NEW ITEM: Trader Joe’s “Cleansing and Conditioning Hair Wash” – “Gentle + Moisturizing. Generally Suitable For all hair types. Detergent & Paraben Free. Non-Foaming. Grapefruit Mint Scent. Reduces tangles, buildup, frizz and dryness. Enhances texture and volume. Reveals soft and shiny hair. Get more days between washes. No conditioner needed”
DIRECTIONS: “Wet hair. Coat all hair with hair wash. Massage in vigorously. Will not foam, and feels more like a conditioner. Rinse very thoroughly. No need to use a conditioner”
So this kind of seems that is is neither a shampoo nor is it exactly a conditioner… its something in between the two, they call “hair wash” and is something that you use between shampoos. My wife says she uses it after washing her hair as a conditioner (?) and she gave this a thumbs up (note, she’s tough to please with hair products). Now most conditioners say something like “leave in for three minutes before rinsing” This stuff doesn’t mention anything like how long to leave it in, therefore I assume that means you can rinse it out right away. No waiting!. This is something men like as we are well known to hate having to wait three torturous minutes for our conditioner to work. All kidding aside, this stuff seems to work, it has a pleasant scent, it has some ingredients that sound good, such as evening primrose, castor seed oil, sunflower oil, aloe leaf, soy, wheat and corn proteins, and flower extracts. I would buy it again but this is kind of unusual so its every man (or woman) for themselves on this “hair wash”. The nice thing is Trader Joe’s will give you a refund if you don’t decide you didn’t like it. How many stores do that?!! It’s $4.99 for the 8 oz tube.
I think my standard Go To for an excellent all-around coffee at TJ’s is their very good COLOMBIAN SUPREMO coffee beans. In fact many consider the Colombian Supremo coffee as the #1 coffee at TJ’s. Still this nice looking package in the NEW ITEMS section caught my eye the other day as I saw this was from Ecuador. Reading the label, well they made it sound worth trying, plus I am not sure I’ve ever had a coffee from Ecuador and was curious what that might be like. In short however I was disappointed and didn’t like this coffee. Now, it had a nice aroma and smelled really nice when I ground it. However when I brewed it up (in a Moka pot) I found it not at all what I expected to taste like and thought it tasted somehow off? I found the brewed coffee to be thin and bitter, and way more acidic than what I was expecting, almost “African”. I tried it a few more times with slightly different grinds and ratios to see if I could improve it, but still found it turned me off somehow. Especially by comparison to the balanced coffee flavors in their Colombian Supremo. If you’ve want a good tasting medium roast whole bean coffee at a decent value get that big can with the colorful Colombian toucan. Or the Azmari BUNNI coffee, which is terrific.
Ecuador Zamora small lot coffee was $9.99 for a 13 oz bag. I would PASS on this one however a few of the small lot coffees have been very good like the MEXICAN La Laja (and an Indian one I had) so it’s kind of hit or miss. As one reader pointed out in the Comments, pre-pandemic back when Trader Joe’s offered small cups of coffee to sample you could get an idea of what one actually tasted like. Ah, the Good Old Days….SIGH!
“Inside this bag you will find captivatingly crunchy, satisfyingly sweet clusters of rolled oats and pecans, with notes of maple syrup and honey”
If you are a fan of the big clumps you find in granola, you may like this. Trader Joe’s “Just The Clusters” Maple Pecan Granola gives you lots of clumps. I do like these crunchy clusters made even crunchier than other granolas as this has some rice flour added in for extra crunch.
It has pecans in it, a fair amount if not loaded with them. I guess at this price (3.29) they can’t put a ton of them in there but there are quite a few very tasty roasted pieces of pecans, and the maple flavor of this granola is tasty. As per the Nutrition Label, I wish it didn’t have quite the amount of Added Sugars it says but I really don’t eat a whole bowl of this, or even the 2/3 cups they use as the serving size. What I use this for really is as a nice topping to add crunch on top of my breakfast yogurt bowl, usually something like chia seeds, mixed with yogurt and kefir and fruits (banana, apples, berries…) This would equally be great on top of oatmeal or overnight oats for a little crunch. You could even eat some as a snack, in moderate amounts.
$3.99 for a 1 pound bag. No weird ingredients, all pretty natural as you can see….
update: unfortunately at present this is either unavailable or possibly even discontinued (?) As a substitute the Organic Fusilliis also quite good
“Made in small, handmade batches with high quality organic durum wheat semolima. Thick, textured noodles, that cook up perfectly al dente and pair beautifully with pesto”
“It starts with the Italian pasta maker sourcing high quality, organic, and local durum wheat semolina, then going the extra mile to mill the flour themselves. High quality tools are equally essential—bronze-coated shaping disks are used to produce thick, textured noodles that deliver a perfectly al dente texture, crucial to support the heftiness of your sauce while maintaining a delicate chew. The Trofie pasta shape originates from Liguria, the northwest coastal region of Italy, famous for pesto. You could say pesto is Trofie’s soul-sauce, a match made in pasta-eating heaven. But limiting Trofie to a single sauce would be a mistake. These short, twisted noodles pair well with a variety of sauces, in both hot and cold applications.”
NEW TRADER JOE’S ITEM – Organic Trofie Pasta: I saw this sign and grabbed a package of this pasta from the display as I’m familiar with “Trofie”, a pasta shape we don’t see very often in the U.S but is popular in Italy. It’s from Liguria. “Trofie”is a shape that is kind of a little twisted noodle so it has a lot of nooks and crannies to hold sauces. Trader Joe’s pasta is a very high quality organic pasta which as can you see in the pictures has a lot of rough cut edges, a clear sign it was made using bronze dies. I really liked this pasta. I used it to make a dish I came up with with spinach, garlic and feta cheese, a kind of Greek / Italian dish which turned out really yummy. This is great stuff, a very high quality pasta for a really good price. The 1 lb. package sells for $1.99. I would buy this again. This is my new favorite pasta! I suggest if you see it, Grab it! If you want to learn about Trofie check out some of these videos on YouTube….
I’m sure you too have noticed Trader Joe’s prices continue to creep up. And up. This despite inflation supposedly actually getting better, and even coming down a bit. Almost every time I go to TJ’s lately I notice increases. Some things up 29 cents, some 49 cents. For example the Soy Milk has been $1.99 for a long time The other day I pick it up and notice the sign now says it $2.29. I see the same 29 cents increase on the tofu I regularly, it was $1.99 for a long time. Now $2.29. Jack Cheese that was $4.99 a pound went up to 5.49. These are just a few examples. I could not even begin to list how many products have gone up again recently. Price hikes of 10-15% or more? So it seems like I get sticker shock at the register every time I go recently. Are these increases actually justified? Since inflation has come down a bit and since gas prices have come down. Or are they taking advantage of the situation where people are expecting increases – and get them.
Feel free to share your thoughts about these price increases in Comments.
PS – I just saw one slightly positive – a downward price change on eggs. Egg prices had gone through the roof oer the last six months due to a bad bird flu outbreak among other things. However I noticed some prices moved down a bit recently (TJ’s Jumbo eggs were $4.99. Recently I noticed they went down to $3.99) March 2023
Another update (eggs): One positive I see at least is that prices on eggs are still going in a downward trend! Jumbo eggs: $2.99 April 2023
Trader Joe’s CHEDDAR CHEESE with Caramelized Onions – “English Farmhouse cheddar blended with sweet caramelized onions creates a nice sweet & savory balance”
This one is another excellent cheese offering at Trader Joe’s. It’s an imported farmhouse cheddar from Dorset, England that in a CUSTOMER CHOICE AWARDS won #1 in the Cheese category. Yes, that good.
Trader Joe’s says… “It’s crafted for us on an established estate, idyllically situated between the rolling Dorset Downs and the Jurassic Coast—an international world heritage site, lush with pastures. With more than 40 years of traditional cheese making experience, a famed farm on this estate transforms rich, creamy milk from local grazing herds (within a 30 mile radius) into beautiful, full-bodied farmhouse Cheddar.”
Some cheeses are overpowered by added flavors however there are some very good cheeses with flavors that are delicious. This is one. FYI, you won’t see actual pieces of onion in the cheese; they seem to have been melted / blended in, which gives it a brown tinge. The flavors of caramelized onions match perfectly with the cheddar. You know like a Ploughman’s Lunch.
It’s delicious sliced thinly just on its own., and it was delicious too tasted with fruit (apples, grapes, pear). I just love this with a slice of my favorite apples from TJ’s (ENVY). I also loved this cheese on a cracker with a bit of the Apricot Jam (you should try this!)
What about MELTED?! Any good? Yes, yes, yes! Fantasticmelted… it made a really good melted cheese sandwich and was equally good for quesadillas. An “Ultimate melted cheese sandwich” might be mixing this cheese with the superb UNEXPECTED CHEDDAR on rye bread with a little Dijon mustard. This cheese sells for $10 a pound, which is not bad for an imported premium cheddar like this. I would gladly buy this again. I think this would be great on a cheeseboard. This is a terrific cheese, and worth trying.
“Slow cooked beef in a savory tomato and chile sauce“
Here’s what Trader Joe’s has to say about BEEF BIRRIA…
“This Mexican dish originally hails from Jalisco, and, like ours, is traditionally cooked for several hours in kettles until the Beef is incredibly tender and infused with a savory tomato and chile sauce. You can serve it as a simple stew, topped with fresh cilantro, diced onions, and a squeeze of lime. Alternatively, if you want to evoke the taco truck vibe—and we’re thinking you will—make your own Birria tacos! Dip Corn Tortillas in the broth and fry them in a hot pan or on a plancha. Add the Birria, top with chopped onions, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime, then fold and fry on each side until crispy. But don’t stop there—that lusciously spiced broth serves as a delectable dip for your tacos, too. Believe us, you’ll want to spoon, dip, and sip every last drop.”
“M.I.A. again!”
What is “Birria” you ask? Birria is a famous beef Mexican stew which is so tasty. I’ve wanted to review Trader Joe’s “BEEF BIRRIA” since I first heard about it, many months back, however it was almost impossible to find in stock. Is this one of Trader Joe’s most popular products now due to social media & internet buzz about Birria and current popular and trendy truck that sell it. Birria taco trucks that specialize in Birria have been selling it in many cities like here in NYC. Does it sell out at Trader Joe’s as soon as they put it out, or has it just been a supply problem, or a combination of the two? Anyway I looked for it almost every time I would go to TJ’s for a few months and could never find it, however finally last week I got lucky, and literally saw one last package sitting alone. I looked behind me ready to fight off any interlopers who might grab but I reached out quickly to grab that last box of Birra. Finally!
COOKING: I did the overnight defrost in the fridge, one method they suggest, and put the stew in a pot on the stove. For 16 oz of meat plus sauce ($7.99) its not an enormous amount and of course beef is expensive. They give your a fair amount of chunks of beef and sauce but you need other things with it, certainly tortillas. For us with some corn tortillas, a little rice, and a little salad, the package of birria was just enough for two of us for a dinner. I found the beef and sauce tasty, with the beef appealingly tender, stringy and moist. The sauce the beef is cooked in is good, it’s made from tomatoes, chiles and spices. The ingredients read like real home cooked food: “Beef, water, onions, tomatoes, chile peppers and spices”. Generally the beef is decent quality however we found a few inedible fatty pieces, but just one or two and fyi some fat is actually important in this dish! So don’t just skim it off. That’s what you should dip your tortillas in, the yellow fat on top of the broth and fry up the tortillas as the package suggests. Now BIRRIA is especially known for the stock or broth which they call the “consommé” and typically is served alongside the meat in a cup so you can dip tortillas in it. Trader Joe’s version didn’t have enough broth for me anyway. Frankly I wished they gave more broth with this. Frankly I would like about double what they give you. So what I actually ended up doing was I added maybe a 1/2 cup of water to the pot and simmered it for 30-40 minutes to get more broth. I also added one large zucchini, quartered to the pot, and let that simmer in the broth, and it all came out delicious and gave it some more juice too. Though I did not find this overly salty in taste, FYI the Sodium content listed on the package is pretty high. One portion (1/2 a package) contains over 1000mg sodium which is almost half (47%) of one’s daily recommended sodium so just be informed. I would certainly not recommend that one person eats the whole thing as that would be over 2000 mg of sodium. By my adding water and a veg to make more broth I did dilute things a bit and it was still tasty and not watery at all, if you want to go in that direction. A Vegetable cooked in the broth will be delicious. We served this with corn tortillas and a little rice, and it made for a pretty tasty dinner. Birria is always served with chopped cilantro and chopped onion so consider that a must to add on top like the Serving Suggestion. Buy cilantro and onions along with your preferred tortilla to go with the Birria. I vote for corn tortillas. All in all I liked this, and would say this is one of Trader Joe’s better items, it almost tastes like it was home made. If you can find this (!) I think this is worth trying and I would buy it again.
“Trader Joe’s Beef Birria is tender, slow-cooked beef in a flavorful broth made with crushed tomatoes, dried chiles, and aromatic spices and often served as a simple stew….make your own Birria tacos….if your mantra is “everything is better with cheese,” then make Quesabirriatacos! We dip corn tortillas in the savory broth and fry them in a hot pan, top them with Birria and shredded mozzarella cheese, then sprinkle chopped onions and cilantro and fold into a taco. We suggest frying each side until the tortillas are crispy and the cheese is gloriously gooey and begins to brown at the edges. But don’t stop there—that lusciously spiced broth serves as a delectable dip for your tacos, too.”
Finally if you want to really learn about this dish there’s a really good documentary series on Netflix called the TACO CHRONICLES and it has a whole episode about making Birria in Jalisco, Mexico, it’s point of origin. And you will see, it is traditionally made with goat, the most authentic meat for Birria.
(NOTE: Since when I originally wrote this review of the red package, they came out with another noodle flavor called, “SPICY GARLIC AND SESAME SAUCE” (in a black package). I recommend that (black) version over this one (red) because they improved the sauce in the black one. The cooking ideas in this post apply to both. PS – the “spicy” one is not very spicy!
Trader Joe’s Squiggly Knife Cut Style Noodles with Soy and Sesame Sauce
One could easily call me a noodle loving foodie. I will go for most any Asian noodle dish you put in front of me. So when I first saw these Trader Joe’s Noodles they looked promising. Not to mention they do say they are “Made in Taiwan”. Chinese/Asian noodles like these that have ruffled edges are quite typical and desired. Ruffled edges hold sauce better.
You will often see these type of “knife cut” noodles for sale in a Chinese/Asian supermarket. Nice to be able to buy them at Trader Joe’s as for most of us that is way easier.
Soon after Trader Joe’s came out with these noodles, they became hard to find on the shelves, learned because they blew up big time on Tiktok and Instagram. They became such a big thing on social media, that trying to find them became next to impossible when these first came out (early 2023). These were selling so fast, shelves were emptied almost as soon as they were filled*. Things got so nuts, believe it or not, there were “food scalpers” actually RESELLING THEM for profit* at way more than they cost! Argh!!%#@$
(Update-2, Aug 2023) Things seem to have calmed down with these noodles, and I’m able to find them on on the shelves.
(2025) They are way easier to find now, almost always in stock. Plus they came out with another version (in a black package) which I found even better.
So my first big question back then was : Why were these so popular? Are these really that good?
I had a feeling one simple reason was simply the price. For $4.99 for a package of 4 (or $1.25 each at that time) I was pretty sure people basically were viewing these as “dollar ramen”. I do mean cheap $1 ramen (or 2 for $1) NOT quality Korean or Japanese ramen packages that cost $4-5 each. I grant you these “squiggly noodles” look way better than cheap $1 ramen. Though, if you only cook them as them as directed, meaning just eat these noodles and the very mediocre sauce (“soy and sesame”) my answer to “are they that good” is basically a MEH – qualified on how you make these. If you make these exactly as they tell you to do (just boil noodles add sauce packet) At best I would say these are Mediocre / Meh. But these have potential!
If you make them as directed on the package, I give these maybe a 4/10.
My take: These noodles have great potential to be good, if you bother to fix them up! With a little effort and you can come up with a tasty dish using these noodles (and your noodle).
Solution. Consider these noodles a blank canvas. With a little effort you can turn these noodles into a decent tasting noodle dish. Basically you will add or make some sauce, plus likely add some of your own things. Do that and these noodles go way up. Perhaps 7/10.
(I found this package of “Soy and Sesame” sauce poor)
So my suggestion is do not even bother with the included sauce. Check the ingredients which reads as mostly chemicals (this refers to this sauce that comes in the red bag. The (black one) comes with way better sauce.
The package says: “Cook the Noodles in boiling water for four minutes, drain, then toss in the Sauce and prepare to be pleased.” My first time, I did just that. I found that dish of noodles very mediocre at best
Cooking (as per the package’s instructions): “Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add noodles. Cook 4 minutes. Drain and add sauce packet”.
Now while these aren’t superb noodles, the noodles are decent enough. They have potential. The ruffled edges are actually great at holding sauce. So you need some kind of good sauce with these. (red package) Come up with your own sauce. Add other things. Do this and these noodles can become a dish you will really enjoy. and it won’t take much effort. Really!
The second time I made these noodles I took a different take. First, I knew I would add my own sauce. I also thought I would use these noodles to make a Stir Fry dish. So here’s what I did. First I cooked (par-boiled) the noodles. I reduced the time from 4 minutes to 2 minutes. – as they will be cooked more stir frying them and adding sauce.
Cook 2 minutes, drain them, and run under cold water. Put drained noodles in a bowl temporarily. Mix in 1 tsp of oil, stirring to coat (this helps noodles from sticking together).
In a wok I sautéed chopped garlic, ginger, green onions and a few veggies I had in the fridge for a minute in a tablespoon of oil. I pushed those things up the side of my wok and poured in a little more oil I made a scrambled egg in the center of the wok. When the egg was about 75% cooked I tossed in the par-boiled noodles, and stir fried everything together for about a minute or two. Now I added my sauce* mixture and stirred everything gently to coat the noodles. I gave them 30-60 seconds like that to come together and let the sauce reduce a bit.
I plated the noodle dish, tossing on some chopped scallions, cilantro, sliced cucumber. Drizzled on a bit of Toasted Sesame Oil. Wow, this noodle dish was so much better it wasn’t funny. These noodles now tasted good! Here’s the dish (and yes I know I should have cut the cucumbers way thinner!)
So most important is make or add your ownsauce. Add a few things. Here’s some basic ideas….
(Quick basic Chinese saucerecipe: In a small bowl add 2 cloves garlic, crushed. Add 1 tbl soy sauce, 1/2 inch fresh grated ginger. 1 tsp brown sugar. Add 3 tbl of water and mix well.
OK, that’s a start. If you want more flavor consider adding : 1/2 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp black vinegar (sub: rice vinegar), toasted sesame oil, 1 tsp Gochugang. ) A heaping tbl of crunchy peanut butter can work great in a sauce with these noodles. If you use that, mix it with 2 tbs water to thin it out.
Oh come on, is that too much work for you? Ok, then just use a prepared Asian sauce for example TJ’s SOYAKI sauce plus Chili Onion Crunch. Maybe TJ’s GOCHUJANG sauce mixed with 2 tbls water, 2 cloves of crushed garlic and some Soy sauce. Maybe TJ roasted sesame oil.
Still too much work? Fine, add some soy sauce, butter and black pepper.
Almost anything will be better than the poor “soy and sesame” sauce this comes with. If you insist on using the included packet, use no more than half of it, then add a little a bit of low sodium soy sauce and a clove of crushed garlic, and peanut butter thinned out with some water. Toss on Chili Crunch.
Of course you can add veggies. Proteins. Just look in the fridge or freezer and see what you have that you could add. With just a bit of effort will figure out what you like on these noodles.
TJ’s “SQUIGGLY NOODLES”- red bag – $4.99 $5.49 (4 noodle packs with sauce). “Product of Taiwan”
I would suggest try them at least once as a stir fried dish. You could come up with a great sauce topping the way Aaron of “Aaron and Claire” makes this (Check out Aaron’s Chili Garlic Noodles recipe from YouTube). With ground pork or ground beef you can make a fantastic noodle dish. Even if you just add a runny fried egg, soft scrambled eggs or a 6 minute soft boiled egg on top, that can make these better. Chopped scallions and Cilantro if you like it. A really nice topping could be my hack for easy CharSiu made with TJ’s Carnitas Pork. Proteins? Sliced Baked tofu. Sliced chicken. I usually look through my fridge and whatever leftovers I find that could work go into my dish. TERIYAKI CHICKEN MEATBALLS!? For sho’
Watch Aaron make a Garlic Chili Noodle dish (video). “That Will Change Your Life”. One could definitely try this with these noodles which look like noodles he is using. I’ve watched so many of Aaron’s cooking videos, and I know this has really upped my cooking game for making Korean & Asian dishes especially using noodles. So check him out too if you want to up your noodle game.
Ingredients
Check and you will see way, way too many processed things and chemical names listed, at least for my tastes. Plus it has fairly high sodium!
Here’s another new Korean/Asian item from Trader Joe’s. These rice cakes are flat oval disks made from sticky rice, so are very chewy and soft. These kind of rice cakes are a typical ingredient in many Asian cuisines, Chinese, Korean others. In Chinese cooking these rice cakes are known as “nian gao”. If you fry them, they get a little crispy, which is how I like them best and the way I would suggest you try to make them. The bag has just rice cakes (no sauce) so you will add your own stuff. You can use these to make a stir fried dish with vegetables and a protein. There is a basic stir fry recipe on the bag (“Stir Fried Rice Cakes with Vegetables” which you could expand upon with adding a protein (say chicken, shrimp, pork or baked tofu.) Tip: of course do add garlic which this recipe omits (?!) You could come up with a Korean stir fry variation by adding some Kimchi or Gochujang and pork or chicken. The other thing you can do with these is add them to a soup (like a Wonton and Chicken Soup) in which case, no need to fry them up. The rice cakes are $3.29 (16 oz). They’re are in the Asian frozen area. These are a “Product of Korea”. While not quite as good as ones I buy in say at H-Mart in a pinch these will do and easy to buy. VEGAN, GLUTEN FREE
“A chewy-flaky dough filled with a lusciously gooey cinnamon filling”
Here’s one more Korean item Trader Joe’s added in 2022; “SWEET CINNAMON FILLED KOREAN PANCAKES” known in Korean as “HOTTEOK“. In Seoul, they’re a common snack sold from stalls in the street. People really enjoy eating them on a cold winter day. Trader Joe’s has come up with a frozen version which all you need to to do is heat up in a pan and enjoy. I cooked them as recommended in a pan on the stove with no added oil, until they were golden brown and delicious. They look really good as you can see. I found them to be quite tasty. They were flaky and had a nice filling with cinnamon and brown sugar. I thought there might be some red bean paste in there but but reading the package I can see theres some sweet potato in the filling. So while I enjoyed these I’ve never tasted a real one and my wife (who’s Korean) on the other hand told me they were just so-so and not at all as good as ones you would get at some street stall in Seoul made by the Hotteok lady vendors. I don’t doubt that but at $4.50 for a package (of 4 pancakes) these are at least a lot easier and cheaper than booking a flight to Seoul. These might even make you want to go get some real ones some day in person. I know I would watching the lady make them in video below.
Trader Joe’s and folks on the internet suggest putting ice cream inside them. I didn’t try it but imagine it would be good. Again my wife, poo-poo’ed this saying that’s not authentic. I say try these yourself and decide. They make a slightly unusual and interesting dessert or snack. And if you’re ambitious enough to want to try to make them yourself, here’s a recipe…. and a TIP: eat them carefully, the inside is lava HOT so let them cool slightly!
Trader Joe’s site has a “Limited” sign on the picture so I expect these may not last forever. If you want to try them, do sooner rather than later.
“When strolling through the streets of Seoul on a still, chilly morning, among the many sights to see, you may encounter the scent of fresh hotteok being served straight from the grills and fry pans of street vendors….”
They are interesting to watch getting made…. I bet they are really good. They are huge too.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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