Archive for the ‘Trader Joe’s’ Category
10/29/2017
October 29, 2017
This is more of a note than a review. I use anchovies on homemade pizza. I should expand that to include anchovies in other things. Now that cooler weather is here, at least north of the equator, it’s oven season in our house.
I don’t believe Cento is unique to Trader Joe’s. So you’ll possibly find these elsewhere. But at Trader Joe’s they cost $1.49. That’s not bad since a larger supermarket usually prices anchovies around $2 per can. And they seem to be a staple at Trader Joe’s. You’ll most likely have to look for them on the bottom shelf where other canned fish are kept. That’s where I find them at my Trader Joe’s.
The anchovies themselves seem to be a little less salty than other brands I’ve tried. But that doesn’t hold them back from adding that anchovy pop to a pizza. Good stuff at a good price.
Calories 25 per 16 gram (about 2 servings per can) price $1.49 per can
Tags:calories, cento anchoives, food, nutrition, price, review, reviews, trader joe's
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10/29/2017
October 29, 2017
For a not-cheese, this is not bad. It has a neutral taste and a thicker texture than a real mozzarella. While the product name stresses the soy content, it also contains milk protein and milk as parmesan cheese according to the label. The label does not specify what kind of enzymes were used for the parmesan. While mozzarella is a mild cheese, it still has a better taste and texture than this alternative.
On heating in the microwave, the aroma of parmesan is liberally released. It smells good. However the melted “cheese” does not retain the taste of parmesan. This cheese also does not melt as nicely as mozzarella in the microwave. It becomes somewhat puffy and hardens. There’s none of that stringy mozzarella texture. The cheese was not tested in stove top or oven recipes. When diced up for some salad, it added some texture to the salad, but not much in the way of flavor.
With milk as one of the ingredients and an unknown source for the parmesan enzymes (some enzymes are animal based), what’s the purpose of the cheese? For people who might be allergic to milk, it contains some milk components. For those looking for a vegetarian cheese, it’s not labeled as vegetarian. The cheese is labeled as 99% lactose free. So I guess for people who are extremely lactose intolerant, this may be an alternative. However many milk-based cheeses are naturally relatively low in lactose. So for those who can tolerate some lactose, a milk-based cheese may work for you also. Regardless, only you know what kinds of food you need to avoid or what foods work well for you. And of course, only you know what foods you like!
Calories 70 per ounce, price $1.99 (8 ounce package)
Tags:calories, cheese, food, mozzarella, nutrition, price, review, reviews, soy-based cheese, trader joe's
Posted in food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 2 Comments »
10/16/2017
October 16, 2017
A cheddar with hints of an aged Gouda? This is a fine tasting, slightly crumbly, but still creamy in the mouth, cheese. While the length of aging of this cheese is not specified on the label, it’s just on the verge of developing those cheese crystals like an aged Gouda. This is a “mature” tasting cheddar, meaning it’s not a mild cheddar. But it’s also not a sharp cheddar. It’s an extremely nice and enjoyable cheese.
Collier’s refers to Welsh miners, called Colliers (think “coal ers”). The miners used to take this cheese down in the mines for lunch. And for an interesting movie, based on real events in 1984, explaining how these same miners found common cause with a seemingly unlikely group, try Pride (2014) while you snack on the cheese.
Price $7.99 per pound Calories 120 per ounce (28g)
Tags:calories, cheddar, cheese, Colliers Welsh, food, price, review, reviews, tj, tj's, trader joe's
Posted in Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 3 Comments »
10/16/2017
October 16, 2017
This coffee is somewhat: weak, bitter and bad tasting. The negatives go away some on cooling to a slightly sour taste. While not especially good for a Trader Joe coffee, this is still likely better than some coffees at other supermarkets for the same price. While taste is a personal preference, and some people may like this coffee more than other coffees, there are better coffees at Trader Joe’s for the same price or less.
The coffee is labeled as organic. The coffee is packaged in a tall, thin bag which makes it somewhat difficult to get the coffee out, especially near the bottom of the bag.
And if you look at the label this is a “honey processed” coffee. I guess some things don’t change no matter where people live. “Oh honey! Can you go process some coffee for me. And, take out the trash.”
Price $8.99 (12 ounce bag)
For another take on this coffee, try Become Betty here.
Tags:coffee, food, Nicaraguan, price, review, tj, tj's, trader joe's, whole bean
Posted in coffee, food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 5 Comments »
10/03/2017
October 03, 2017
There’s no doubt about it this is on the strong side of the wine continuum. It’s also a little harsh on the mouth and throat. The wine is mildly fruity with a bold taste. The harshness mellows out some as it sits in the glass allowing some decent earthy tannins to peek through.
The combination of this and a tomatoey lasagna did not work well. Paired with a second pasta dish, this did not work equally well. Finally, paired with a spicy bean curry, this balanced and stood up to the curry nicely.
For the price this is a decent wine if you like strong wines, don’t have a sensitive throat and are on a budget. In fact, it generally gets good reviews in other places on the web, with a few people even stocking up when it’s available. Price $6.99.
And, for the curious, David Frost is a South African professional golfer who as a kid used to pick grapes in the family vineyards to buy golf balls.
Tags:2015, david frost, price, red wine, review, reviews, shiraz blend, south africa, tj, tj's, trader joe's, wine
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09/23/2017
September 23, 2017
Since espresso is a method of making coffee and not a particular coffee bean, the name is slightly misleading. However, since most coffees, including this one, can be used in espresso machines, we won’t quibble. And since I don’t have an espresso machine, this coffee was prepared by my usual French press method.
Typically coffee beans meant for espresso machines are dark roasted. This coffee fits in the Trader Joe’s medium-dark roast category (labeled dark roast on the can). It produced a nice cup of coffee in my press. It was largely indistinguishable from my everyday Tarrazu drinker. Perhaps it was a little more bitter. Regardless, it should work nicely in an espresso machine if that’s your preference.
For the extra two dollars per can over the Tarrazu, what are we getting? This coffee is labeled both organic and fair trade. That could be one reason to spend the extra two dollars. As for the word espresso on the can, it’s your decision whether this will produce a better espresso shot than your current coffee. Price $8.99 (13 ounce can)
Tags:coffee, fair trade, five country espresso blend, food, organic, price, review, tj, tj's, trader joe's, whole bean coffee
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09/23/2017
September 23, 2017
I didn’t know cheese ate grass? This is a grass-fed sharp cheddar cheese from New Zealand.
While the package says aged 6-12 months, I suspect my package was aged at the low-end of this range. The cheddar was not very sharp at all. The cheese was dense and semi-soft with no crumbling while being cut. There was a mild cheddar flavor and sharpness to the cheese.
At $6 per pound this is a good cheese, but nothing special. The price is right for using this as you would any other mild cheddar that fills the refrigerator cases in most supermarkets. But the good news is, once it’s wrapped for sale, it no longer needs to be fed grass!
Price $5.99 per pound Calories 120 per ounce.
Tags:calories, cheese, food, new zealand, nutrition, price, review, reviews, sharp cheddar, tj, tj's, trader joe's
Posted in food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 2 Comments »
09/06/2017
September 6, 2017
Looking for love in all the wrong places. Yep, just like the song says, that’s what I was doing. But wait, no, no, no, not that kind of love. And, . . . not that kind of love either. I was looking for the love of a sharp cheddar. Don’t anyone urban dictionary that. And if you do, don’t tell me what it means. Please don’t.
This cheese is a mixture of English aged cheddar and sriracha sauce. And that aging of at least 8 months, according to the label, is one of the factors that helps produce sharpness in a cheddar. But the sriracha is the thing that puts this over the top. Here the addition of sriracha is more than a marketing gimmick. The sriracha is actually noticeable and good. Mixing in the sriracha sauce gives the cheese a looser, more crumbly, texture. There’s a nice contrast between the noticeable, but still not extreme, hotness of the sriracha and the smooth creamy feel of the cheese as it warms in the mouth. As those two factors meld together, the sriracha starts to take over producing a sharp finish as it all exits the mouth and starts down the throat. It’s a different kind of sharpness than a 100% cheddar. Still, it’s a nice flavor and experience.
This is the third or fourth cheddar mixture I’ve tried at Trader Joe’s. All of them, including this one, have been winners.
Price $8.99 per pound Calories 100 per ounce
Tags:calories, cheese, food, price, review, reviews, sharp cheddar, sriracha english cheddar, tj, tj's, trader joe's
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09/06/2017
September 6, 2017
The last time I reviewed this wine was 2011. The wine hasn’t changed much since then, including the price! The 2012 vintage is still a very nice wine as was the 2007 vintage back then.
The mild tannins on the roof of mouth and back of throat are still speaking after all these years giving the wine a mild earthy feel in the mouth. As it was before, the wine is smooth but still with a slight edge to the taste. There’s just a hint of grape if caught at the right temperature. In my opinion, still no forest floor taste as one reviewer noted of the 2007 vintage. For most of us, that’s a good thing. And sticking with my original comment, this is probably a better food wine than a sipper. However when sipped among a group, it’s likely to lead to some interesting conversations.
Although the primary grape in this is Sangiovese, the taste is bolder than a typical Tuscan Sangiovese. It’s not as bold as a Cabernet Sauvignon, but still up there one notch on the scale. And this is likely more enjoyable than a Cabernet Sauvignon in the same price range. The bottle states 13.5% alcohol. Incanto may want to recheck their instruments. This wine has a substantially greater kick to it than most wines labeled 13.5%. Price $10.99
Tags:incanto, italy, price, review, reviews, sangiovese, tj, tj's, trader joe's, vino nobile di montepulciano, wine
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08/28/2017
August 28, 2017
These are wonderful biscotti.
There’s a nice chocolate coating on the bottom edge of each biscotti. As the coating is sometimes a little uneven from end to the other end, there can be a slightly different experience with each bite. When the proportion of chocolate in the mouth is right, there’s a nice contrast between the semi-sweet chocolate and the mildly sweet almond flavor of the biscotti. When the proportion of chocolate is less, the almond flavor takes over and provides just as an enjoyable experience. Along with the plentiful almond flavor are slivers of almond laced throughout the biscotti. These are a crunchy biscotti.
These are a nice accompaniment to coffee or just as nice by themselves. However, at 120 calories each, it’s not something that can be readily indulged in. So if you can, I couldn’t, ration yourself to one a day, and thoroughly enjoy the experience.
Price $3.99 per package of 8 Calories 120 per biscotti
Click on images to enlarge
Tags:calories, chocolate almond biscotti, cookie, food, nutrition, price, review, trader joe
Posted in Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 2 Comments »
October 29, 2017
The anchovies themselves seem to be a little less salty than other brands I’ve tried. But that doesn’t hold them back from adding that anchovy pop to a pizza. Good stuff at a good price.
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