Trader Joe's Organic Apple Sauce

Several months ago, I thought that I had sampled all of Trader Joe's applesauce varieties. But then on a recent trip to the store, I discovered two more that had escaped my eye previously--this and its kissin' cousin, which I'll review tomorrow.

This is not the worst applesauce that TJ's sells--a dishonor that belongs to this terrible glop. But it's not good. It's thin and watery. It's sweetened by the addition of apple juice, which allows TJ's to make the technically true but seriously misleading claim, "No sugar added."

Strangely, it has the distinct flavor of delicious apples (the variety, not the adjective), which I've never noticed in applesauce before. The label doesn't specifically claim that they're using delicious, but I've had enough of them that I'd be quite surprised if I were wrong on this point. Of course, it might change from one batch to the next, depending on what's available. Which would not be the case if you were to choose, instead, the marvelous Gravenstein applesauce. Which is exactly what you should do. In case you have a fetish about buying organic, you could instead choose TJ's Organic Unsweetened, which is only one notch less outstanding than the Gravenstein.

I realize that this product is probably intended primarily for kids, with the convenient single-serving tubs to make it easy to drop one into a lunchbox. But please don't raise your kids to think that this is how applesauce is supposed to taste. Get some of those cheap reusable Tupperware knockoff containers and spoon some of the Gravenstein in. Not only will your children get much, much better applesauce, but you'll contribute one less disposable plastic tub to the landfill every time you do.


Will I buy it again? 

Never.