“Drizzle on as a finishing oil for salads and roasted vegetables.”
Ingredients: Extra virgin olive oil, fresh Sicilian lemons
This was a new fall product at Trader Joe’s which got a little buzz around it. A nice extra virgin oil with a hint of lemony flavor.
LIMONE PREMUTO – a “cold pressed extra virgin olive oil with whole fresh Sicilian lemons” ($7.99 for about 8 oz)
This is for the real foodies. These types of oils are called “agrumato”.
Agrumato olive oil – “simultaneously crushing olives with fresh herbs or fruits together for exceptional flavor, distinct aromatics.”
It just says “Product of Italy”, so unclear to me if the oil is also from Sicily but I would assume it probably is. Other vendors of this type of (agrumato oil) usually say something like “this distinctive product is made by crushing fresh olives and Sicilian citrus fruits together. This unique process results in an extra virgin olive oil with a vibrant, bright citrus finish. The combination of olives and citrus fruits creates an oil that not only adds a refreshing twist but also brings an authentic taste of Sicily to your kitchen.”
This olive oil has a lovely flavor with that little bit of bitterness that hits the back of your throat, which is a sign of a high quality extra virgin oil that is fresh. There’s no visible lemon pulp or rind, its been filtered out but the oil looks a little cloudy from the pressing with the citrus. The lemon flavoring is subtle, just a hint in the background, its not strong at all. You want to taste this oil and you do.
When I’ve used this I’ve found that if I squeeze on some fresh lemon juice as well, it really improves everything, so suggest trying that. This is good as they say on salads and roasted vegetables, but you could drizzle it on practically anything, such as a pasta, or as a dipping for bread.
Trader Joe’s LIMONE PREMUTO costs $8 for just over 8 oz. In contrast TJ’s sells a 17 oz bottle of excellent SICILIAN EVOO for about $12 (which used to cost $10!) That Sicilian oil is double the size of this bottle. If I add a squeeze of fresh lemon and perhaps even a little lemon zest on my dish and get a similar effect, albeit my lemon is not Sicilian! Therefore though I like this oil, it’s a “specialty oil”, a little splurge. Still, you would be drizzling on just a bit of this. On a budget I would probably buy the bigger bottle of their Sicilian EVOO and add my own lemon, or garlic as desired.
Just for comparison, here’s a similar item on amazon, same size, $20 https://amzn.to/4kXGv8Z
Worth trying if you are into olive oils and can afford it for a small bottle. Otherwise I’d say go for the bigger bottle of the SICILIAN oil at TJ’s.
“Traditional all butter Belgian biscuits”MADE IN BELGIUM
Fresh tasting. No preservatives. Super simple ingredients, the important one being butter of course. These are so buttery tasting as well as having a nice crunchy texture from the ridged waffle design.
They’re terrific, either on their own or paired with all kinds of things, sweet or savory.
I could easily see making an ice cream sandwich with them, just putting some ice cream (french vanilla?) between two cookies. Or just putting one on the side of your favorite ice cream. Or just eating with a cup of tea or coffee. So yummy. You can not go wrong with these cookies, and they’re three bucks no less.
I loved these.I would buy them again
Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies$2.99 (8.8 oz.)
“Each all-butter wafer is baked to a crispy golden brown that creates a straightforward, delicious waffle cookie ready to enjoy at any time. The flavor is somewhere between a freshly baked waffle cone and shortbread cookie and is as simple as cookies come, but oh, so delicious. Super buttery, with the ideal amount of sweetness, these Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies are more versatile than you may expect. Whether you are looking for an authentic European snack to accompany a cup of tea or a mug of coffee, a companion for ice cream, or a counterpart to cheese, cured meats, and peppers, Trader Joe’s Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies have a place in your shopping cart, your pantry, and your tummy.”
Trader Joe’s came out with a newer version of their popular “SQUIGGLY RUFFLED NOODLES”. This one is in the black package and has a different sauce than the original version.
“New and Improved” isn’t what they said but it’s what I say. Why? Simple. The newer version comes with away better sauce. I mean I had actually suggested just tossing the sauce package in the original red package and making your own.
Now you don’t have to. The newer “spicy garlic sesame sauce” sauce packet is so much better than the original.
Not only did they fix the newer version up with a better sauce, they even somehow managed to reduce the Sodium content at the same time. Color me impressed.
So my advice is buy this version (black package) over the original version (red). If you are afraid of the word”spicy” in the name, actually I don’t think it is very spicy at all. This is barely spicy, unless you are very sensitive.
Each noodle pack in the black version comes with two little sauce packets you mix together. One is labeled “Sesame Seed Paste“. The other “Creamy Spicy Garlic Sauce“. When you mix these, they make a decent Asian sauce.
Why are they separate? The sesame paste clumps up. So much so that I found it hard to squeeze out of the bag TIP: Some people recommend squishing it up to mix. I also put it in hot water for a few minutes. I even cut the packet open with a pair of scissors, and can use a small spoon to scrape out all the paste. Worth the trouble as this dark roasted sesame paste has a ton of flavor.
SPICY? To me, I didn’t find it very spicy. I say “Mildly”? But of course your mileage may vary, as spice tolerance is so personal. I would say unless you are super sensitive to spiciness, this is at most “mildly spicy”. Certainly not fire level spicy. In fact I want it spicier so I add a little Lao Gan Ma (chili crisp) and suggest you do that if you do want it spicy.
my stir fried noodles (with eggs and scallions)
Other than that sauce fix, the noodles themselves are the same as in the original (red) package. Personally I see no point in buying the red package anymore; this (black) one is better, sauce wise. Same noodles and same amount. So that’s the one I now get.
Compared to the original Soy/Sesame version, this Spicy version has a bit less sodium listed, now 700mg sodium here (vs. 920 mg in the original soy and sesame version). That’s good. Especially as the sauce here even tastes better.
If you want to just boil them and mix the sauce in, that’s OK now, which wasn’t the case before with the not great sauce in the red package IMO
Of course, a few other ingredients could improve your dish starting with adding some of your own chopped scallions. I do like the stir fry way though of making these noodles too.
These noodles are not only savory and satisfying but also versatile, making them an ideal addition to various dishes. Perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or a more elaborate meal, they pair beautifully with vegetables, proteins. In a pinch even just on their own.
At about $1.25 per noodle pack, these are an good choice for anyone looking to elevate their home cooking without breaking the bank. TIP: Spend another $1.29 on some scallions. Cilantro too perhaps? You will use some of them on top of your finished noodles. Plus havehave those for other dishes for about a week…
How to Cook: If you are just boiling and serving, first prepare your sauce by opening the 2 packet(s) and putting the sauces together into a bowl and mixing them thoroughly. Add a teaspoon of water if needed to thin things out. If you have any “topping extras” such as scallions, baked tofu, hard boiled eggs, or cooked veggies, prep them now and cut into bite size or noodle like pieces. You will top the noodles with them later.
Boil a pot of water. Add the dried noodles. Cook about 4 minutes; drain yes but leave a little water left on them and put the noodles into your bowl with the sauce. Toss gently to combine the sauce and noodles. Add on your scallions or other ingredients on top. You can mix those in as you eat (or mix now)
Enjoy noodles while they are still hot.
If you are stir frying them, reduce the time boiling them, to about a 2 to 2 1/2 mins. Drain and put in bowl with about a teaspoon of oil. Toss to coat. This prevents them sticking. Cook your other ingredients in a wok or non stick pan. When ready add the noodles and your sauce (these two packets, or your own plus 1/4 water or stock) and cook about one minute or so tossing to coat well. Serve.
Can you add anything to the sauce that comes with this? Sure, if you like, you can still add a bit of other things. Like a drizzle of Trader Joe’s Toasted Sesame oil which will add great flavor, or Korean Gochujang sauce, or Lao Gan Ma or CHILI ONION CRUNCH.…. whatever you like.
As with almost any noodle dish, something as simple as throwing on chopped scallions, or cilantro will add a good deal of Asian flavors. Here I have added the TERIYAKI CHICKEN MEATBALLS , cut up and cooked with yellow bell peppers in a stir fry with these noodles.
YOU should also check out my original post on the Soy and Sesame version of the SQUIGGLY NOODLES which has a lot of ideas about how to upgrade and cook them HERE
Suggestions: Slice up some of your favorite TJ’s chicken meatballs, saute till brown, throw in some veggies and cook and mix those with these noodles and sauce; voila, a real dish…
“How do you know it’s fall? When Trader Joe’s Spiced Cider arrives on our shelves! Our Spiced Cider has been a reliable autumnal indicator for more than 20 years. The 64 fluid-ounce bottle holds the juice of U.S.A.-grown, bursting-with-flavor apples that have been brewed with just the right amount of cinnamon, allspice, and cloves to give each sip that soothing seasonal warmth.”
I think this spiced cider is very tasty (if a just a little bit on the sweet side for my tastes, so sometimes I add a splash of water). The wonderful smelling spice blend they have added includes cinnamon, clove, allspice, orange peel, orange oil and lemon peel. I find the balance of the spice blend is just right, not too much to overpower the taste of the apples. You can of course drink this cold but you can really also enjoy it warmed up on cold winter nights!
SPICED CIDER is a seasonal (Fall/Winter) product. So get it while you can.
70% cacao. Ingredients: Unsweetened chocolate and sugar.
I got some when this was a new item. Here’s my review.
When I tried it, to be honest I found it on the side of just being a wee bit too bitter for my palate. This is for “serious” chocolate people. It’s not chocolate any kid would like, but tastes to me like a really SERIOUS gourmet chocolate bar with a high percentage of excellent cacao, but minimal sugar. Think “bitter” for most people, including myself in that category.
The bar involves two countries. The cacao was sourced from Peru. The chocolate bar itself is crafted in Italy.
“Each Bar is made with just two simple ingredients—unsweetened chocolate and sugar—so you get a chocolate-eating experience that’s pure, unadulterated, and deeply satisfying. The 70% Cacao content delivers a flavor that’s bold and intense, yet still delightfully smooth, with complex floral notes that reveal themselves as the Chocolate melts on your tongue.”
I took a few more bites, and little by little I got more used to it. The taste of this chocolate started to grow on me as my taste buds adapted to it and this chocolate melted all over my tongue. Yes I get it, that this is amazing quality cacao/chocolate. As this chocolate bar is barely sweet at all, this may not be quite for everyone but if you really are into chocolate (raises his hand) I think is worth tasting at least once to see what excellent high percentage cacao chocolate tastes like and especially Peruvian cacao which I know know is amazing.
I later ate some of the chocolate along with my coffee , which had milk and sugar. When I alternated bites of this chocolate with sips of my coffee, the added sweetness balanced the bitter chocolate and gave my taste buds intense, delicious chocolate flavor. If you find this too dark and bitter on its own, try eating it with something on the sweet side. I am thinking of matching this chocolate along with a bite of Dried Mango or dried cranberries, or maybe a bite of vanilla ice cream…. Get the picture?
$2.49 (100g) note: the price likely when up since this was published…
“Trader Joe’s ORGANIC CAESAR SALAD KIT with croutons, shredded Parmesan and a creamy Caesar dressing.”
I have read that this salad kit is pretty popular among the fans of Trader Joe’s. So I had to finally check it out. Before we begin with my review I should state a few times over the years I’ve made Caesar Salad myself. I mean the real deal. From scratch. Even making croutons (homemade ones are fantastic). Plus making the dressing (Ummm, with ANCHOVIES!)
If you’ve ever done that, or had a Caesar Salad in a decent restaurant then you know how good a real Caesar Salad can be. I mean the Real McCoy is fantastic. So good. You should try making one yourself at least once. Outside of the dressing its really basically three ingredients : lettuce, croutons, cheese…
Here are a few links to give you ideas (Natasha’s recipe looks good. But leaves out the anchovies. So another link with a dressing that has them…. )
Naturally you can make this salad into something substantial by adding a protein on top of your salad. I could easily see one putting slices of cooked chicken or a piece of cooked salmon on top. Do that and you have a complete dinner, especially with a bit of good bread.
So having said that, let me review Trader Joe’s ORGANIC CAESAR SALAD KIT.
A bag can serve 2 with other food or maybe one very hungry salad lover.
For a packaged kit, it’s pretty good. Does it compare to my homemade one, or one from a good restaurant? Of course not but for just something Grab and Go, again pretty decent. For convenience, I can easily understand why people go for it. Just toss this in a bowl and voila a passable Caesar at a fair price ($4) and all in all fairly tasty and satisfying.
The Romaine was nice and crisp, the crouton very crunchy and are bite size rather than too big for your mouth or fork. So pretty good. But I have a few qualms.
Romaine lettuce – Nice and crunchy! However I did find a few bad pieces which I threw out but only about 6-10. Anyway as with all packages of salad, be sure when you buy it to examine it carefully for quality. Check dates on the packages. Get the best date you can find. If possible, try to use it the day you buy it, or the next one.
Dressing – Again, pretty decent, creamy and tasty (however no anchovies!) Of course its not going to match up against a “real” fresh made Caesar dressing. I did think it tasted decent for a commercial dressing. Looking at the ingredients though no “anchovies” listed and the main flavors of a classic Caesar Salad are Anchovies and Parmesan. In most recipes. Anchovies can be controversial.
They give you plenty of dressing. I would suggest add it stages. Don’t put the entire bag of dressing at once. Add about half or 3/4 of the bag of dressing, toss the salad, see what it looks like and if you think you need more then add the rest. You want salads well dressed but not drowning.
(TIP — Fresh LEMON really help this salad so if you have a lemon handy, squeeze on about 1/4 to 1/2 a lemon. Fresh lemon juice will definitely improve the overall taste of this salad quite a bit.)
Cheese – I thought this was one place they do the typical Trader Joe’s skimping. They don’t give you very much grated cheese and its just OK. Not actual Parmigiano I am pretty sure. So I added some of my own cheese, I shaved on Grana Padano with a vegetable peeler. Add cheese if you have some. It will help improve it.
Croutons – The croutons are OK but nothing special. They are well baked (dark) and fortunately bite sized. VERY crunchy. However these seem to be just baked bread. Actual croutons are seasoned. These croutons are nice and crunchy bordering on too hard however they will soften a bit of course when you add dressing.
The quality of these croutons here are not as good as Trader Joe’s packaged croutons – which are very good. Which makes me think. Couldn’t one come up with a pretty easy Caesar Salad yourself just by buying a few ingredients from Trader Joe’s?
I certainly think so. Get a package of Romaine lettuce hearts. A package of TJ’s good croutons. A bottle of Romano Caesar dressing. Some cheese (Parmesan, Grana Padano or Pecorino) With those ingredients you could could make your own Caesar salad which will be better than this one in about five minutes. You could have enough for a few days too and I am guessing it will work out to $2-3 a portion?
So this gets a thumbs up mainly for the convenience, as TJ’s Caesar Salad Kit is Grab and Go and if not great, its pretty decent and OK.
Would I buy it again? Well honestly I am not sure about that. Maybe only if I had to come up with something fast? Frankly I would probably DIY it and buy some Romaine lettuce, croutons, and a bottle of dressing at Trader Joe’s and make it myself with only a little more time and effort.
Now could you open up a can of anchovies and add some (mashed up with lemon juice) to this Kit? Why not!? You would have a way more authentic salad.
I would label this latest Small Lot coffee offering at Trader Joe’s in my “good but not great” category.
I liked it but it didn’t knock me out as some of their other small lot coffee finds have at times in the past. These are totally hit or miss. Sometimes you get one which is fantastic. Outstanding. Sometimes you get one which is pretty good, which for me, is this Costa Rican coffee. I thought it was pretty good. I only say this as some of the Trader Joe’s coffees which were terrific raise the bar when compared to some of the best Small Lot coffee finds in the past over the years that TJ’s has had. The Uganda Mountains of The Moon small lot coffee from a while back was off the hook, stunning. Epic! So again, there is a high bar.
This coffee is from a mountainous region in Costa Rica, from an area officially designated as “Chirripo National Park”. The beans are roasted in an (actual) medium roast and the beans look very good as you can see. This coffee’s taste is as they describe on the bag. “Nutty and toasty, with notes of citrus”. If you are one of those people who just likes to check out and explore EVERY Small Lot coffee that Trader Joe’s comes out with just to check it out, its worth getting. Otherwise, I would say spend your ten bucks coffee money on some known entity which you love. For me for the past year or so since they started carrying it, that coffee has been the Fair Trade Organic BOLIVIAN BLEND. Another Medium Roast. I really love that one, which is not a Small Lot, so easy to find too year round.
This Costa Rican Chirripo coffee while OK, its not as good as that for me so I would not buy it again. Once again, Small Lots are Limited so if you want to try this, grab while you can. I rate this maybe 6/10
Trader Joe’s announced the winners of their 16th annual customer choice awards (2024).
Which, out of all the products TJ’s has, do you think customers awarded as the overall top dog pick? Interestingly enough it’s the same one which has been voted first by customers for the 4th Year In A Row as overall favorite ! Drum roll, please, and the winner is….
TJ’s really good snack their Chili & Lime Flavor Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips, were once again voted as as overall favorite. These have been picked 4 years running!
Some time ago I reviewed these and loved them. I gave these delicious, possibly addictive, snacks a big thumbs up. So I am not shocked that these remain to be so popular and got the top Customer’s Choice spot again as these are super.
Though they may not be to everyone’s taste as these pack a punch of pretty intense flavor plus a good leave of heat (like Takis) I find them Spicy Delicious. However my wife for example is someone who doesn’t go for these at all. Even though she likes fairly spicy in general, she doesn’t like these chips. She finds the flavors too strong and too intense, whereas I find them irresistible, and frankly addictive, to the point where once I start eating them at times I have to remeber to stop myself lest I eat the whole bag!
Having said that I do actually sometimes like to counter balance the intense flavor of these chips by pairing them with something which will counter balance them. Knock down the heat a bit. As I mentioned in my review sometimes I actually like to eat these with cottage cheese. I find that a great combination as cottage cheese, something a bit bland, will balance out the flavor. Or sometimes I will enjoy these with some dip which is not too intensely flavored.
OK so the Rolled Tortilla Chips were the #1 Customer Pick. What were the Runners Up in that catagory? Here are the second through fifth place choices, just to give you some ideas of what Trader Joe’s products seem to be most popular with customers:
“Butter Cookies! From France! Dipped in Dark Chocolate!”
“Just about everyone loves butter cookies. If they’re French butter cookies, there’s an expectation that those cookies are going to be truly great. And what if those French butter cookies are also dipped in dark chocolate? …Made for us in France”
I got these to review and my review is these are quite good. We really liked them.
Very tasty, buttery cookies that have been dipped in good chocolate so that they have a nice coating. The cookies are on the thin side.
Frankly these taste way better than you would expect something which costs $2.99! (Note: they are only you about 10 cookies in a box). So you don’t get a lot of them but the quality of these cookies is pretty darned good!
“These Cookies are, indeed, made for us in France. The usual cookie-dough suspects—flour, sugar, egg yolks, milk, leavening, and salt—are combined with cultured French butter (13% of the recipe) to create a dough that is shaped into thin rounds. The baked biscuits are coated in rich, Dark Chocolate (40% of the recipe), yielding an exquisite Cookie that is at the same time: smooth, crunchy, chocolate-y, and buttery!“
Yummy. A big thumbs up. Put these out for company. Or eat them all yourselves!
“Trader Joe’s Cheesy Bagels are hearth-baked Bagels with a plain bagel base, delightfully doughy on the inside. On the outside, they boast a cheesy, chewy crust that comes from shredded Asiago cheese that’s been pre-melted on top.” — Trader Joe’s
When I saw these in the NEW ITEMS section a few weeks ago I was intrigued and thought this sounded like something worth trying. Just picking up the bag and smelling them, well it has a wonderfully appealing smell, from baked Asiago cheese! Since they smelled so good, I thought I would check them out. When I told my neighbor (another big Trader Joe’s fan) she said she wanted to try them too, and as she got back to Trader Joe’s before I did, she bought them for us both to try.
Well, guess what. We were both dissapointed in these, and not half as as good as we were expecting. We both thought, “just OK”. Yes, the cheesy part, the Asiago on top that is baked in, that is good, however it is called a “cheesy bagel” so the bagel itself has to be good. It’s not. Trader Joe’s says “delightfully doughy inside”. It is doughy. Just soft and doughy, bready. It did not delight this bagel maven. These have none of the chewy texture which defines a real bagel. You can tell this so called “bagel” is only baked and not boiled and baked, which is what makes a real bagel. Just to compare, these are nothing at all like Trader Joe’s ARTISAN BAGELS, which are boiled and baked and to which I gave a big thumbs up. Those are good, real authentic bagels with a chewy crust and soft chewy interior. And once again this is coming from a picky New Yorker who knows from bagels!
These just taste to me like the kind of “bagels” seen in supermarkets in maybe Iowa, where they have no idea about bagels. Now I think one could come up with something akin to a good “cheesy bagel”. Take one of Trader Joe’s good Artisan Plain Bagels, cut it open and toss on some grated Asiago Cheese. Toast this up till the cheese is melted all bubbly, and you may come up with a good tasty “Cheesy Bagel”. It will be far far better than this disappointing so called bagel.
Two of us reviewing them said the same thing: “Would not buy these again”
TJ’s Artisan Bagels are $1.99 for three (good) perfectly chewy bagels. I kind of suggest you just buy those and toast them up with your favorite cheese.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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