I was in the mood for tamales, and I saw these at Trader Joe’s (Refrigerated). These tamales are sold under their own brand (CedarLane) quoting what the package says: “Authentic, Mexican Style Pulled Pork Tamales.” Ha! Authentic? Mexican? This is absolutely neither of those. Labeling this Authentic Mexican is completely stretching truth in advertising. My bar for “authentic Mexican” is fairly high. In NYC we have a quite a large Mexican population, of course no where near as large as California but we NY’ers are lucky as we can get good AuthenticMexican food easily. have eaten homemade tamales made by women selling them on street corners out of a cooler. Most were all terrific. I’ve also gotten tamales from street trucks, ditto as well as Mexican restaurants here. Not to mention in Mexico itself. I know a good tamale when I see it and these Cedar Lane tamales are not good.
These are Blancos factory versions of tamales and get a “Meh”! Edible maybe but nothing to write about. I found them barely seasoned, though they list three kinds of chiles I couldn’t really taste them. These are dumbed down tamales. The filling inside here is a mush of meat and sauce, no chunks of pulled pork as I was expecting. The masa layer is a bit too thin for my tastes. Tamales are all about the corn and the Masa layer as much as the filling. Finally of course these CederLane tamales are made with canola oil – not lard which is “authentic”. OK I know the word lard doesn’t sound appetizing to you but lard is authentic Mexican and it makes for good masa. So while we didn’t hate these, and we ate them and kind of enjoyed them with adding some good salsa, we just didnt find them at all authentic Mexican. So I might not buy these again. I may search out other Trader Joe’s frozen tamales I’ve seen there and check if those are any better.
Trade Joe’s new product: THAI SWEET GINGER SAUCE. It seems to be flying off the shelves, people seem to love it. I am guessing mostly for all the frozen DUMPLINGS they buy?
I tried it and I can say it’s pretty good (though I do like my homemade dipping sauce). This sauce is quite thick and garlic-y. Ingredients include pickled garlic, coconut sugar, and coriander. Personally I think it needs even more ginger. I added some fresh grated ginger, and I found it very improved. I also found it good with something spicy added (Bomba or Peri-Peri) However even just poured out of the bottle this stuff is good. Serve this with all of your frozen dumplings obviously, either fried or steamed/boiled ones. Its quite good on sautéed tofu. Grilled chicken of course! Grilled shrimp? Perfect for shrimp or any fish for that matter. Even just try this on top of rice or just grilled veggies. It will add flavor.
THAI SWEET GINGER Sauce is $2.49 for a 10 oz bottle.
Yesterday it was out of stock. It’s popular and people are really buying up this stuff!
Is this replacing the red bottle of SWEET CHILI SAUCE? I am afraid thats gone now. I like both sauces and the chili sauce has been a must have item for me for ever. Sigh. I will have to go back to getting CHILI SAUCE in Chinatown. Its a staple condiment in Asian cuisine.
Upset about a discontinued product? Why don’t you let Trader Joe’s know how you feel? I found the area on the TRADER JOES website that seems to let one do that (see link) Give them your feedback and who knows? Just maybe if enough people complain about something. Would they reconsider about a discontinued item IF they see there is enough potential demand? Now of course I have no idea if these will have any affect. Maybe it’s a waste of time. Still I wonder if there’s some number which might get someone at Corporate’s attention….. If they see 25 message probably nothing, but if they saw hundreds and hundred of complaints I wonder ….?
My DIY Pulled Jackfruit on Aloha Bun with coleslaw
Jackfruit is a tropical fruit, popular with vegetarians as a “meat substitute”. When cooked it can have the texture of “pulled meat” such as pulled pork or chicken or ropa vieja. It doesn’t have much taste but it easily absorbs flavors and sauces and it’s quite good cooked up with BBQ sauce as “pulled jackfruit”. Trader Joe’s carried a pouch of PULLED JACK FRUIT IN SMOKY BBQ SAUCE in a green foil pouch (see below) but it got discontinued. Alot of people liked it and I did too, despite not being vegetarian. TJ’s does sell this can of JACKFRUIT so you can make the same thing fairly easily yourself, just mixing this can of jackfruit with your favorite BBQ sauce. A can is only $1.99 too!
How does one use Trader Joe’s Green Jackfruit in Brine, you ask? It takes on a “meaty” texture, and, much like tofu, absorbs the flavors of sauces. Our favorite preparation involves cooking jackfruit in barbecue sauce, where it eventually shreds like pulled pork, ready to be piled on a warm Honey Wheat Hamburger Bun and crowned with crunchy cabbage.
UPDATE: This is in stores again.
what it looks in the can; frankly not too appetizing, yet!
after cooking the Jackfruit; Now it looks pretty good!
HOW TO MAKE PULLED JACKFRUIT MINI SLIDER BUNS: After opening the can, dump the liquid out and put the fruit into a colander. Rinse the jackfruit thoroughly and drain it. To get the texture, I just used my fingers and crushed up the jackfruit piece by piece. The seeds you can mash or crush or leave as is. Sauté the jackfruit in a pot in some EVOO (or butter) for about 5 minutes on low heat, stirring it gently. Add your favorite BBQ sauce (1/2 cup per can?) in. I used the SRIRACHA ROASTED GARLIC sauce, a good match. Cover the pan and simmer on very low heat for about 20 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so and making sure it doesn’t burn. It will be thick when done. Turn off the heat and let it rest for about 10 minutes. When you are ready to assemble the sandwiches, put a scoop of the jackfruit on†o the bottom half of a TJ’s ALOHA BUN (or brioche roll). Top with some coleslaw and the top half of the bun. Enjoy! A bit messy to eat but quite tasty! 1 Can served 2 of us easily with the fixings.
Directions as per TJ’s website
(note I liked it without the water, or just a few tablespoons)
Prepare Pulled Jackfruit: Drain jackfruit and pat dry. Partially shred jackfruit chunks into smaller pieces. In a sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add jackfruit and sauté for five minutes. Add BBQ sauce and water to pan and stir to evenly coat jackfruit. Cover pan and simmer on medium-low heat, 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally and pulling jackfruit apart as it becomes tender.
Prepare Tangy Cole Slaw: While jackfruit cooks, in a large bowl, toss cabbage blend with mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
Prepare Sandwiches: Place a scoop of pulled jackfruit on the bottom of a bun. Top with diced onions, coleslaw, and bun top. Eat and repeat until satisfied!
Trader Joe’s Sriracha and Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce
“It’s the new ‘IT’ thing in BBQ sauce. You’re welcome”
It’s exactly as described on the label, “It’s got tang, it’s got heat, it has garlic and it has sweet.”
There is a little heat in this tomato based Organic BBQ sauce and for me the level is just right as well as the the little sweetness balancing out the heat. It’s spicyness would be from the organic red jalapeno pepper puree they use, and the Sweet would be from organic molasses. It has a little bit of hickory smoke flavor but not too much. Reading the label you see things like allspice, clove and habanero. So some complex flavors going on there. To me, everything is perfectly balanced to make a very tangy, tasty BBQ sauce. I really love this stuff. I think this is absolutely perfect for grilled chicken – or grilled tofu for that matter. Put it on at the end for a glaze. It was perfect to make the Pulled Jackfruit Sliders on Aloha Buns (see link below for recipe)
Trader Joe’s Sriracha and Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce
Trader Joe’s sells this beer which they call “Simpler Times”. It may be one of the most inexpensive beers one can buy, anywhere. $10 bucks for a 12 pack…$5 for a six pack! It tastes like more. This beer is actually quite good.
This Lager choice is surprisingly decent, very easy to drink, crisp and well-balanced and it pairs well with food. Not over hopped. Its more than fine just drunk on its own. Also surprising is it’s ABV of 6.2% alcohol.
It’s brewed by a “family-owned craft beer brewing company in Wisconsin, which has been brewing beer for 150 years”. We found it quite refreshing chilled, tasty and a super bargain for under a buck each even with tax and deposit.
There is also another version of Simpler Times which is a Pilsner which is crisp and light, maybe a bit less flavorful than the Lager but still pretty good. That one may been MIA though.
If you are looking for a decent beer at real bargain, TJ’s SIMPLER TIMES beers are worth trying.
One reader said this: “A very pleasant and enjoyable beer! A welcome relief from most over-hopped American beers. If you like Belgian/Octoberfest malt forward brews, try this one.” Another said, “For the price and quality, this frosty beer can’t be beat!”
They sell a 12 pack for $9.99 (meaning $5 for a six pack) and the price has stayed there – Will tariffs affect this? (aluminum cans). Stay tuned!
UPDATE: AUG 2023 – FYI Some folks have reported that TJ’s might have stopped selling this however I did check recently and saw the Simpler Times Lager was still being carried at my local TJ’s (NYC UWS 72St); I only saw the Lager, didn’t see any of the Pilsner version. These were however placed all the way on the bottom shelf, where they were even a bit hard to see. Price still was $9.99. Less than a buck a beer.
Interesting find at Trader Joe’s. Dwarf Banana Plant in Pot ($14.99)
Classify this in, “Now I’ve seen everything ?!” BTW those perfect yellow bananas you aren’t real, they are cardboard cutouts! Fakes! (or Aspirational) So realistic looking, the pictures even have some black spots!
Will these plants really grow (dwarf?) bananas? I’m curious…. Sign says “needs at least 8 hours direct sunlight/day”
These seem to be pretty popular so I checked them out. My take was they are super cute for one thing if you serve them to someone. Taste wise, they’re pretty good. The chocolate coating was good, the ice cream good, however the one in these is not quite as good as TJ’s “premium” coffee bean ice cream, COFFEE BEAN BLAST. The cones had a slightly stale texture especially at the bottom. So while OK, frankly these wouldn’t make me want to give up a scoop of TJ’s excellent “super premium” Coffee Bean Ice Cream instead of these if given a choice. So while really cute to serve to someone, personally I would prefer a scoop of the better ice cream. The MINI CONES come in a package of 8 for $3.79. If I had a choice of picking this product over a quart of ice cream which is almost the same price don’t think I would get these. I’d get the bigger ice cream, better taste and value, over the “cute factor”.
“Light nutty flavor that is great in oatmeal, smoothies, pancakes and waffles.”
RANT
Unfortunately Trader Joe’s discontinued a very good product they used to carry, Whole Roasted Flax Seeds – and replaced it with this one: ORGANIC GROUND FLAXSEED MEAL. Meal of course meaning they pre-ground the seeds.
You know there are people who buy ground coffee. Other like myself prefer to buy coffee beans. Reason being, coffee beans which you grind before using it is so much fresher.
I preferred to buy the whole flax seeds which I would grind myself, which was not terribly hard to do in a hand grinder I got.
That way the flax seed meal was totally freshly, compared to flax seeds already ground up here.
I used to grind the whole flax seeds up with a second coffee grinder, I use for grinding things besides coffee, like some seeds and whole spices. I would grind up the whole flax seeds every day or so, which is ideal as they contain natural oils which are best fresh .
I think Whole Foods might sell whole flax seeds?
For the time being, I got this new version that Trader Joe’s replaced that product with. I use flax seeds in a few ways, for mixing into my Kefir, and smoothies and or adding into baked goods or pancakes.
Sadly I found that these pre-ground flax meal is not as good. The taste is off to me. I don’t know if they use Golden or Brown flax seeds, it looks like it’s made from a dark and a light seed.
I’m sure Trader Joe’s wanted to make it “easy” for you (as in, “what kind of customer is going to grind them themselves”?) Guess what, I did it, it’s not terribly hard and was preferable to me at least if you care about the flax meal being super fresh.
So get this if you want them pre-ground. Be sure to refrigerate the package after opening to keep as fresh as possible. Maybe even keeping this in the freezer is best?
In short, that discontinued whole flax seed was a better product. Grinding them ourselves guaranteed freshness, which this does not. So another RANT!
$3.99 / 1 lb
Another option might be to just buy whole flax seeds (AMAZON) These aren’t toasted but you could do that yourself pretty easily. (MAR 2026 cost is $6/lb)
Trader Joe’s “SPICY JOLLOF SEASONED RICE MIX” with dried tomatoes, onion and garlic
There was actually a little controversy across the internet when this product first came out, as some viewed this as a bit of cultural appropriation on Trader Joe’s part. What is JOLLOF RICE ? It’s a very famous African dish eaten widely across parts of West Africa, especially Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and The Gambia. Even in Africa the dish has a little controversy. Whose version is the best? Is it Nigerian or Ghanaian – or Senegalese where it has a different name (Tchebu Jen) ? The dish is considered the national dish of Senegal where it’s Thieboudienne or Tchebu D’jen. (The word “Jollof” is an English variation of the word “Wolof” which means both a language and a people/tribe)
In my lifetime, I’ve eaten many many plates of authentic Senegalese Tchebu D’jen in many African restaurants back in the day when there were a dozen African restaurants on 116th Street in Harlem when the street used to be known as Petit Dakar . I love this dish and variations of it. Taste a real version of this dish if you ever have the chance. An authentic “JOLLOF RICE” (aka Party Rice, aka Tchebu Djen) from Nigeria, Ghana, or Senegal is an amazing dish. It’s complicated to make with a number of ingredients, another reason that Trader Joe’s coming out with this “instant” version caused a wee bit of controversy on the internet. The mix was developed by a Nigerian family here I believe.
Here’s my take. Out of the package, this is a far, far cry from an authentic African Joloff Rice. I fixed it up when I made it. It has some potential if you fix it up to make something better, not close to what your Nigerian granny would make but something semi-OK and better than just making this package as is.
Here’s my suggestions on how to fix this up: In a large pot, put a tablespoon olive oil and butter (you probably don’t have Palm Oil which is best) Stir in a huge tablespoon of tomato paste. Cook for 30 seconds and add a chopped up tomato, 1/2 a chopped onion, 4 cloves of garlic minced. Cook 2 minutes, then add your cooking liquid (water, but chicken or veggie broth would be better). 3 cups as the package says is a lot. I reduced to about 2 3/4 cups as the veggies have water. Add a few carrots and a 1/4 cabbage. Boil for 5 minutes. THEN add the package of this “JOLOFF RICE” mix. Add some Smoked Paprika and as much as you like of some spicy mix of PERI-PERI, BOMBA, or ZHOUG . Once it boils lower to a simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes. Turn off heat. Let it sit 5 minutes covered to absorb all liquids. When you are ready, serve rice with vegetables on the side/top, and serve some of those spicy sauces on the side for people to adjust to their tastes.
Tchebu Jen is made with smoky dried stockfish in the broth and served with fresh fish. I ate it with some fish on top (smoked sardines and salmon) Other ideas are serving this with grilled chicken or maybe grilled SHAWARMA chicken.
TJ’s SPICY JOLLOF SEASONED RICE mix is $2.69 for an 8 oz package.
“Originating in West Africa as far back as the 14th century, Jollof rice is more than just an esteemed and storied dish, it’s a cultural force of its own. It’s served as the inspiration for countless recipes across the African diaspora, including jambalaya and gumbo. It’s even sparked a friendly (if not, at times, heated) rivalry between a handful of nations regarding who makes the best version. If you’ve ever had the chance to try it, you know exactly why it’s remained such a vital part of African cuisine for over 700 years.”
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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