Rave

Trader Joe’s IVY’S RESERVE SOMERSET RED CHEESE, reviewed

26 Jul 2026 2 Comments

by promacnyc in cheese, DIY, Dried Fruits and Nuts, News, Prices, Products, review, snacks, tea, WhatsGoodAtTJ?

“Serve at room temperature for best flavor. Great addition to a cheeseboard; enjoy with an oaky Chardonnay”

PRODUCT OF U.K.

IVY’S RESERVE SOMERSET RED is an award winning cheese, featured by Trader Joe’s sometime back as their “Spotlight Cheese”.

Is it worth buying? Here’s my honest review.

OMG is this cheese good. Just excellent. I enjoyed tasting it so much that I had to stop myself from devouring the package. “I just need one more taste”. If you haven’t tried it already, put this cheese on your list. Especially as it’s TIME LIMITED. Meaning Trader Joe’s won’t have it always, they will have it until it runs out. Hopefully they will get more then.

This is yet one more fantastic super premium Imported cheese you can buy at Trader Joe’s for a decent price. Note that this is one of those products sold under it’s own brand, not as “Trader Joe’s”. That means they really wanted it.

IVY’S RESERVE SOMERSET RED is a mature “aged cheddar” (aged over 12 months). You can see it’s crumbly. It has a mouthwatering edge of sharpness and a lot of umami with a lovely orange red color. While in the cheddar family this is specifically “Red Leicester” which is similar too but more crumbly than cheddar.

“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”

It’s a farm cheese, produced at Wyke’s Farm in Somerset, England. The label for Ivy’s Reserve Somerset Red describes it as “nutty, mellow & moreish,” More-ish is a British term that means, “having a very pleasant taste and making you want to eat more.”

Well that’s exactly the effect it had on me. I kept wanting just one more taste. When I finished my taste test, I saw a good portion of the package somehow had magically vanished 😉

Lovely deep orange color with the taste of aged authentic British cheddar. A little earthy, a little tangy. Aged over 1 year.

MELTED? Yes please. I had to try it melted, and of course this is fantastic melted. Put it in anything you can think of. I think this might make the best melted cheese sandwich? I would try that as well as an omelet perhaps?

Trader Joe’s has a picture with a cheese board and I am sure this would be a big hit on any #cheeseboard. They picture it with some some chutney, dates, nuts and crackers. Indicating how great this could contrast with the sweet spiciness of say, their MANGO CHUTNEY.

It says “LIMITED” so don’t expect to always find it but if you see it, I highly recommend trying this. At a high end cheese shop I would not be surprised to see this imported farm cheese selling for at least $20 a pound.

Trader Joe’s sell this for $5.49 (for a 7 oz piece)

GOOD WITH A PICKLE OF COURSE

Trader Joe’s MINI UNCURED PEPPERONI STICKS (double snack pack)

18 Jul 2026 Leave a comment

by promacnyc in Blog, bread, cheese, dairy, DIY, General, New, News, Prices, Products, review, snacks, spices, Uncategorized, update, WhatsGoodAtTJ?

Little mini pepperoni sticks divied into 2 cute “snack packs” of about one ounce each.

I saw these on the check out line at Trader Joe’s yesterday. I could not resist this cute package so picked one up and honestly, when I got out of the store, I opened up the package and took a bite of one of these sticks. I have to say these are really tasty and brought me back to when I was a kid and bought “Slim Jims”. Probably these have way better ingredients.

They are neither hard nor soft, just the perfect texture and taste. These are a snack-sized helping of slim, perfectly chewy Pepperoni Sticks made from uncured pork. (No nitrates or nitrites are added, except those naturally occurring in sea salt and cultured Swiss chard powder). Very savory and tasty, pork-y goodness. Even could go on a #cheeseboard.

My package went pretty fast. Health food? No, of course not, these are a occasional treat but the ingredients are not mysterious and they are not very fatty. Sodium is pretty high! A whole package (both sides) contains 1050 mg sodium, or about 56% the allotted recommended daily sodium level .

However if one ate half a package at a time, as an occasional snack/treat not too terrible. Just so you keep an eye on that. Me I can eat about 4, 5 sticks and be satisfied.

1 package has 210 calories, 13 g protein….

$1.99 package (2 oz)

Trader Joe’s PAPUA NEW GUINEA Small Lot Coffee (Light Roast) 100% Arabica, Whole Bean

17 Jul 2026 3 Comments

by promacnyc in Blog, coffee, DIY, General, New, News, Prices, Products, review, spices, Uncategorized, update, WhatsGoodAtTJ?

RAVE

“With notes of pineapple and brown sugar”

Before I saw this at Trader Joe’s a few weeks ago, I’m prettu sure I’ve never even seen a coffee from PAPUA NEW GUINEA. So I had no idea what to expect. But I kind of like to check out every “Small Lot” coffee Trader Joe’s comes out with. Just in case. ‘Cuz you never know. Sometimes you may find a Gem.

Like this coffee! Which is from the “Sigri Estate in Papua New Guinea”. I really was pleasantly surprised with this latest of Trader Joe’s Small Lot coffees. I thought this one was a winner. Likely the Best of the Small Lot coffees they’ve come out with in some time for my taste.Honestly, Trader Joe’s describes it perfectly and I could not do better. So quoting them….

“Brew up a cup of this Papua New Guinean whole bean coffee and you’ll notice its distinctive profile. The light roast presents moderate acidity and body with fragrant aromas of almond, berries, and açai. You’ll taste layered sweet and fruity flavors, detecting notes of pineapple, brown sugar, and honey.”

I find this all true. It tastes pretty unique which I guess is why they describe it with “notes of pineapple and brown sugar”, the first time I have seen the word “pineapple” used to describe a flavor profile of a coffee. I find the taste hard to pinpoint but sure, “pineapple and brown sugar” works, and all I know is that I quite liked flavor of this which is pretty unique but satisfying. Smooth but Robust. Wonderful coffee aroma when you first grind it up.

TJ’s labels this a “LIGHT ROAST”. I agree this is light (not blond) and the light roast here is perfect. Trader Joe’s seems to skew towards darker? Most of their coffee seem to be roasted at least medium, which is fine by me, as I like medium to dark and even espresso, but a light one here and there is nice, so here you go. If you like Light, give this a try and see what you think.

BREWING: I brewed it 2 ways, a drip coffee with a paper filter and also in my Moka pot. Both worked equally well and produced excellent coffee. It even produced a good amount of “crema” when I brewed it in my Moka pot, which to me also seems to indicate a good coffee. I’m sure this would be good for any brewing method including true espresso machines.

A quick search on Google revealed this about coffee from there: “Papua New Guinea (PNG) coffee is highly regarded for its smooth body, gentle acidity, and complex, sweet-toned flavor profile. Grown primarily in the fertile Central Highlands, these heirloom Typica and Bourbon beans—originally descended from Jamaica Blue Mountain—offer tasting notes of tropical fruit, dark chocolate, and mild spices.”

“Trader Joe’s Papua New Guinea Small Lot Coffee was grown on the distinguished Sigri estate in the Waghi Valley of PNG. There are numerous micro-climates all around this mountainous island, and the coffee growers of the Sigri estate have intimate knowledge of their own land, which translates into premium, AA (large grade), 100% Arabica beans.”

While I previously I had no knowledge of PNG coffee, I am a now big fan of this one at least. I look forward every morning to grinding these beans up to brew up my morning cup of Joe. In fact I will go back and pick up a bag or two of this ! Run, don’t walk and grab this one. IT’S LIMITED

This one was quite fresh too, as per the “roasted on” date. I bought it only about one month later in was roasted so pretty fresh.

Sidenote thought: Can you imagine the team working for Trader Joe’s on their “Small Lot Coffee” projects?! I’ve often thought this may be the coolest job in the world. Get sent all over the world looking for unusually good coffee finds in unusual places. Exploring small producers in far flung corners of the world, on the hunt for coffee that will end up as the next “Small Lot” find. Sounds like a Dream Job?

Trader Joe’s PAPUA NEW GUINEA Small Lot Coffee

Good Cold too!

LIMITED TIME!

$10.99/12 Oz

Trader Joe’s ORGANIC UNCURED GRASS FED BEEF HOT DOGS

11 Jul 2026 Leave a comment

by promacnyc in Blog, DIY, General, Holiday, New, News, organic, Prices, Products, review, snacks, spices, Uncategorized, update, WhatsGoodAtTJ?

RAVE

I actually really love a good hot dog, however as someone who tries to watch what they eat, hot dogs now are something I will basically only eat once a year – on July 4th! So when I do eat a hot dog, it’s got to be really good, of course, and would prefer it be one that is at least trying to be one of the “healthier” versions. But still really tasty.

For me, Trader Joe’s Organic Uncured Grass Fed All Beef Hot Dogs fits the bill exactly. Most important, these are good and tasty hot dogs, that are made better than many others that have questionable ingredients, something hot dogs are notorious for. These have good ingredients. Made with USDA certified organic beef from grass fed cows. They don’t contain added nitrates or nitrites as preservatives (ie, “uncured”). They use natural ingredients to “cure” them, specifically celery and sea salt. The ingredients are not mysterious. The rest of the ingredients are all organic seasonings, things like garlic puree, minced onion, paprika, and red pepper flakes. “No fillers. No kidding”.

We got these for a July 4th get together this year and these dogs were a big hit. Everyone commented on how good the hot dogs were. Nice and tasty, well seasoned the way I like my dogs with: “Organic black pepper, organic ginger, organic nutmeg, organic red pepper, organic paprika, organic garlic powder, organic onion powder, organic coriander, organic celery powder, organic garlic puree….”

SERVING: I pan grilled these hot dogs in butter., and served them on the excellent BRIOCHE HOT DOG buns toasted. Served them with TJ’s excellent sauerkraut and dill pickle mustard.

These were so yummy on those good buns with good sauerkraut. I can’t wait for July 4th to roll around year again! You and your kids however may eat them anytime you are in the mood for hot dogs and want them to be as good as possible.

110 calories per hot dog

$5.99 (10 oz package, which has 6 hot dogs)

I would buy these again.

“NO PRESERVATIVES; KEEP REFRIGERATED BELOW 40 F AT ALL TIMES”

PAIR THESE WITH: Trader Joe’s Brioche Hot Dog Buns, Sauerkraut, and your favorite mustard…..

Trader Joe’s ORGANIC CAVATAPPI Pasta, Review & Recipe Ideas

07 Jul 2026 Leave a comment

by promacnyc in DIY, General, Italian, New, News, organic, pasta, Prices, Products, recipe, Recipes, review, Uncategorized, update

“excellent for an elevated mac and cheese bake”

NEW ITEM

Trader Joe’s has added this pasta shape to their selection of organic premium “artisanal” pastas, cavatappi which means “corkscrews”. They say it’s one of their favorites. Having tried it, it’s now one of my favorite pastas as well that they sell.

ORGANIC CAVATAPPI look kind of like a long twisted macaroni with ridges. The shape and the ridges are designed to hold sauces.

Cavatappi is an excellent addition to Trader Joe’s line of premium pastas. They still sell some pastas for 99 cents. This one is $1.99. What makes “premium” pasta premium and worth more? TJ’s premium pastas are a level up from the regular ones. Think of high end pasta like you see in specialty stores, many of which are $4-8 a pound. The better, high end pastas mean things like being bronze die cut, made from organic semolina wheat, usually are slow dried, etc. All of which makes for better pasta.

“Made in Italy for Trader Joe’s by our skilled supplier in Italy using organic semolina wheat. “

Cavatappi is perfect for marinara, or alfredo sauces. It’s also great used for baked mac and cheese and is great for cold pasta salads. Its shape helps it hold onto sauce in different ways, offering lots of flavor and a nice chewy texture.

“Cavatappi makes a consummate complement to a marinara or alfredo, makes a marvelous base for a baked mac and cheese, and produces a primo pasta salad for picnics and potlucks.”

I made a delicious (tuna and pesto) pasta salad using the cavatappi

Tuna & Pesto Pasta Salad: Boil a cup of cavatappi pasta in in salted water for 9-10 minutes or until done to the way you like (me, al dente). Drain the pasta and rinse in a colander under cold water until cooled down to room temp. Place pasta in a bowl, and add 2 tablespoons of Trader Joe’s jarred PESTO (adjust more if you need it). Add a can of tuna in olive oil (I used the oil and juice too, your call). Add juice from 1/2 lemon or more. (option, add a handful of chopped parsley or arugula) Mix well and serve.

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/organic-cavatappi-pasta-082007

I would buy this again

Organic Cavatappi $1.99 (16 oz).

Trader Joe’s ORGANIC CARROTS with healthy recipes

25 Jun 2026 Leave a comment

by promacnyc in Blog, General, News, organic, Prices, Products, recipe, Recipes, review, snacks, spices, Uncategorized, WhatsGoodAtTJ?

Trader Joe’s ORGANIC CARROTS (multi-colored) $1.99 for 2 lbs. And also regular organic carrots .99 cents for 1 lb.

We are trying to reduce our carb intake a bit. One idea to help do that is to make up the plate with even more vegetables.

I happen to love carrots, so they are a good pick for us. Carrots are super healthy and fortunately pretty cheap at Trader Joe’s, where they sell for $1 a pound for ORGANIC CARROTS. Pictured here are the multi colored ones Trader Joe’s sells, which besides the standard orange carrots they have some with other colors, like red and yellow.

Here’s two EASY RECIPE ideas using carrots, one cooked and one raw, in a salad. The one printed on the bag is good too (“spicy rainbow carrot coins”) though more complicated than the ones I’m adding below.

Sautéed Moroccan style carrots

Slice up your peeled carrots. Put olive oil in a pan or pot and add 2 cloves chopped/grated garlic. Sautée 30 seconds. Add a 1/2 diced onion. Add carrot slices. Add 1 tsp ground cumin, a dash of cinnamon. Saute on med heat stirring often till they look a little seared, 5-10 minutes. Lower the heat and cook until done, 5-10 minutes.

Easy Moroccan Style Carrot Raisin Salad

Use a box grater or the like and grate up 2 or 3 large peeled carrots into a bowl. Add 1 tsp fresh lemon juice (added points if you grate in some zest). Add a handful of your favorite raisins. Add either a clove of fresh garlic (chopped or grated) or a 1/2 tsp of powdered garlic. Add a good amount of ground cumin (1/2 tsp). Add a good spill of extra virgin olive oil. Add a splash of vinegar. Stir to combine and let marinate for at least 10-15 minutes. (I had pomegranate seeds in the fridge so added them, optional but really nice addition)

Trader Joe’s ORGANIC UNCURED BLACK FOREST HAM

22 Jun 2026 Leave a comment

by promacnyc in bread, cheese, DIY, General, Holiday, organic, Prices, Products, recipe, Recipes, review, snacks, spices, Uncategorized, update, WhatsGoodAtTJ?

“Smoky, savory and lightly sweet with hints of maple”

I’ve already reviewed a very good sliced ham Trader Joe’s sells, which is their ROSEMARY HAM

This one is also quite good. It’s their uncured organic Black Forest ham, which has a lovely smokey flavor.

Uncured means it uses no added nitrates/nitrites. It’s cured with natural seasonings such as organic celery seed, organic vinegar and organic honey. “All vegetarian feed, no added hormones, antibiotics”

Low in fat, 2 slices have 60 calories with 11 gr of Protein.

Wood smoked with hickory, which gives this a wonderful flavor, it’s great for sandwiches and may other things. It made a great omelet, where the smokey flavor came through beautifully.

It would work great on a #cheeseboard. I would love it with some smoked Gouda on a cracker for double smokiness.

I would buy this again.

$5.49 (6 oz)

“TJ’s Uncured Black Forest Ham is deliciously lean, packed with protein, and notably free of added nitrates and nitrites—in other words, the ideal choice for creating simple, delicious school lunches, work lunches, or even just an anytime snack. It has an artful smokiness and tender texture, adds a remarkable depth of flavor, especially when stacked up with slices of Pepper Jack cheese or add-ons like sweet & spicy pickle chips.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/uncured-black-forest-ham-086863

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/recipes/everything-ham-cheese-roll-ups (here’s a TJ recipe using this)

Trader Joe’s Freeze Dried JUST SALMON With Skin, pet treats

28 May 2026 1 Comment

by promacnyc in New, News, pets, Uncategorized, WhatsGoodAtTJ?

“Give your pet the very best. Skin on salmon that has been cut into snack friendly pieces and freeze dried with absolutely nothing added along the way”

Ingredients: SALMON. Thats it!

A treat has 48.5% protein and 41% fat. Each treat is about 5-6 calories.

Naturally both of my guest reviewers fish loving cats Aspen and Kuro went crazy for these and gave them a big thumbs up. Or paws up

“FOOD TOPPER” – You can even use these when you have a pet who is sick or off their feed and not interested in food. Or if you have switched food / brands and they don’t like the new one, which is common. Or you just want to add to your pet’s diet. Crush these up and sprinkle it over the food. I have done this especially for a sick cat and the aroma usually works to get them to eat.

In any case your cat or dog will probably love these. You will no doubt be saying something like “No, you only get one for now”

Not cheap of course. Its pure salmon. $5.49 for a small bag (just 1.5 oz) but as it’s freeze dried that might have started as a pound of fresh salmon?

Halloumi Cheese Is Back At Trader Joe’s (seasonal item, summer, grilling)

27 May 2026 Leave a comment

by promacnyc in cheese, DIY

BBQ season (spring/summer) Halloumi Cheese Is Back At Trader Joe’s! Finally! I wait about 1/2 the year for it to appear back on their shelves, as Trader Joe’s considers it to be seasonal item for summer and “outdoor” grilling, etc. Its great for that but for many other things and can be “indoors” too… Check out the original post about it, HERE

Trader Joe’s (delicious) CALABRIAN CHILI TOMATO DUMPLING SOUP

18 May 2026 Leave a comment

by promacnyc in Italian, jar, pasta, Prices, Products, Uncategorized, update, WhatsGoodAtTJ?

RAVE

“Creamy, savory, and spicy” (but just a bit)

Here’s my honest review of Trader Joe’s “Calabrian Chili Tomato Dumpling Soup”

This soup is really TERRIFIC. Taste-wise I was impressed at just how good this is. It’s really a great tasting tomato soup, full of flavor and just a bit creamy. This tastes like a wonderful homemade tomato soup you (or your Grandma) made.

A bit creamy and full of tomato flavor with great spice additions. Lip smacking yummy. Surprisingly good for something out of a jar. But you will get a great tomato soup.

A jar of this can make a super easy weeknight meal. So I recommend this as a great thing to have in the pantry. It should feed two with a few other things (salad.. bread….a veg)

One review I found on Insta says: “i love it so much. my husband & i think it’s one of the best tomato soups we’ve ever had ~ & we make homemade tomato soup, so that’s saying something! perfect amount of warmth/heat from the chiles”

Ok there is one thing. Dumplings?! Based on the name, you would expect that you would find dumplings, no? Guess what? I didn’t really see any dumplings in the whole jar of soup. I just found a few fingernail size pieces of something I assume used to be a dumpling.

Not just my jar either. I saw another reviewer complaining about how she found no dumplings in this to speak of, also just a few little bits. So just a heads up. The name says Dumplings but its pretty much dumpling free (or they just fall apart).

But you know what? I didn’t care too much as it’s it was so tasty, that really compensated for this one element which I can more or less fix – If you really want something in the soup do what I did. Add some cooked pasta.

Here’s what I did to make up for the missing dumplings. I just boiled up a bit of pasta till al dente. Drained it, then tossed the cooked pasta into the soup. I used a small handful of TJ’s Macaroni.

Sure you don’t have to to bother doing this, the soup is fine on it’s own. Don’t just throw in dried pasta as that may soak up quite a bit of soup. Pre-cook some pasta separately.

Which pasta that would work? Any small shaped pasta. Orzo, macaroni, fusilli, bowties. What about GNOCCHI? Why not?

While of course “spicy” is very personal, to both my wife and I who were reviewing this, we thought this was just a little bit spicy. Certainly not roof on fire spicy. In fact I could easily see one adding a small dab of TJ’s superb ITALIAN BOMBA sauce made with those same Calabrian Chilis, if you wanted this a bit spicier.

Ingredients include tomato paste, “dumplings”, and heavy cream, carrots, vinegar, honey plus spices.

In spite of almost no dumplings found, a super yummy all over a tasty tomato soup to have in your pantry!

I would buy this again.

$4.99 (23 oz)