To me, this was one of those Trader Joe’s products which once you try, you say to yourself, “This is something I didn’t even know I needed but now that I know how good this is, I want this in the fridge from now on”.
When I saw this in the NEW PRODUCTS section. Like so many Trader Joe items, you are curious if it’s any good. Well guess what, TJ’s DILL PICKLE MUSTARD is really good. It tastes exactly what the name says it is, mustard with dill pickles. It’s a good classic American yellow mustard with dill pickles in it and a lot of dill flavor. Hitting two good tastes combinations at the same time. If you like dill pickles you will probably love this as much as I did.
I put it on a hot dog and it was so good with this mustard. What if I put this on a cheese sandwich? What about on a melted cheese sandwich? I can even see mixing a little bit of this into mashed potatoes too…?
I just checked out a new product at Trader Joe’s, their sliced Marble Ryebread.
Now as a native New Yawk’r – and a member of the tribe – I grew up eating rye bread so I know what a really good rye bread should taste like. So I can’t lie and tell you this TJ’s rye bread ranks with the best NYC Jewish bakery rye bread, however this Trader Joe Marble Rye is a very decent rye bread. Opening the bag, you do get that slightly sour & wonderful Eastern European smell of that rye bread has. This is not at all like crummy tasteless supermarket commercial rye bread (think “Levy’s” – ugh!). This is a decent if not stellar rye way better than that supermarket crap with zero taste and texture. Here is the most important thing to know about TJ’s Marble Rye Bread – it is especially good when it is TOASTED and that’s the way you should eat it. Toasting this bread really improves this bread and makes it show it’s potential. Toasted up and spread with some good butter, this rye bread is delicious. I always eat it toasted, and strongly suggest you do as well, even if just a little bit. Toasting it improves it 100%. I hope that point is clear. It will make a lovely sandwich or even a great grilled cheese! This marble rye bread is $3.49 for a 20 oz loaf. A bakery rye bread here in NYC is really expensive now, likely $6-7 a loaf – so this is a decent deal for a more than decent rye bread that you don’t have to go to a bakery to get. I would buy this again. If you like rye, check out TJ’s version. It’s adds a nice Euro variety to TJ’s breads on offer.
Trader Joe’s new imported Organic BUCATINI has pretty much become my favorite pasta that Trader Joe’s has. This is a high quality organic artisanal pasta in a shape called bucatini, which is a long pasta like spaghetti but with a little hole (buca) in the middle.
The hole really helps this pasta to absorb sauce way more than spaghetti does (twice as much). Bucatini can be really a good match also with hearty sauces such as a Bolognese sauce or ragu. This pasta is excellent obviously for most Italian pasta dishes, and a few even specify this shape, (recipe idea links below).
In the picture is a simple pasta dish I made with this bucatini pasta and just a basic marinara tomato sauce. Even with just marinara and cheese it made a delicious pasta.
Cooking tip: This says cook for 8-10 minutes. I would suggest pulling it from the water under al dente – say around the 7 minute mark THEN FINISHING it in a pan with sauce for a minute or two so it can absorb the sauce and flavor a bit. So pull the slightly undercooked pasta, toss it into a pan with maybe 1/2 the sauce you are serving it with, and finish cooking the pasta with the sauce adding 1-2 tablespoons of the cooking water as needed. (watch Vincenzo do this in the video below) Always save a 1/2 cup of your pasta cooking water. Starchy pasta cooking water is the magic “secret” ingredient to cooking pasta the way Italians do. Finish cooking the pasta for a minute or two until it’s al dente or to your desired degree of done-ness. Plate it up and serve with a bit of extra sauce on top. Garnish with a little grated cheese and chopped parsley. The Bucantini swells up a bit with the sauce giving it a delicious texture and taste. You can even try this Bucantini pasta to make Asian noodle dishes! No really. It works pretty well as an Asian noodle in a pinch.
TJ’s Organic Bucatini pasta is selling for $1.49 for a 1 lb. package. Ingredients: Organic Durum Semolina. PRODUCT OF ITALY. Here’s a few recipe ideas for bucatini too….
“This blend combines Ethiopian delicacy with Latin verve…Notes of chocolate, nougat, cherry”
A blend of African & Latin American coffees –
The terrific graphic design of this bag of BUUNII AZMARI coffee beans really caught my eye when I saw it recently in Trader Joe’s NEW PRODUCTS section. Bold bright colors and stylized images that kind of say “farming”….
The best news is that the coffee inside is as good as the outside. This Azamri BUNNII blend is an excellent coffee in a whole bean (light) medium roast. The bag says “medium” but its actually more like the so called blonde roast which has gotten a bit popular. Some people complain Trader Joe’s medium roasts are actually a shade darker than most “mediums” (me, i like dark). This coffee is from a smallish coffee outfit called BUUNNI COFFEE which I am glad to learn is sold under it’s own brand at Trader Joe’s, a kind of rare feat if you know TJ’s usually re-branding of stuff. The packaging for Trader Joe’s looks different from BUNNIs usual packaging so likely it was specially made especially for Trader Joes. Whoever did it did a great job of graphic design.
Opening the convenient zip closure (yet more good design) I got a lovely smell. When I ground the coffee up the aroma was truly excellent and it did have as the bag says, “notes of chocolate, nougat, cherry…”. This coffee has a perfect mix of the best of “African” and “Latin American” coffee styles, for good reason, as that is exactly what this blend is composed of: two Ethiopian single origin coffees mixed with a coffee from Honduras. It has that “winy” sharp African coffee note which that is then balanced by the Latin American smoother notes of the single origin Honduran. All around I found this to be an excellent blend, roasted perfectly to bring out the best of this coffee, in this case a bit of a blond roast. Trader Joe’s is selling it for $9.99 a bag (12 oz). I would buy this again, gladly and hope you give it a try; I kind of feel that everyone might like this coffee, which I’ve had at their original location (Buuni) when they had just opened years ago way up on Inwood at the tip of Manhattan.
I found this to be an impressive coffee for a fairly decent price, well worth checking out if you see it and are a real coffee lover!
BTW, this would be great mixed with darker blends too! I’ve done 50/50 with some dark ones and loved that mix.
update: i went back to buy more and couldn’t find it; I am thinking (hoping) just out of stock… we’ll see – update2 – its back in stock (jun 2022)
These teeny tiny chia seeds truly are a superfood powerhouse. If you aren’t eating chia seeds already perhaps you should be. I eat some every morning.
No doubt you’ve heard about them. How they are a true superfood with lots of health benefits being benificial to heart health, blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and more. Not too mention digestion and keeping you regular as they provide lots of soluble fiber.
These teeny blacks seeds are packed with protein, Omega 3‘s and other goodies, again especially fiber. When soaked in liquid the seeds both swell up and gel up absorbing twenty seven times their weight in water. By the way the chia seed gel smooths things in your digestive tract so can help keep you regular. Another benefit.
They are especially great for adding to smoothies, cereal, pancakes or drinks. They can be used as a natural thickener. The seeds are so tiny they have a tendency to go everywhere and I do mean everywhere, so be very careful when you use these. If you spill these, well they are a real pain to clean up. Get them wet and they stick to everything. So don’t wet them. If you do spill them just try to brush them or vacuum them up and good luck with that…!)
TIP: Careful handling them!! These tiny seeds can go everywhere in an instant if you are not very careful. Rather than using the bag they come in, I pour the seeds into a small glass jar and just use that (and a tiny scoop) as its much easier to handle, than opening and closing this bag all the time. I have spilled seeds many times and they are not easy to clean up as they are so tiny and when wet stick to everything.
I usually mix them into soy milk, oat milk or kefir. Leave them a few minutes to absorb the liquid. They will swell up in 5-10 minutes. Then I add them to my yogurt/kefir/soy milk liquid .( Don’t eat them without soaking them in liquid.)
TJ’s Chia Seeds (12 oz) $4.99. $5.49$5.99, and actually went back down to 5.49 last time I got them)
PRODUCT OF PARAGUAY
Trader Joe’s sells a number of super food seeds including chia seeds, flax seeds, a mix of chia and flax, as well as hemp seeds. All of these are good for you and are things you can easily incorporate into your diet, daily, especially I think at breakfast where you can add 1 or 2 tablespoons into your cereal, yogurt or smoothie. Try CHIA SEED PUDDING; very easy and very good! (another one in link below)
Trader Joe’s carries a lot of “powerhouse seeds” like CHIA, FLAX and HEMP SEEDS. My Trader Joe’s has a “Smoothies Section” featuring all of these plus other products to make smoothies (protein powders, etc)
I wasn’t sure I was going to like this but I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much I did like it when I tasted it and how good this salsa really was. I think the name put me off. Actually it’s quite good and I think if most people try this, they will like it too. Even though pineapple is in the name and is listed as the second ingredient on the list of ingredients, it doesn’t stand out and taste “pineapple-y” or overly sweet; it is completely blended into the other flavors. It does have a hint of sweetness but it tastes like salsa, not pineapples. I have a feeling this is salsa that even people who don’t like salsa will like! You know the “I don’t like salsa; its too spicy for me” type. As you can see from the “heat scale” on the label this is a fairly mild salsa with only a small amount of spiciness. Now as pork and pineapple are a famous match (eg, tacos al pastor) I would try TJ’s Pineapple Salsa on top of some Carnitas tacos. It would be great also on nachos, rice, shrimp, salmon, eggs, or anything you can think of. You could brush this on at the end of grilling / broiling chicken and it would great. A 12 oz jar is $1.99, so at under two dollars this is one of the cheaper salsas on offer at Trader Joe’s. I would gladly buy this again. Ingredients: Tomato, Pineapple, Onion, Green Pepper, Vinegar, Cane Sugar, Salt, Garlic, Jalapeno, Cilantro, Red Pepper
I use a good deal of olive oil for cooking. However there are times when you want, or a recipe specifies, using a “neutral flavored oil”. Meaning not olive oil which has distinct flavors.
In that case I will probably use this oil: TJ’s Organic Sunflower Oil. It’s a good neutral oil, obviously made from sunflower seeds, and Organic to boot.
This oil is a fine all-around oil and basically if I’m not using olive oil for something I’m probably using this one. For example it’s what I would use if I am making a Chinese or Asian dish. Chinese cooking usually specifies a “neutral” vegetable oil that won’t affect other flavors in the dish. Plus Sunflower Oil is good for high heat, and good for Wok cooking. I had to look up “high-oleic”. That this sunflower oil is High Oleic means its quite healthy too, maybe even more than olive oil.
TJ’s Organic Sunflower Oil is pretty reasonable at $3.99 for a 33.8 oz bottle, far less than olive oil. So you probably want this as your “other” oil, like me. I would buy this again.
UPDATE_1 (Jun. 2022) Seems to be M.I.A. Possibly either a supply chain issue and hopefully not discontinued. Update_2: It came back in stock and was available for awhile. Update_3: (Jan 2025) I looked for it for last two months. MIA again.
This spread, which is made in Bulgaria, is absolutely delicious. I tried this (vegetarian) spread as a dip served with some warm flatbread – a combo made in heaven. I can easily see this used in other ways besides being just a dip or spread. You could serve this on top, or on the side of say grilled chicken or fish. Or pasta. Add a few spoons to your pasta dish (or gnocchi or polenta) along with lots of garlic and olive oil. Inside an omelet? Sure. Now as yummy as it is, personally I would like more garlic. I have a feeling if your (Bulgarian) grandma made this spread it might actually have enough garlic in it to kill vampires. My late Jewish grandma (Romanian by birth) made a delicious roasted eggplant spread that had a ton – and I mean a ton – of garlic in it and it was fantastic. So just to see if more garlic would be a good addition with this spread, I mashed up a few cloves of garlic, mixed it in and let it sit for an hour to develop. OMG, it was now even better, if you love garlic of course. So I suggest doing this and adding a slug of good olive oil too. If you do this, the spread tastes homemade! However even just out of the jar, this spread is delicious, kind of an “Eggplant Caviar”. This spread is something I can easily see putting out for guests who suddenly showed up, along with some crackers, which would take all of 2 minutes of work, and would look impressive and have them asking you “yum, this dip is delicious; did you make it?”. If you put a few cloves of garlic in it, I would tell them with a straight face, yes I did. Its $2.69 for a 12 oz jar. Serve with warm pita or naan, or flatbread or toast or crackers…..
What is FARRO ? Farro is an ancient grain, a type of wheat, known for its nutty flavor and chewy texture, and is a versatile ingredient used in various dishes like soups, salads, and risotto
The Italian word farro can mean “ancient grain” and refer to a few older varieties of our modern day wheat such as, emmer, spelt and einkorn wheat, all of which are forerunner grains of our modern wheat. TJ’s Farro is a tasty and healthy whole grain. High fiber, high protein.
FARRO is a good whole grain which is quite nutritious. FARRO a good source of protein, fiber and has lots of nutrients. Its a healthier alternative to some refined grains for example, white rice (and don’t get me wrong I like and eat white rice). Farro has even gotten a bit trendy in the food world. Maybe you’ve seen farro served as a side dish at a fancy Italian or other kind of restaurant. It’s tasty.
It has a nutty taste and slightly chewy texture. It’s delicious on its own with just some butter, salt and pepper. You can cook it in water, with a pinch of salt or cook it in some broth (veg, chicken or beef) which will of course make it even tastier. Farro is a good grain for using as a “bed” to put something on top of, or as a side dish. Just like you might use rice or orzo for example. Trader Joe’s 10 minute Farro cooks quickly. In 10-12ß minutes.
We like to make farro either as a side dish or part of the Main, say mixed with other veggies, sometimes as the base of a protein bowl. Whole grains like this normally take about 45-60 minutes to cook however TJ’s “10 Minute Farro” obviously cooks much faster. I am just guessing that it’s been parboiled to cut down on the cooking time. So it’s really convenient, and healthy and it’s not too expensive either. Trader Joe’s 10 Minute Farro sells for $1.79 1.99 for an 8.8 oz. bag
There is a good sounding recipe written on the Trader Joe’s bag for “Farro with Sausage & Apples” (using chicken sausage).
TJ’s farro is something I buy all the time, along with other grains they have. Farro is good to have in the pantry.
HOW TO COOK FARRO: I suggest the “SIMMER” method described on the bag. Use 1/2 cup Farro and 2/3 cup water or broth or combo. Put that in a pot. You can add a little butter and maybe salt depending if you used water or broth. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, and cook covered for about 10-12 minutes. Turn it off and let it stand 5 minutes before serving. Pretty easy!
You can mix cooked farro with cooked brown rice to come up with your own version of something like TJ’s famous (or maybe infamous) “Brown Rice Medley” (which TJ’s Discontinued much to the outrage of many people who read this blog!)
Trader Joe’s Non-Dairy Oat Beverage (sold in the fridge with other milk, 1/2 gallon)
I usually buy the other TJ’s OAT MILK (sorry dairy farmers I meant “non-dairy oat beverage”) which I like a lot; specifically the quart shelf stable one. But I thought I should test and review this other “fresh” Oat Beverage (aka oat milk) they sell in a 1/2 gallon size in the refrigerated case with the other fresh milk drinks. For one thing this 1/2 gallon one comes out a little cheaper at $3.99 vs. the shelf stable quart which is $2.39 (or $4.58 for 2). This fridge oat milk tastes a little different than the shelf stable one, it’s a bit thicker (creamier?). I would guess the reason is if you examine the label on this one we can see it has Sunflower Oil as an ingredient, not to mention a good number of other ingredients, which probably account for the slightly creamier mouth feel. In contrast, the quart shelf stable Oat Beverage version (quart) contains ONLY 2 ingredients: water and hydrolyzed oats. You can compare the labels below. I like the “simpler” oat milk in the quart box despite the fact that it costs a little bit more (58 cents) for the same amount, plus I actually like that I don’t have to keep the shelf-stable quart one in the fridge until after I open them. We both prefer the taste of the non-fridge ones which is less thick. So I probably won’t buy this 1/2 gallon “fresh” version Oat Beverage again even though I do like that it has some “added vitamins”. It’s taste OK however I don’t need that slightly thicker taste and texture which is from I’m imagine trying to copy regular milk but adding extra ingredients, like oil and gums to thicken it and make it creamier. Anwway, you can try both versions of TJ’s oat milk and see which you prefer. BTW I do also buy regular whole (cow) milk too, for coffee, tea…and making my own yogurt(!) We should all buy dairy products to support dairy farmers as we need them!
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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