Though this is called “Soft”, rest assured it is not squishy soft. It has a nice crumb with a little structure. In other words don’t mistake the word “soft” here for something like squishy Wonder Bread soft. This is a high quality white bread.
I found this to be a very decent sliced white bread. For one thing, its just great for toast. Looking over the ingredient list one sees that it is fairly short and natural sounding, with no chemical names, no preservatives, no “conditioners”. All organic stuff. Has a little molasses and sesame.
The bread was best I think when I lightly toasted it, or at least slightly warmed it up, which let’s face it, applies to most any bread as far as I’m concerned. Warmed bread always tastes better. One of the reasons I always have a flat cast iron skillet on the stove.
This made nice toast, spread with butter and jam. It was particularly good when we used it to make your typical “egg in a hole”. You know… Cut out a hole using a with a small glass. Toss a nice hunk of butter in a pan, then toast one side till golden brown. Flip it over and carefully drop an egg in that hole. Add salt and pepper and let cook for a few minutes until your desired level of runiness, which in my case is pretty runny. My wife on the other hand likes hers cooked “well done” which I find a total waste as my favorite part is slicing open the yolk with my knife on my plate to let that lovely yolk ooze all over the place. Ha ha! I bet you want one of those right now after reading this don’t you!?
$3.49 loaf (24 oz) This bread is pretty good, priced fairly well, and I would say certainly worth a try if you want some “white bread” for sandwiches, toast and the like.
“Trader Joe’s Wheat Crisp Crackers will tantalize your taste buds with an addictive crunchy wheat flavor. They will hold up to your favorite cheese, dips, or peanut butter. But most folks don’t wait for the topping, they’re great for snacking right from the box.”
RAVE
I am a huge fan of WHEAT THINS, a well known cracker made by NABISCO which has been around forever. Well make that since 1947. Since I was a little kid we almost always had Nabisco Wheat Thins in the house as they were Dad’s Numero Uno favorite cracker. They became one of my favorites too. So when I saw these I said to myself, these look like Wheat Thins! I have to try them.
Trader Joe’s WHEAT CRISP CRACKERS to me seem to be TJ’s version of the classic cracker. All I can say is these new crackers taste really good to me. They have a lovely wheat-y taste from whole wheat, which is listed as the second ingredient.
Even if you never had the original, these are well worth trying. These are just good all around crackers. Since I grew up eating the original and just love them I could not resist wanting to try TJ’s version of them. Walking back home from the store, I stopped and decided I had to try them RIGHT NOW. I put my stuff I was carrying on a park bench and opened up the box. I could not wait to taste these.
So are what I think of as Trader Joe’s version of Wheat Thins good? A big yes! I found them really good. I meanI pretty much could not stop eating them right out the box on the street. After about a half dozen, I had to stop myself and put the box away.
When I got home, I’d say things got even better of course when I tested them out with something on top of them.
For instance, how about cheese? These were especially terrific with cheese. They were of course yummy with TJ’s excellent, and very properly British, English Coastal Cheddar which I recently gave a big thumbs up. The crackers were good even with just plain old cottage cheese, as well as good with peanut butter, and honestly whatever else I found that I could put on them.
These are as the name say thin. Crunchy, with a nice whole wheat flavor. Small, one bite sized. Just made to be devoured. Well baked. The edges are a bit darker then the middle. Perfectly baked.The ingredient list doesn’t look terrible either.
All I can tell you is that first box I bought went fast. Way too fast. Even pacing myself, I saw it was almost empty after a few days. So I need to go now and get another box!
I am probably going to want to have these around all the time now. A dangerous but yummy temptation. As 15 crackers have only 120 calories probably better than other crackers.
These are a great Anytime Snack. I would buy them again. $2.49 (9 oz)
Latest small lot coffee offering from Trader Joe’s. An organic coffee from the La Concordia region in Chiapas. Whole Beans in a Light Roast, and yes it did have some fruity notes with hints of chocolate and caramel as they describe.
This one was pretty good! Especially if you like your coffee from TJ’s a bit lighter as opposed to a medium or darker roast. “Que lo disfrutes!” (may you enjoy it)
$8.99 (12 oz)
“The newest addition to our Small Lot Coffee program, we’re making a return to Chiapas, a state in southern Mexico. This time, we’ve sourced our coffee from a group of growers within the La Concordia region of Chiapas, where the high elevation and oceanic micro-climate create optimum conditions for growing rich, chocolatey, full-flavored coffees. True to form, each sip of Trader Joe’s La Concordia Mexico Small Lot Coffee is indeed remarkably rich, deliciously chocolatey, and fabulously full-flavored, with notes of sticky caramel and fresh berries throughout.”
“Low Fat” huh? Well they certainly left out adding any olive oil to this sauce, even though any Marinara sauce recipe calls for olive oil. Which may be just among many reasons two different tasters found this to sauce to be way less than good. My neighbor bought this, was very disappointed, and gave me the rest of the jar to get a second opinion on it. I didn’t like it either. Apparently we are not alone in not liking this. Sporked had this pasta sauce ranked at the bottom of a review of 16 Trader Joe’s sauces:
“If you want the best marinara sauce, this ain’t it. It’s flat and watery and the herbs taste like the old dried stuff you find when you’re moving.” (-Sporked) Hah! They gave this 2 1/2 out of 10. I concur.
Organic does not always mean good.
This also costs quite a bit more, almost twice the price of one of Trader Joe’s best pasta sauces, the well regarded ROASTED GARLIC MARINARA ($1.99). That’s the one you should buy. Simple and good.
Trader Joe’s has recently introduced their own HOISIN SAUCE.
What’s hoisin (hoy-sin) sauce you say? Hoisin is a classic Chinese sauce . I’m pretty sure I first learned of it eating Peking Duck, as its the traditional classic slightly sweet sauce spread on the pancakes with the duck and scallions.
“Made from fermented soy bean paste and brown sugar, making it vegan. Highly versatile condiment for stir fry sauce. Mix into sauteed mushrooms or noodles“
“Like any truly great #HoisinSauce, ours expresses a certain sticky sweetness, savory character, and velvety texture that make it exceptionally versatile. It’s made with a base of fermented soybean paste, black sesame paste, and brown sugar, and seasoned with aromatic spices like star anise, garlic powder, coriander seed, and Szechuan peppercorns.”
Most people know hoisin sauce from eating Peking Duck served in buns or pancakes. Naturally it matches well with duck but also chicken, pork and perhaps even a bit on a hamburger. You can use this with other ingredients (garlic, ginger, soy sauce) to add to Asian dishes, like stir fried dishes, and noodle dishes, etc or meats. Its versatile and good to have in the fridge for making Asian dishes.
A good versatile Asian sauce to to have in the fridge. Will last a long time.
“Trader Joe’s Wild Boreal Blueberries are little blue gems grown with absolutely no pesticides in Quebec’s Boreal forest region. The Boreal is a collection of protected lands that spreads across Canada…. The fruit grown in the Quebec Boreal thrives on the healthy soil conditions and unique climate of the region. The sweet tart flavor of these wild blueberries is unmatched. Try them for yourself in everything from cereal, muffins, cakes, smoothies and ice cream. They really are wild”
We really liked these blueberries. They are something buy them all the time at Trader Joe’s as they are great to have in the freezer. Not only are these one of my favorite Trader Joe’s products, I hear they are favorites of TJ’s employees as well which is really how you know something is good.
These frozen wild blueberries from Canada are small but full of flavor. These will defrost pretty quickly at room temperature if you just take them out for 10 minutes or so. You could also run them under cold water for maybe 10 seconds in an pinch but I feel like that washes some flavor away. When defrosted you can use these just as you would use fresh berries. We use them in our bowls of cereal and yogurt or kefir, mix them into oatmeal, or put these on top of vanilla ice cream – a super yummy combo! These blueberries are great for making smoothies of course, in which case you can just pour them frozen right into your blender with your other ingredients. I’ve even made excellent blueberry jam from them, and of course they are great to use in baked goods, for example blueberry muffins or even pancakes! Topped with some maple syrup naturally.
Double Concentrated Tomato Paste, Ingredients: Tomatoes. Salt
For some time I mourned the loss at Trader Joe’s of their handy Italian TOMATO PASTE in a tube which they “discontinued” maybe a year or two back. At the time I asked the TJ’s Captain to look it up and he said it was not even on order and that he was pretty sure it was gone for good. Fortunately it magically appeared back on the shelves recently at my Trader Joe’s and for that I say, HOORAY! So did Trader Joe’s change their minds? Did they lose a supplier and could not find one for years? Who knows? In any case I’m just glad to see this as this is a product I used to buy all the time.
Sometimes you don’t need that whole little can of paste, so the great thing about the tubes of tomato paste – an essential kitchen item, people – is obvious. Say you just need 1 tablespoon of tomato paste for something. Now you don’t have to open a whole small can up. Then figure out what to do with the rest. With the tube one just squeezes out the tablespoon. The paste in the tube can last a few months in the fridge. Which is better than finding that half used up can of tomato paste in the back of the fridge which I forgot I had, which now looks bad so I throw it out.
$1.49 (which is half what the tomato paste in a tube costs at regular grocery stores)
BTW did you know that tomato paste is one food that is Pure Umami*?
GOOGLE:
*Tomato paste is a great source of umami flavor:
Umami-rich Tomatoes are naturally high in glutamates, which are chemicals that create umami, the savory depth of a food. Concentrating the flavor of tomatoes into tomato paste makes it a powerful umami ingredient.
Versatile – A small amount of tomato paste can add a lot of flavor to many dishes, including soups, sauces, stews, braises, and bread dough.
Easy to use – A tablespoon of tomato paste can have the same flavor as 100 fresh tomatoes.
Flavor develops with browning – Browning tomato paste in the skillet caramelizes the natural sugars in the tomatoes, which enhances the umami flavor and reduces acidity. To brown it, just add some tomato paste into oil or butter on med/low heat and gently stir for about 3 mins or so till it darkens in color.
Other ingredients that are high in umami include: Miso paste, Soy sauce, Aged cheeses, Potatoes, Dried mushrooms, Anchovies, and Fish sauce.
“NOT FROM CONCENTRATE” – We were really impressed at how good this pineapple juice tastes. Pretty simple ingredients. “Pineapple juice from Costa Rica”. Just 100% pure pineapple juice. No preservatives, no nothin’ extra. No doubt like me you love finding simple, pure ingredients.
Both of us thought the juice tasted delicious. So yummy, not too sweet, a little tangy. So refreshing. If you blind folded me, I would probably ask if someone just squeezed a pineapple for me.
Find it near the fresh orange and other juices, in the Refrigerated case.
“Trader Joe’s salted edamame (soybeans) are blanched, salted and then quick frozen to seal in the freshness”
If you’ve every been to a Japanese restaurant, you probably have know what edamame are. Served warm they are soybeans still in their fuzzy pods. The beans are inside the a green fuzzy pod. You eat them extracting the beans with a combination of mouth and fingers, pushing a bean out with your finger plus sucking them out of the pod. The experience is kind of fun. This is legit playing with your food.
Trader Joe’s “Salted Edamame” are cooked edamame soybean in pods, which get frozen. These really only need heating up which you can do in either in a microwave or on the stovetop. I usually rinse the frozen pods under cold water in a colander for a second, then toss them into pot with a tablespoon or two of water and let them steam covered for about two minutes until they are hot, then serve, sprinkling on a bit of freshly ground pink salt when serving them.
TJ’s frozen edamame in pods make a delicious and healthy appetizer, snack, or side, or ingredient. Everybody seems to love edamame, young or old, and maybe especially kids? Because these are an accepted way to play with your food! Gotta eat with your hands.
Soybeans are just full of protein of course. Just a 1/2 cup have 8 grams Protein not to mention fiber. So Good Eats! Trader Joe’s frozen edamame are terrific to buy ($1.99) $2.29. Equal to way more expensive frozen edamame you might find in a Japanese or Asian market where they might double the price. I love having these in the freezer at all times for whenever the edamame mood strikes. Actually I buy both versions of at TJ’s, shelled and these unshelled ones in the pod. Shelled soybeans are great for an ingredient. I use those the same way I might use or add frozen peas. They are terrific on top of rice of course with a little butter.
Remember to put an empty bowl on the table for the empty pods!
Chefs and pro cooks love these as its the purest, most natural form of vanilla. “Bourbon Vanilla” is considered the best vanilla, from Southeast Asia. I did check the label but assume these may be from Madagascar.
Pro cooks scrape out the tiny seeds inside these pods with a knife and use that in recipes that call for vanilla. Don’t throw out the pod after using either as they still have lots of aroma. You can put the pods into a large jar and and cover them with about a pound of sugar. Let that sit for a few days or more as the vanilla beans infuse the sugar so it becomes yummy Vanilla Sugar.
$2.99 for two vanilla beans
In addition to these Trader Joe’s has lots of other vanilla products like BOURBON VANILLA BEAN PASTE and they are all on the shelves now for the FALL/WINTER baking season.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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