Well it took 20 years but Trader Joe’s decided to finally raise the price of one of it’s most popular products, and the internet became abuzz with this new.
Trader Joe’s raised the price for BANANAS. They raised the price 20%. For the last 20 years Trader Joe’s has sold bananas individually at 19 cents each.
They’ve stayed 19 cents for 20 years!
However Trader Joe’s decided to raise the price of bananas from 19 cents to 23 cents (regular bananas) with Organic bananas, which were 25 cents for the same amount of time, now costing 29 cents each. Yes, this price increase looks small but this does work out to about a 20 per cent price hike. Inflation is supposedly down to 3 or 4%. So its a noticeable jump as most people who buy say 5 bananas at a time will be at least 20 cents more for them.
One more sign of inflation. As if we needed another one, right?
One Trader Joe’s spokesman said due to inflation they have finally had to raise the prices due to cost increases. Street vendors in New York City sell them usually 4 for $1 (25 cents each) Trader Joe’s used to undersell the guys on the street but now they are about the same price. I may buy them from them now, we’ll see.
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.
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?
TJ’s says: “Made with Lady Clair and Dakota Pearl potatoes grown in western Canada, our supplier fries these Chips in small batches, then kettle-cooks them until they’re ready to be seasoned and cooled. This method, as opposed to the typical “continuous fry” method of chip-making, results in extra-flavorful chips with a harder, crunchier bite.”
My wife bought these and we we tasted them we both loved them from just one bite. So Delicious.
Theses are kettle cooked and cut a little thicker, so are very crunchy. I would say they taste like the best, high quality, kettle cooked potato chips you’ve had. Those “gourmet” level ones. The “EBTB” Seasoning is delicious here. Blends in well, and just enough. Not overpowering to the chips, just enhancing them. They use just enough for a great extra taste but not where you don’t taste “potato” first and foremost, not the added “flavoring”, so way better than say Lay’s in this respect.
One thing about these though. The bag should have a Warning label about being: “Highly Addictive”.
I like rubber plants. I had a nice one that lasted about 20+ years. However finally that one started to weaken and eventually die. I’ve been thinking of replacing it for a few months.
Lo and behold I saw this rubber plant at Trader Joe’s yesterday. It looked really healthy to me. Very robust with new growth on the way.
So I decided it was time to replace my late rubber plant I had for so long and missed.
TJ’s had nice healthy looking rubber plants for $11.99. I was not dirt cheap but elsewhere I would see comparable rubber plants for at least $20 if not more, so I decided to take it home.
These make good houseplants that are easy to take care of and don’t even need a ton of light, so are a good choice for many.
Trader Joe’s THAI PEANUT SATAY SAUCE is a new addition to their line of Thai and Asian sauces and condiments. (Jan 2024)
TJ has this to say: “Made for us by a supplier in Thailand, our Peanut Satay Sauce starts with a base of rich coconut milk, peanuts, and aromatic red curry paste, to which our supplier adds a mix of savory seasonings including lemongrass, shallot, garlic, galangal, and tamarind paste. In addition to making a delicious dipping sauce for grilled, skewered proteins of all kinds (we’re especially fond of it with shrimp, pork loin, or tofu), it also makes a fantastic condiment for burgers and lettuce wraps, and a superb sauce for serving over Thai Wheat Noodles. And for an effortless and flavorful salad dressing, simply add a bit of Rice Vinegar to a few spoonfuls of Satay Sauce in a bowl, mix, and enjoy.”
I got a jar to taste and review recently. My initial take is it’s pretty good. Thai food can be very bold with flavors. For my taste buds while this Satay Sauce is kind of tasty, I just wish it had more “oomph”. That is way bolder with flavors so that it really tasted “Thai”. Personally I wanted more more of everything (more peanuts, more galangal, and way more red curry paste)
Its OK but just way too much on the tame side, and Thai food is not tame in the least. I’m pretty sure a Thai baby could handle this and I don’t mean just in the heat level. So while I wish it was a little bolder never the less this new sauce is kind of tasty — IT CAN BE IMPROVED.
So I I say it has potential. If you fix it up a bit, adding a thing or two. Certainly a squeeze of lime juice for a little more sourness. It’s not spicy, so if you like spicy, just add a bit of your favorite spicy condiment. For instance Peri-Peri or Bomba to jazz it up. Want it more peanut-y? I sure do. I mixed in a few spoons of crunchy peanut butter and it got way better. Crushed garlic too.
But even if you just use as-is, this can be OK in a pinch (if you are not Thai). Satay usually means grilled items so you can use this for grilled proteins or the like. Say with chicken, shrimp, fish, pork, beef or grilled tofu for that matter. You can marinate them in some sauce for say 30 minutes, then grill it. You can also brush some sauce on at the end of grilling for a nice glaze. It can burn so be careful.
The Satay Sauce can be used in a number of ways. At it’s simplest you could just use it on the side or spoon some on top. Say with grilled chicken, meat, fish, shrimp or tofu. Here I served the satay sauce with a grilled chicken breast, and it works great with chicken. Or anything for that matter.
Salad Dressing – “For an effortless and flavorful salad dressing, simply add a bit of Rice Vinegar to a few spoonfuls of Satay Sauce in a bowl, mix, and enjoy.” – Trader Joe’s.
Is THAI SATAY sauce good for noodles? Very much so! This sauce will definitely be good with say your Thai Wheat Noodles or Squiggly Noodles dishes. Add a bit of soy sauce and a squeeze of lime juice too and maybe some chopped cilantro. And again, I would mix in a few tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter.
Thai Peanut Noodles: Mix the sauce into your cooked noodles. Add a nice amount and also a a little soy sauce, some lime juice, and if like spicy maybe some Sriracha, Bomba, or Peri-Peri. Mix in a few tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter. I would add vegetables of ones choosing: maybe shredded cooked carrots, peppers, and green onions. Cilantro too if you like it. If you have some crushed peanuts on top that will help.
So I think one could come up with something tasty using this sauce, especially if you experiment a bit with it. Adding some stuff.
It’s $2.29 for an 8 oz jar.
I would buy it again (I just wish it were more authentically Thai)
“Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Coffee Buzz Bars are made using a unique combination of conched Columbian Cacao Nibs and Columbian Coffee Beans, blended with sugar and natural vanilla flavor. There’s a distinct yet mild coffee flavor and 70 mg of caffeine in each bar”
(a regular cup of coffee has about 95 mg of caffeine)
First off, I have to mention I love this package design. Eye catching colors with lovely hand made drawings of coffee and cacao on thick paper stock.
Trader Joe’s really cares about package design, more than other grocery stores. They focus on designing products that make you want to pick them up. If you are interested in learning a bit more about that here’s a link about Trader Joe’s product design
OK, ok but how’s this chocolate? I liked it but my wife did not. To state the obvious this is not a kids bar of chocolate. Definitely for Grown Ups. Barely sweet, just sweetened enough to balance out the bitterness of coffee and cacao nibs. Me, I think they got it just right, definitely a nice balance of quality chocolate with coffee undertones and a nice balance of bitter and sweet however some may not go for this. On the other hand if like me, you are someone who loves both your coffee and your chocolate you may like this. Worth trying to find out.
My wife bought this to try though we are not lactose intolerant nor vegetarian. Taste wise it was very MEH. Neither of us thought it was good and we both thought “don’t buy this again”. Still if you are lactose intolerant (or vegetarian) perhaps this recent addition to the frozen dessert options at Trader Joe’s is something you might be interested in.
Saw it in the NEW ITEMS section: Trader Joe’s PEPPERMINT CASTILE SOAP – “A multi purpose cleaner made with olive, coconut, hemp and jojoba oils” – “SHAMPOO, BODY WASH, BATH, HOUSEHOLD CLEANER, LAUNDRY CLEANER”
As you can see this soap is good for almost everything!
Especially if you are of a certain age when you see this blue bottle which says PEPPERMINT CASTILE SOAP it will immediately make you think of the very famous bottle of DR BRONNER’S Castile Soap, an iconic brand. Those blue bottles had a label with a ton writing on it, mostly about World Peace. Dr. Bronner;s has been around for ever (founded 1948). I love the stuff and used it forever until it got quite pricey.
Dr Bronners peppermint soap is a product I am very fond of. Its good for EVERYTHING. The peppermint Dr Bronners is so minty fresh it would make your scalp tingle if you used as shampoo. “Dilute, dilute, OK” it said on the label filled with a ton of the Dr’s writings about World Peace. Don’t get it in your eyes. So Dr. Bronner’s is one of those “old fashioned” products that is so useful and so classic it’s actually been copied at least a few times that I know of. Bed Bath Beyond had their own version of this liquid peppermint Castile soap and now Trader Joe’s has come out with their version. I’m very happy to see this.
Its made with Olive Oil, Coconut Oil and Hemp Oil (!) plus has two kinds of mint.
I don’t have a bottle of the original soap right now to compare Trader Joe’s version to, but I liked this. Trader Joe’s version of the famous blue bottle of Peppermint Castile soap quite good.
It has a wonderful peppermint smell. This is trulya “multi-purpose” product that you can literally use all over the house: in the bath, in the kitchen, in the laundry, on your floors, really all over the house. A little bit of it goes a long way too. A little squirt of this soap on your hands makes a good lather and your nose will love the fresh minty smell.
BODY WASH/SHAMPOO/BATH – I put a very tiny squirt on a bath poof and just the little amount made an enormous amount of soapy lather in a few seconds. It smelled wonderful and minty fresh. It felt refreshing. Shampoo- It will make your scalp feel tingly and clean from the peppermint (make sure not to let this get in your eyes !)
LAUNDRY – I put it on a clean, washed old T shirt I use for the gym. I hand washed it in hot water with some of this soap. Wow. The water got so dirty it wasn’t funny. This is great for laundry and will make clothes smell great and refresh clothes, especially things like gym clothes or socks that might have odor.
Trader Joe’s CASTILE PEPPERMINT SOAP is $5.99 for a 16 oz bottle. For comparison Target sells Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap for $17 for a 32 oz bottle. So decent price for this quality Castile soap.
I liked this a lot. I would buy it again.
“AVOID CONTACT WITH EYES” (tip: the mint is strong so be careful getting this near your eyes)
(Update Jan 2025: M.I.A. for some time. Are they Out of stock or possibly Discontinued?) March 2025L Well its official from Trader Joe’s. UNFORTUNATELY THIS PRODUCT WAS DISCONTINUED ) Too bad as these were really good!
Trade Joe’s has quite a few, cooked, ready to eat, chicken items in the refrigerated section. Some of those are chicken breasts that have been already sliced . These however are whole cooked boneless chicken breasts, plain and simple, ready to use how ever you like. “All Natural, Minimally Processed…”
So convenient when you don’t feel like cooking but want a fast, easy protein. My review of these is that these boneless breast are super tasty. They are as juicy as possible, as they have not already been cut up, plus they are sealed up with the cooking juices. These are of course super convenient to have in the fridge. They will last at least a week, maybe more. For longer term storage you can freeze them and leave them overnight in the fridge to defrost.
Of course you are paying a bit more here per pound for boneless breasts as naturally one pays for the convenience of having it prepped and cooked. However the taste and quality is quite high. I even am pretty sure too these have been cooked Sous Vide (more on this later) Inside the package are four vacuum sealed pouches containing one perfect looking 4 ounce boneless breasts of chicken like you can see here. They even have grill marks on them, meaning they got some time over a grill.
Some people look down on boneless chicken breast, and think of them as dry and flavorless, but I promise you the way this is cooked proves otherwise. These are perfectly juicy.
My hunch how they make these: I believe these are cooked two ways: First they grill the outside a tiny bit to get those attractive grill marks but then they vacuum seal the breasts and cook them Sous Vide.Naturally I am just guessing but these kinds of pouches look exactly like how sous vide food looks. I also say this especially at how perfect the cook is on these boneless breasts. These are perfectly cooked. Juicy, tender, flavorful. If you are in the food game, let us know in the Comments if you too think these are cooked sous vide.
I gave one of these to my neighbor to taste. She thought they were delicious and immediately said she would be sure to buy them the next time she goes to TJ’s.
“Fully Cooked” – To me this is cooked just perfectly a point. In French cooking “à point” means “exactly right” meaning being “ideally cooked, no more, no less”. These breasts are just cooked just like that. Not overcooked. They are plump and juicy and there is a bit of natural cooking juices in the pouch – which you should be sure to save! This little bit of juice/stock can go over the chicken.
I sliced up a breast and ate it right out of the package as again, these are “fully cooked”. The cook on this is what you might call “medium rare”. If you’re someone who says they like chicken breast cooked until its “well done” you may not find it . Trust me it is. Its Perfect and is done like this so you can reheat it as they state. I put the sliced breast meat on top of a salad and it was delicious. Especially with some Magnificsauce on top. The package states you can “Reheat” this by simmering the pouch in water (or microwaving it). They suggest “simmering for 10-12 minutes”. It comes cooked “a point” so honestly I wonder if simmering this for 12 minutes might ruin it by overcooking it. I would simmer for 5 minutes tops ! Maybe if this is actually sous vide, 12 minutes might be OK. But once again it is already fully cooked. Though “just cooked” in the center which is personally the way I make boneless breasts. Your call on this point.
So I found these breasts very good and very tasty. The downside is of course the price is $9.99 for 1 pound of chicken however of course you don’t have to lift a finger to cook or prep it. You are paying for the convenience of having it ready to use, plus lets face it in a nice deli that sells cooked boneless breasts I’m sure would pay that much a pound if not more for cooked boneless breasts of this quality: perfect.
So when you want a perfect breast of chicken all ready this is very convenient.
The nutrition label says one breast is 150 calories with a whopping 27 Grams Protein and only 4.5 gr of fat. Sounds pretty healthy, no?
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
Recent Comments