddar is a bit more robust than the other one, and this is very tasty too. It has a little more sharpness to it. However to be honest I could not distinguish the taste of whiskey but the cheese has a nice blend of flavors. Maybe a hint of whiskey is in there so very subtle; don’t expect this to taste like a big slug of Jameson’s.
Both of these cheeses were $11.99 a pound; a bit more expensive of course than many other imported cheddar cheese’s such as one my top favorite cheeses at Trader Joe’s: the excellent New Zealand Grass Fed Sharp Cheddar, which is now $6.99 a pound (used to be 5.99)
Still if you want to have some Irish cheese on the table for St. Paddy’s Day you may find either of these Irish cheddar cheeses worth trying. They would be nice on a cheese plate with an assortment of crackers and fruit. Or I imagine would match nicely with some Irish Soda Bread.
I assume these are “Seasonal” cheeses put out around the holiday; they may not be stocked forever, maybe just for a few months?
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