These would be great on your next cheese plate or charcuterie board. Or any time you want a good cracker!
My wife got these for us to try out. In short, we found these really tasty and quite good.
The box has 3 packs of crackers. Size wise perhaps a tiny bit bigger than your typical Ritz cracker? They have enough room for whatever you are putting on them. They are a bit delicate. I would spread things on these gently so you don’t break them. Or for example let things like butter or cream cheese or spreads come to room temp.
There are 3 kinds of crackers with different flavors. They are wrapped in plastic. I would love if they still used used wax paper for wrapping crackers like the old days (Ritz). Wax paper is really easy to re-wrap once you open a pack but no biggie really, a Twisty will suffice.
SCALLOPED CRACKER TRIO REVIEWED
Flavor one – Rosemary. These had a very nice smell of rosemary, delicate though, not overpowering, which added a nice back note to whatever you put on it. We LOVED these!
Another package holds crackers with a reddish tinge, which is of course the RED CHILI cracker. A tad spicy but not very spicy. We didn’t think these would classify as “hot” to most people (except for one cracker in the pack which seemed to have more spice on it than others). We thought these were just a wee bit spicy, again not overpowering, just adding a tiny and tasty heat which went well with everything we tried it with. Great for dips I think.
The last flavor was a Garlic cracker. While fine, we both thought these were the least special flavor of the 3 kinds. Again fine, but these just didn’t stand out like the other two.
Overall, I would say the trio of crackers was nice. Very tasty. Of course we tried all of them crackers with a variety of cheeses and anything we could fine in the fridge and we liked every combination of crackers plus cheeses we tried.
I would say you these are well worth adding to your your list of the choices at of so many delicious crackers Trader Joe’s carries. Lets face it TJ’s has so many temptations in the cracker department, so many of them excellent! Talking about you OLIVE FLATS!
Scalloped Crackers Trio – $3.99 (16.4 oz)
Six crackers have 120 calories (and boy are six easy for me to eat, and thats before they get the cheese on them!)
For year I’ve been buying the little cans of anchovies in olive oil at Trader Joe’s, sold in a yellow can under the famous Italian-American “CENTO” brand for as long as I can remember. I try to always have at least one can in the pantry, as anchovies are so useful for cooking (trust me)
Today I saw that those yellow cans of anchovies come in a new can now sold under the TJ brand: “Trader Joe’s Anchovy Fillets In Olive Oil”. Even the sign below them not only says “Cento” they even wrote the (R symbol – for registered trademark)! Perhaps they just didn’t get around to changing the sign. I think they had a price increase from $1.49 to $1.79.
(and now $1.99 I think! Summer 2025)
In any case, anchovy fillets are great to have in the pantry. Have a least one there for whenever you need it.
Anchovies can add a ton of flavor to many dishes. They are just full of UMAMI. Even the Romans used them (well as garum) a kind of fish sauce made from anchovies, just like Thai Nam Pla fish sauce.
Don’t be afraid of anchovies. They’re an amazing ingredient. For example when you have “nothing for dinner”, just go in the pantry. Grab a package of spaghetti or capellini and a can of these anchovies. Start with 3-4 cloves of garlic, chop and toss in your pan, then pour in 2 tbls olive oil and let that sauté for minute. Now add in a can of anchovies (or half a can if this is your first time). Crush them up with a spoon. As they cook they will dissolve into your anchovy garlic pasta sauce. Toss in your pasta (undercook it two minutes) and a 1/2 ladle of the pasta water and let it come together mixing it well for a minute or so. Cook for a minute plus or until just al dente. Add chopped parsley, maybe some toasted breadcrumbs or panko. A squeeze of lemon. Voila a yummy dinner. Your welcome!
Anchovies match incredibly well with tomatoes and especially tomato sauce. Want to add something special to your jar of store bought sauce which will give it a ton of flavor and make it taste homemade? Try smashing a few anchovy fillets up with a knife into a paste and toss that into your sauce on the stove. Let them mellow for 5-10 mins on a simmer.
TIP: If I just use a few fillets from the can don’t use the whole can up I put the left over anchovies in a little glass jar. Cover with oil. They will last a month or two in the fridge.
Here is a recipe I found on the TJ website for UMAMI DRESSING using a can of anchovies.
Umami Dressing
1 package Anchovy Fillets in Olive Oil, drained and diced
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
Juice from two Lemons
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp EVOO
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper or to taste
In a medium bowl, mash the anchovies and garlic with a fork to form a paste. Add the lemon juice and mustard and stir until well incorporated. Slowly whisk in oil until it starts to emulsify. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Makes about 1 cup of dressing. Serving ideas: over bitter greens (radicchio, kale, arugula, Belgian endives) with freshly grated Parmesan, dress a Niçoise salad or as a dip for crusty bread
By the way, looking closely at the two cans, I see the yellow ones say Product of Morocco. The green ones say Product of Albania —
(google) “Albanian anchovies, particularly those sourced from the Adriatic Sea, are known for their high quality and are a popular culinary ingredient. Albania is a major exporter of fresh and processed anchovies, with some anchovy products being processed in Albania from anchovies caught in the Cantabrian Sea”
Review of Trader Joe’s steamed PORK AND GINGER SOUP DUMPLINGS (aka Xiao Long Bao)
Now I am what you might call a devotee of Xiao Long Bao or “soup dumplings”. I am crazy for them. I mean really good ones and thankfully New York City has a number of places where one can get excellent soup dumplings. One of my favorite places is in Flushing, Queens at a well known restaurant that specializes in them called, “NAN XIANG XIAO LONG BAO “(If you can, go there!) This place is famous for soup dumplings and the restaurant even has huge glass windows so you can see into the kitchen and watch a swarm of kitchen workers making them continuously in front of you. First rolling out the delicate dough wrappers. Stuffing those wrappers with the famous stuffing that has lots of gelatin which dissolves into liquid when they get steamed to make a bit of soup inside each one.
I think I had these Trader Joe’s version before and was not overly impressed. Especially as I had microwaved them – which I’ve now learned is not the best method (steam them)!
What prompted me to give them another try was we recently went to a new smaller sister place called Nan Xiang Express which recently opened up in New York City. We went to one on the Upper West Side and got the classic pork Xiao Long Bao.
Trader Joe’s version can’t equal those of course. Never the less when I made the Trader Joe’s dumplings the next day to compare them, we actually enjoyed them. This time I steamed them which gives a better result. Both of us said the same thing “Of course these are not as good as the restaurants but these are actually tasty. These are not at all bad.” For what these are, for the convenience and the price I have to say these are well worth your trying.
We enjoyed them with the sauce I made*. Sure the wrappers in these are a bit thick, not anywhere near as delicate or beautifully plated like Nan Xiang’s but again overall these are quite tasty and they did have a little spoonful of hot soup which you could suck out. Pour a little dumpling sauce* on and these make a pretty yummy snack or appetizer. Sure you can build a dinner around these (figure six per person for dinner plus some veggies, rice and other goodies)
Some people I hear are saying making these in soup and eating them like that.
Certainly the price here is great, six dumplings for $3.49 (at the restaurant: these are $10 for 6 pork dumplings and about $12 for the even yummier pork and crab version).
RECIPE: CLASSIC SOUP DUMPLING SAUCE (mix 3 parts Chinese black vinegar, 1 part soy sauce and a small knob of peeled fresh ginger, julienned or grated)
HOW TO COOK TRADER JOE’S SOUP DUMPLINGS – TIP: The traditional steaming method will give you a better result than microwaving these!
STOVE-TOP/STEAMED: “Fill a pot fitted with a steamer basket with water and bring to a boil. Place dumplings into steamer with space between them. Do not crowd. Cover with lid and steam for 8-10 minutes until fully heated. Remove carefully. Caution: these dumplings will be really really hot! Carefully pick up dumpling (chopsticks) and place on a spoon. Carefully bite dumpling to release the soup into the spoon. Slurp carefully. Eat dumpling”
Enjoy these with a little dumpling sauce. The way I eat these is I pick up a dumpling very carefully with chopsticks by the top, and finagle it gently into a deep size spoon (you don’t want to pierce accidentally and loose any soup inside). Carefully nibble a hole and suck out the soup and pour a drizzle of sauce onto my spoon.
A little bit of chili crisp too can be nice if you like spice (my jam is the real Lao Gan Ma).
“From the same supplier that helped us bring Steamed Chicken Soup Dumplings to Trader Joe’s, we are thrilled to introduce Trader Joe’s Steamed Pork & Ginger Soup Dumplings. Inspired by the same original soup dumplings, xiao long bao, that originated in the Jiangsu province of China, this type of dumpling is traditionally prepared in a xiaolong, the small bamboo steaming basket from which it gets its name. In English-speaking countries they’re most often called Soup Dumplings because they are filled with hot soup (and therefore must be eaten carefully!) Xiao long bao are traditionally filled with pork, so this second entry in our freezers adheres closer to culinary tradition.”
High Fiber. Low Fat. Low Sodium. Vitamins. What’s not to like?
Fortified with 8 Vitamins Plus Iron.
ZERO CHOLESTEROL
NINE GRAMS OF FIBER PER SERVING.
So what’s not to like, right? OK, let’s be honest. Will this win any awards for the way it tastes? Probably not but it actually tastes OK. Its not bad. In fact, once I got used to it, I kind of liked the taste. Frankly you don’t buy this for taste, you buy it because in the cereal section at Trader Joe’s its a very healthy option and you want to easily add some more Fiber into your diet. Granola tastes better but isn’t as healthy a choice as this cereal.
As the name implies the main purpose of this cereal is simple, to get more dietary Fiber into you. It does this mainly from all kinds of bran (wheat, corn, and oat). Bran is of course the outer coating of most grains.
Ingredients: wheat bran, corn flour, corn bran, cane sugar, whole wheat, oat bran, and fortified with vitamins plus iron (60% of the DVI for Iron).
So on the fiber front it delivers, without tasting too bad. Not exciting but it is OK. Especially as you are probably not eating just this by itself. You are adding things…. actual milk or a milk type beverage. Fruit? Maybe a sliced banana, maybe berries, or other fresh fruits or maybe some dried fruits. Maybe yogurt, Kefir… so this is just one part of your breakfast bowl. That’s what I do. That stuff will make it taste good.
My wife bought this high fiber cereal for her gut, as she felt she needs more fiber in her diet, though I think we eat pretty well in the fiber department. Still she has trouble staying “regular” and she says this stuff helps with that!
Trader Joe’s HIGH FIBER CEREAL has 9 grams of dietary fiber per serving (2/3 cup). That is about 33% or 1/3 of the recommended daily amount of fiber.
Also in the plus column is it’s low in calories, very low in fat, is low in sodium, has zerocholesterol, PLUS this cereal is low in Added Sugars, compared to almost any other cereal Trader Joe’s sells. So really compared to many others, this is a “healthy choice” in the Trader Joe’s cereal department. Maybe the healthiest cereal they sell?
It kind of resembles thin little crunchy bits of brown stuff, clearly extruded, and I assume baked. I am not very familiar with Nabisco’s FIBER ONE cereal but its a little similar. I think the shape of that cereal is thicker that this.
Taste wise? Well I doubt anyone would say “this is the best cereal I ever had”. The best I could say is I didn’t think it tastes it’s OK. Not bad. Fairly neutral in flavor, it is nice and crunchy. A bit naturally sweet. It taste healthy. Generally I myself use it like a topping, and put it on top of my breakfast mixture of chia seeds, fruit, yogurt and sometimes kefir. I sometimes add a little bit of granola on top to improve it. But again, if you want an easy way to add some extra fiber in your diet, this cereal is certainly an easy way to add some to your breakfast in the morning, which will be good for you!
(You can compare to FIBER ONE)
Personally I have always liked the classic GRAPE NUTS cereal also pretty high fiber, and prefer it to this, however my wife prefers TJ’s High Fiber cereal over Grape Nuts. She has brought this home quite a few times now, so she really likes it, and says it helps keep her regular! 😉
“Trader Joe’s Wheat Crisp Crackers will tantalize your taste buds with an addictive crunchy wheat flavor. They will hold up to your favorite cheese, dips, or peanut butter. But most folks don’t wait for the topping, they’re great for snacking right from the box.”
RAVE
I am a huge fan of WHEAT THINS, a well known cracker made by NABISCO which has been around forever. Well make that since 1947. Since I was a little kid we almost always had Nabisco Wheat Thins in the house as they were Dad’s Numero Uno favorite cracker. They became one of my favorites too. So when I saw these I said to myself, these look like Wheat Thins! I have to try them.
Trader Joe’s WHEAT CRISP CRACKERS to me seem to be TJ’s version of the classic cracker. All I can say is these new crackers taste really good to me. They have a lovely wheat-y taste from whole wheat, which is listed as the second ingredient.
Even if you never had the original, these are well worth trying. These are just good all around crackers. Since I grew up eating the original and just love them I could not resist wanting to try TJ’s version of them. Walking back home from the store, I stopped and decided I had to try them RIGHT NOW. I put my stuff I was carrying on a park bench and opened up the box. I could not wait to taste these.
So are what I think of as Trader Joe’s version of Wheat Thins good? A big yes! I found them really good. I meanI pretty much could not stop eating them right out the box on the street. After about a half dozen, I had to stop myself and put the box away.
When I got home, I’d say things got even better of course when I tested them out with something on top of them.
For instance, how about cheese? These were especially terrific with cheese. They were of course yummy with TJ’s excellent, and very properly British, English Coastal Cheddar which I recently gave a big thumbs up. The crackers were good even with just plain old cottage cheese, as well as good with peanut butter, and honestly whatever else I found that I could put on them.
These are as the name say thin. Crunchy, with a nice whole wheat flavor. Small, one bite sized. Just made to be devoured. Well baked. The edges are a bit darker then the middle. Perfectly baked.The ingredient list doesn’t look terrible either.
All I can tell you is that first box I bought went fast. Way too fast. Even pacing myself, I saw it was almost empty after a few days. So I need to go now and get another box!
I am probably going to want to have these around all the time now. A dangerous but yummy temptation. As 15 crackers have only 120 calories probably better than other crackers.
These are a great Anytime Snack. I would buy them again. $2.49 (9 oz)
Cheddar is one of my favorite cheeses, so it’s one kind of cheese that I buy all the time at Trader Joe’s.
I love me a good cheddar. As we know, Trader Joe’s carries a pretty amazing variety of cheese. Go there looking for a “cheddar cheese” and you may see 8 or more kinds.
But which ones are really good cheddars? While this is a very personal choice of course at least to my taste, one cheddar which would go right at the top would be the Cabot Vermont Extra Sharp. Its one of the best cheddar cheese’s they have if you like your cheddar Extra Sharp in a New England style of cheddar. What something a little bit less less sharp? Then I would say get the New Zealand Sharp cheddar. Another great choice. Then there is TJ’s famed Unexpected Cheddar which is in a class by itself of course.
This is a think a fairly recent addition… ENGLISH COASTAL CHEDDAR which comes from Dorset, located on England’s Southern coast. How is these one? Great. I add this English cheddar to the list of EXCELLENT CHEDDAR cheese at Trader Joe’s.
I found it bold and delicious. I would name this cheddar as one more “gourmet” level cheese Trader Joe’s sells, equal to something you would find at a very good cheese store. This what I might call an “adult” cheddar both figuratively and literally. It’s aged a minimum of 15 months. Its a sharp cheddar. Bold, mature, a bit crumbly, a bit rugged, tangy sharp with a lovely nutty taste. A bit in the realm of the Unexpected Cheddar. I tried to slice it thinly but found it easy to crumble when cutting.
This is one cheddar that will go great with a good crusty bread or crackers. It goes really well with fruit, in fact I just loved eating this with an ENVY APPLE. It was great melted. I would try this for an omelet for sure.
This cheese would be great on any #cheeseboard or #charcuterieboard. They say it’s a must for one of those, here. If you really like a cheddar cheese, this is well worth a try.
“FLAVORFUL AND HEARTY, GREAT FOR MAKING LARGE SANDWICHES”
For years, I’ve been buying the very decent round loaves Trader Joe’s calls “San Francisco Style Sourdough” . I’ve found it’s just a great all around sliced bread to have on hand at a very affordable price.
They eventually came out with this variation on that one. This new sourdough they call “CRACKED WHEAT SOURDOUGH” which is 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.
I liked this, it’s very good. This cracked wheat version is a nice variation on the original. In the new bread they’ve added cracked wheat which gives this one a little bit of a heartier taste and texture as well as slightly thicker slices compared to the original bread, TJ’s San Francisco sourdough 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)
Trader Joe’s has recently introduced their own HOISIN SAUCE.
What’s hoisin (hoy-sin) sauce you say? Hoisin is a classic Chinese sauce . I’m pretty sure I first learned of it eating Peking Duck, as its the traditional classic slightly sweet sauce spread on the pancakes with the duck and scallions.
“Made from fermented soy bean paste and brown sugar, making it vegan. Highly versatile condiment for stir fry sauce. Mix into sauteed mushrooms or noodles“
“Like any truly great #HoisinSauce, ours expresses a certain sticky sweetness, savory character, and velvety texture that make it exceptionally versatile. It’s made with a base of fermented soybean paste, black sesame paste, and brown sugar, and seasoned with aromatic spices like star anise, garlic powder, coriander seed, and Szechuan peppercorns.”
Most people know hoisin sauce from eating Peking Duck served in buns or pancakes. Naturally it matches well with duck but also chicken, pork and perhaps even a bit on a hamburger. You can use this with other ingredients (garlic, ginger, soy sauce) to add to Asian dishes, like stir fried dishes, and noodle dishes, etc or meats. Its versatile and good to have in the fridge for making Asian dishes.
A good versatile Asian sauce to to have in the fridge. Will last a long time.
“Trader Joe’s Wild Boreal Blueberries are little blue gems grown with absolutely no pesticides in Quebec’s Boreal forest region. The Boreal is a collection of protected lands that spreads across Canada…. The fruit grown in the Quebec Boreal thrives on the healthy soil conditions and unique climate of the region. The sweet tart flavor of these wild blueberries is unmatched. Try them for yourself in everything from cereal, muffins, cakes, smoothies and ice cream. They really are wild”
We really liked these blueberries. They are something buy them all the time at Trader Joe’s as they are great to have in the freezer. Not only are these one of my favorite Trader Joe’s products, I hear they are favorites of TJ’s employees as well which is really how you know something is good.
These frozen wild blueberries from Canada are small but full of flavor. These will defrost pretty quickly at room temperature if you just take them out for 10 minutes or so. You could also run them under cold water for maybe 10 seconds in an pinch but I feel like that washes some flavor away. When defrosted you can use these just as you would use fresh berries. We use them in our bowls of cereal and yogurt or kefir, mix them into oatmeal, or put these on top of vanilla ice cream – a super yummy combo! These blueberries are great for making smoothies of course, in which case you can just pour them frozen right into your blender with your other ingredients. I’ve even made excellent blueberry jam from them, and of course they are great to use in baked goods, for example blueberry muffins or even pancakes! Topped with some maple syrup naturally.
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.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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