So I read about this product in a “Fearless Flyer” and then I saw it the next day on the shelf and thought I should buy it and report on it. When I got home I confess I instantly opened it up, and dug a spoon into the jar to taste it. First reaction, was OMG, this is some fantastically good stuff!
Trader Joe’s FIG BUTTER is an extremely tasty figgy jam. Well actually this is a true fruit butter, meaning fruit that has been cooked down till its super concentrated. And no, there’s no “butter” in it all all, its a kind of old-fashioned reference, when canning fruit was common.
TJ Fig Butter contains just five pure all natural ingredients: figs, water, sugar, lemon juice, and pectin.
The taste is like very yummy, very ripe figs, but deeper and more complex than eating a fresh fig. After reading the Fig Butter post in the Fearless Flyer, I learned there are three different kinds of figs used to make it and surely this is one of the reasons the flavor profile is so complex.
For breakfast I made a piece of TJ Tuscan Pane toast with some TJ crunchy Peanut Butter and put this FIG BUTTER on it. What a heavenly combination! Try it!
In fact the main problem with this fig butter is its too good, I bought it yesterday and between my wife and myself, the jar seems to be half gone already. Next, I will have to sample the other fruit butters TJ sells. Mango, Pumpkin, Lemon, etc… An 11 oz jar of TJ’s fruit butters costs $2.29
CLASSY TIP: Next time you have company over and do a cheese plate, put a small dish of this Fig Butter out with the cheeses (like Brie, Unexpected Cheddar and some hard cheeses. Your guests will rave over the way this goes with the cheese. A few drops of fresh lemon juice mixed in with the jam and it will be even better.
…Working with Maine-based culinary craftsmen, focused on old-fashioned, farmstand goodness and flavor, we created Trader Joe’s Fig Butter. It starts with a medley of fresh, ripe figs: Mission figs for their extreme sweetness, Calimyrna figs for their distinctive nutty flavor and Conadria figs for their nutty-sweet balance. The whole figs are dried, ground and then crushed before being slow-cooked, in small batches, with sugar, lemon and pectin. It’s a simple recipe using only the finest, freshest ingredients, and no preservatives or artificial colors. The result is full fig flavor concentrated in a smooth, spreadable butter.
In some markets a great deal of butter is retailed from tubs. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
FROM TJ FEARLESS FLYER – BAGEL WITH CREAM CHEESE AND FIG BUTTER
Fig Butter Cream Cheese Bagel
Trader Joe’s Fig Butter is a favorite ingredient among recipe testers and tasters alike in our test kitchen, and it’s easy to see why: it shines in sweet and savory applications, packs a punch of flavor in a compact jar, and it’s just downright delicious. Elevate the standard bagel & cream cheese with a healthy dollop of said Fig Butter, followed by chopped walnuts, dried apricots and a generous drizzle of honey.
1 package TJ’s Cream Cheese, quartered and softened
TJ’s Fig Butter
Handful TJ’s Dried Apricots, diced
Handful TJ’s Walnut Baking Pieces
Your favorite TJ’s Honey
DIRECTIONS
Remove lid from fig butter. Microwave on half power for 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until warm. Set aside. Toast bagels per your preference. Top each half with cream cheese, spreading to cover bagel. Drizzle with warm fig butter. Top with diced apricot and walnuts, followed by a generous drizzle of honey. Enjoy immediately.
Disclaimer: I only tried this at the Sample Station. In fact I confess the Sample Station is the locus where I usually gravitate to almost immediately after I enter Trader Joe’s. I check out if they have something interesting to taste that day, and of course to grab myself a little cup of free coffee. Don’t you? Truly the Coffee Station is one of the best things about Trader Joe’s, isn’t it? Every supermarket should copy them; going shopping would be much more fun.
Kimchi Fried Rice is a fairly new item and TJ’s seemed to be promoting it quite a bit. Recently it was the product “on sample” 2 or 3 times that I had been to TJ’s of late. What I found funny was they had a sign next to the samples: Its said something like, “Warning: Spicy! Try at your own risk! If you can’t take spicy food, be careful!” Then I tasted it and my first thought was “Huh? This is spicy?”. Seriously to me it was about as spicy as baby food (I can take the heat). I started discussing this disconnect of the “WARNING” sign with the TJ employee who was in charge of the Sample Station at the time. He was of the same opinion – the Kimchi Fried Rice is not spicy at all! He cracked me up when he told me however how many people actually complained “Jeez this is so spicy” after they tasted the Kimchi Fried Rice on sample. So many that they put up the “warning, spicy” sign!
So here is what I thought after tasting the Kimchi Fried Rice. My wife is Korean-Japanese. So I knows me some Kimchi Fried Rice (the authentic Korean kind). I adore it. I can even cook a decent version myself. So if I compare that taste to this stuff, I just have to say this is a pretty bland, insipid version. The two times I tried it was soft and fairly mushy, plus it had barely any kimchi taste; To me, its flavor profile was just weak, which I attribute to an industrial production of such a “homey” dish. For one, truly Kimchi Fried Rice needs real garlic flavor, as well as Kimchi. This barely even had any garlic nor Kimchi flavor for me. The real thing is a fantastic dish, and this? Frankly to my tastes perhaps it would be suitable for babies (ok maybe Korean babies). Now having said that – Trader Joe’s does have a decent “ethnic” fried rice. TJ’s JAPANESE FRIED RICE is actually pretty good. In my years, I’ve eaten tons of both Kimchi fried rice and Japanese fried rice and know what these should taste like, and I can cook decent versions of both.
So, sorry Trader Joe’s but in my opinion your KIMCHI FRIED RICE is a big miss!
If you try it, also try the JAPANESE FRIED RICE next time and see which you prefer. Pretty much same as TJ’s another new “Korean” addition, Trader Joe’s Kimchi, which I found such a poor product I actually “returned” it! Perhaps those who don’t live in a city where you can buy real kimchi sold at a Korean market, might think “so this is kimchi, tasty”. Actually if you had real Kimchi you would know this stuff is not even close to being as tasty as a real Korean-made kimchi – for example this brand (Tobagi) of Napa cabbage kimchi I get at H-MART supermarket on 32nd Street (Manhattan’s Korea Town). If you A/B taste tested this prepared kimchi vs. the Trader Joe’s version? It would be almost a joke, its just no comparison! Anyone who’s been to a Korean restaurant will know the real taste of kimchi. At $1.99 (10 oz) you can try TJ’s version and see for yourself. Let me know what you think.
RANT
Kimchi bokkeumbap, kimchi fried rice in Korean cuisine (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Every year this post becomes the most popular post around Thanksgiving, ENJOY~
FRESH VS. CANNED CRANBERRY SAUCE
To me the greatest sin one can make for Thanksgiving is not making the cranberry sauce from scratch and just opening up a can.
There is simply no comparison to MAKING YOUR OWN CRANBERRY SAUCE fresh, and no reason not to. It’s literally the EASIEST thing in the world to make. If you do it this year, I promise you everyone will say how wonderful the cranberry sauce is. Seriously it could not be easier to make. Recipe follows….
If you’ve never made your own cranberry sauce and are used to opening a can of that jiggly jelly stuff (ugh!) you owe it to your family to make it this year. The “work” involved may take you about 1 minute, plus maybe 15 minutes just letting it do its own thing cooking. TIP: Make it at least an hour ahead of eating so it can be served at room temp (hint, even better do it one or two days before to get it out of the way). It will set up beautifully in the fridge. Take it out of the fridge an hour or so before eating.
EASY “RECIPE” : Open bag. Dump berries in a pot. Add one cup water* and one cup of sugar. Bring to a boil. Basically that’s it. When it boils, just lower the heat down to a simmer and let it alone until the cranberries “pop” in about 15 to 20 minutes. When the berries have popped, they’re done so just turn off the fire. DONE! Let it cool for 30 minutes or so. As it cools it will thicken up (cranberry skin contains a great deal of pectin, a natural thickener).
If this easy recipe seems “too easy” for you and you want to get a tiny bit fancier and more creative, here are things you try… * Instead of water, you can use orange juice. A bit fancier? Grate in a little orange zest. Even more creative? This year I added a tiny bit of cayenne pepper and a pinch of fennel seeds and some lime juice. Ginger can be nice in a cranberry sauce.
Once you try this you will be shocked at how easy it is to make and how infinitely better this fresh sauce is over the canned stuff. At the time of this writing a 12 oz. bag cost $1.99, a decent price. (UPDATE: 2018, a bag was $3.49 at TJ’s) Update 2: 2022, a bag was back down to now $2.29. UPDATE 2023: Organic ones are $3 a bag so buy those!
You can even buy an extra bag of berries and throw it as is in the freezer where it can keep for a few months if you want it outside of just Thanksgiving. It goes great with grilled chicken breasts.
Once you make your own, you will realize how easy it was to make and and like me, will never buy the sauce in a can again, or even TJ’s pre-made stuff.
Now go, and sin no more…
#DIY #CranberrySauce
RECIPE VARIATION: Indian Cranberry Chutney. In a saute pan, melt a tablespoon butter, and add some chopped garlic, a quarter chopped onion and saute stirring for 3 minutes. Add a teaspoon of TJ’s curry powder (or more to taste) and cook one minute. Add the zest of one orange and its juice with 1/4 cup of water and 1/4-1/2 cup of brown sugar or Palm Sugar (or more or less to taste). Add the package of cranberries and simmer 25-30 minutes stirring frequently. If you want heat add a few dashes of Cayenne or your favorite Hot Sauce (PeriPeri, Green Dragon.…) to taste.
Says so right on the front label and all true. This is a very healthy thing for you to eat. And since a can costs just 99 cents, it’s very economical too. Now if you are not familiar with “Refried Beans” there are a few things you should know. One is in Spanish “frijoles refritos” is slightly misleading in that while it literally can be interpreted as “re-fried beans” they are not “fried” twice, they are “cooked twice”, first the beans are boiled, then they are mashed/fried with some kind of fat. Authentic Mexican FRIJOLES REFRITO are either pinto, black, or other beans that have been cooked till very tender, and then mashed till they are a smooth paste. The mixture is cooked with onions and garlic and spices in some oil or fat (traditionally manteca (lard) is used but more ‘modern, healthy’ versions may use olive oil). Manteca does give the beans the best flavor though! Cooked until a thick paste, Refritos generally is eaten with corn tortillas in one form or another, or simply put on the plate as a side. Of course the famous combination of Corn and Beans eaten together create a complex protein that is equal to meat protein, and are eaten in many places all over the world to sustain a population. In Mexico this is very true. This classic combination is both a high quality protein at a relatively low cost compared to meat/chicken/etc, and is a staple eaten daily by MILLIONS of people around the world.
However Trader Joe’s Refried Black Beans are a much simplified version of this classic bean dish. The ingredients list says simply : Black beans, water, sea salt, spice, jalapeños. So actually since there is no fat of any kind listed, in truth these are not really “refritos” at all! You could eat them this way just out of the can, but I find them just so-so that way, I think of them as a time-saver over making my own beans (soaking overnight, etc) and mashing them. Tasting these you may say as I did, “what where’s the jalapeño’s?” Are there really Jalapeño peppers are in this?? They seem non-existant taste wise so I assume the amount is miniscule.
When you open up up the can, be aware this beans don’t look too appetizing till prepared (frankly one could say it looks like dog food) but it will look fine after you heat them up and hopefully gussy them up as I suggest .
Anyway think of this can as a starting point to something. If you invest a mere 5 minutes to improve these* to make them tastier and more authentic, you will be rewarded with something twice as good as the way they taste right out of the can, I promise you. Here’s what I suggest you do with these mashed black beans – Smash or chop up a fat clove of garlic and toss it in a non-stick pan, over medium heat with a nice slug of good Olive Oil (I used TJ’s Spanish EVOO). Add the bean paste from the can (carefully! it may spit in the hot oil) Perhaps add some diced fresh or pickled jalapeños or other chile peppers ‘to taste’. A great thing to add would be one small can of TJ’s Roasted Green Chiles, chopped up. A little diced onion sauteed for 5 minutes in the oil before the beans go in couldn’t hurt and will add much flavor to your FrijolesRefritos. Now add some spices: oregano, cumin if you like it, a dash of red pepper flakes plus a good sprinkling of black pepper. Taste for salt. Cook the the beans, pushing down with a wooden spoon, mixing into the oil and every now and then stirring and making sure they don’t burn as they cook. Use a low flame. Cook the mixture for about 5-10 minutes until the paste softens up, moves freely (If too thick, add a tiny pinch of water) until the Frijoles look smooth and smell wonderful. If you like spicy, a few splashes of your favorite hot sauce would go well added now. There….much improved over just opening this can.
Are you so Lazy that reading the above makes you say all that sounds like way too much work? Wow you are a lazy bum! OK then if you do nothing else, at a minimum when you heat the beans up just add some olive oil and lots of black pepper and some hot sauce to the pan.
Eat your FrijolesRefritos with tortillas, tostadas…. Use as fillings in burritos. Add salsa, cheese, tomato, greens. Refritos are also great served as a side with a sprinkle of cheese, maybe some mexican style rice, and possibly some Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo.
If you’ve never had these before, try them, or their cousin Trader Joe’s Pinto Refried Beans with Salsa. Those are also quite good. They are very tasty when jazzed up a little, so filling, healthy and economical it’s not even funny. Your heart and cholesterol will thank you, especially since you made them with olive oil and not lard (thought authentic manteca does taste best, sorry!) For a dollar you can easily always keep a few cans of these in the pantry.
These looked worth a try, and they were! Is this is a “healthy” cracker? “Whole Grain Flour (Wheat, Quinoa, Spelt, Millet, Kamut), Enriched Wheat Flour, Sunflower Oil, Whole Flaxseed, Salt, Sugar”. That looks pretty /healthy natural to me as just about every healthy grain on the planet is in this cracker. So you don’t have to feel too bad eating these. The label states 4 crackers are 60 calories. Also not too shabby right?
Taste? Very good. They do NOT taste like cardboard, as some “healthy” products tend to. These taste great: Natural and fairly neutral as a “water cracker” should. Like “Carr’s”, which are the standard, but a bit more flavorful, no doubt due to the whole grains. They are a fine base for anything: cheese, dips, meats, etc, and yes I’ve eaten some on their own and I think they are better than Carr’s this way, which are way too bland for me. These are crisp and delicate but sturdy enough to support anything you top them with. These sell for a very good price too – well at the moment, TJ”s is now raising prices on a weekly basis! They are a great deal for $1.29!
Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Oil “Pure Vegable Soap” looks like and according to the ingredients is almost exactly the same formula as their wonderful Oatmeal and Honey soap. Ingredients on the label are identical except instead listing oatmeal flakes and honey as ingredients, this lists Tea Tree Oil in the ingredients. The fragrance of this soap is a bit less pronounced than the Oatmeal Honey one, which smells so good I think I could almost eat it. This is more subtle. While I do frankly prefer the Oatmeal version, this too is very good, and I like it very much as well. If you Google it, you see it has very good reviews on some sites for many types of skin problems. Tea Tree Oil is supposed to possess certain medicinal properties, such as being an anti-fungal & antiseptic agent.
All I know is my face does feel incredibly clean and grease free after washing with this. In the shower, its also feels kind of “cooling” to the skin, and feels a tiny bit like Dr. Bronners* (my favorite soap in hot weather is Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Soap) But this may be my close second. Like Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint soap, this soap is definitely good for cooling off in hot summer-time weather. It sells for a little bit more than TJ’s Oatmeal soap (1.99 for 2 big bars of this vs. $1.70 for the Oatmeal / Honey soap). However compared to fancy, pricey skin soaps, this stuff is an ABSOLUTE STEAL at $1/bar. Try and see what you think.
You will see this bread on many a “Trader Joe’s Top 10” and “best products” lists, and rightly so. I think its one of the best breads they sell, among the best packaged bread I’ve had, period.
TUSCAN PANE is a good, country style bread. Pretty sure this is a slow rise sourdough; its usually full of air holes. Its has a very nice chewy texture and a good crust, of course which is better heated. In fact it gets 10x better toasted or grilled. Tuscan Pane makes unbelievably good toast, and many a morning this bread toasted is what I crave at breakfast. Top the toast with butter, jam, cream cheese, cheese, veggies or just about anything and you have a little slice of toast heaven. One of my faves would be with cream cheese and tomato. Or brie with jam, warmed till the brie is a bit melty.
A large 27 oz. loaf of Tuscan Pane original “white” was until recently $2.29. It has gone up to $2.49 (All wheat products are up) The Whole Wheat version goes for $2.69. Flavorwise I think I prefer the original “white” one to the whole wheat one but the whole wheat is still good too if you prefer that. I usually always prefer to buy whole wheat breads, but this one, not really. Since first trying this, this is yet another TJ product I’ve been become totally hooked on. I must have Tuscan Pane on hand at all times now. I keep it in the freezer; it keeps well frozen at least a week or two.
This bread can be the base of many easy sandwich, snacks and other recipes (croutons? yes!) I make quick and easy Bruschettas using this all the time. Here’s a fast, simple recipe:
BRUSCHETTA
-TJ’s Tuscan Pane
-Fresh garlic, ripe tomato, olive oil
Grill or toast a few slices of bread. When golden brown, immediately rub a cut clove of garlic on the bread. Take a slice of ripe tomato and ’smush’ it into your toast. If you want to be neat, you can dice your tomato and top it (but rubbed in is authentic Italian or Basque Pa Amb Tomaquet style) Drizzle on a nice splash of olive oil, sprinkle with some fresh black pepper and sea salt. A little herbage (basil) on top can’t hurt, but if you don’t have, thats fine. If you want something heartier, add some sliced or grated parmesan or other cheese or perhaps some prosciutto. Done. YUM!
These are quite good. “Trader Joe’s Roasted Seaweed Snack” are made from seaweed, and are similar to, but slightly different from Japanese nori (seaweed dried into sheets).
These are “yaki-nori” (roasted nori sheets). These are from Korea. Korean ‘nori’ are made with sesame oil which gives the sheets a wonderful aroma and nutty taste and airy texture. They are more delicate and not as dense structurally as Japanese nori sheets, so can break apart easily. These are harder to roll stuff up in, for making sushi for example. But I do find the Korean kind tastier and in fact TJ’s “Roasted Seaweed Snacks” are delicious. Yes you can eat them as “snacks” as named, just pop them in your mouth. Eaten like this, a package will vanish FAST! They are addictive. However they are good any way you would employ nori. I have made sushi hand-rolls with them (very carefully so they don’t fall apart). You should try this; they’re terrific.
A pack of these goes for 99 cents (and yes I’ve seen better prices for similar ones at Korean supermarkets but you might not have one of those near you) Its still not a bad deal at all as they give you a good number of these small square sheets, which weigh almost nothing.
Now I have read this is a “polarizing Trader Joe’s product” meaning you either love it or hate it. Huh? Who hates these? Personally I love these and would say if you haven’t tried them, pick up a pack and check them out. They are a “healthy snack”. As with so many TJ items, you may be instantly hooked and grab them every time you see them (and no I don’t get paid for this folks, or get free samples. I wish!) My local TJ’s is actually putting them right by the Checkout line… next to the chocolates! That must mean something: checkout line item.
Do as the Japanese do: Try making thin strips of them to sprinkle on rice. Take 2 or 3 sheets. Using a scissors cut them into strips as thin as you can. Sprinkle strips on top of…. well almost anything. They will add interesting flavors to: rice, salads, fish, chicken, meats…experiment! Try wrapping some food in them too, instead of bread or a taco (maybe two together for added strength?) I love them with “Spicy Tuna” and some sushi style rice. Put a sheet in your hand, top with some rice and top that with some Spicy Tuna. Gently fold into a tube and pop that tasty morsel into you mouth. Yum Yum Yum!
I found a very good post about them on this blog; take a look.
If you are want more information including the Nutrional Info, I found TJ’s product description for them online (PDF) – turns out I was right about guessing Korean origin.
Here’s what TJ’s has to say:
THE ROASTED SEAWEED SNACK STORY
It all started under the sea with an edible red algae (genus Porphyra), which is now commonly known as nori. Around the 8th century, evidence of nori surfaced in Japan as a type of culinary paste. It wasn’t until the Edo period (1603-1868) that sheets of nori were invented through a method of paper-making. Skip forward a few hundred years, and nori becomes a sensation across the globe—for sushi, snacking and seasoning. So Trader Joe’s knows, it’s now or nori. Our Roasted Seaweed Snack features nori from Korea that is roasted with a touch of oil (sesame & canola) and sea salt, then cut into strips. That’s it. It’s light, crunchy, ocean-salty and nuanced with an intriguing nutty flavor. It’s so good, it proves hard to keep in stock. Especially at 99¢ for a package.
UPDATE!
PS – I found this and had to add it…. this is hysterical!
“Korean flavored nori is increasingly popular in Japan, also as a topping for white rice. You could also eat flavored nori just on its own, but you should resist the urge to do it when in polite company: eating flavored nori as a snack is considered fairly vulgar (which doesn’t mean people don’t do it!)”
So I read about this product in a “Fearless Flyer” and then I saw it the next day on the shelf and thought I should buy it and report on it. When I got home I confess I instantly opened it up, and dug a spoon into the jar to taste it. First reaction, was OMG, this is some fantastically good stuff!
Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Oil “Pure Vegable Soap” looks like and according to the ingredients is almost exactly the same formula as their wonderful 
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
Recent Comments