Trader Joe's Bacon Cheddar Cheese

The block of cheese you see above is not the one I ate. The first one I brought home got moldy within about four days, before I had even opened it. So I took it back to the store, got a refund, and bought a new chunk. As always with Trader Joe's, the return process was easy and without fuss.

I liked this cheese. It's mild, flavorful, slices easily, and tastes great on a variety of crackers I had with it. Cheese with embedded bacon bits is a crazy idea, but it works here. There's just enough bacon to taste and enjoy it, without overpowering the cheese. I think it's probably about the perfect blend ratio.


Will I buy it again? 

After that description, you'd probably expect a yes. And it would be, if enjoyment were the only criterion. But bacon is one of those foods that, though I love, I've been cutting out of my diet almost entirely, due mostly to consideration of the animal source, and slightly to consideration of the health effects. I've lived in Asheville 3 1/2 years as I'm writing this. During that time, I've never bought a package of bacon. I've had it with breakfast at restaurants three times, I think. I did buy this cheese, and the unusual Bacon Ganache chocolate bar--but that's it. I suppose that amounts to something like a 90% reduction in my bacon consumption from some years before.

On the rare occasions that I decide to indulge, I want the straight stuff. For items like this, I'm confident that a bacon-flavored, soy-protein-based product would work very nearly as well. If TJ's sold such a thing, I'd buy it.

Trader Joe's Uncured Bacon Ganache Bar

On Monday morning, July 13, 2015, I saw in the Twitter feed for the #TraderJoes hashtag a post from an employee of an unknown TJ's store with a photo of this item, and the message, "That just came in." Later in the day, TJ's web site posted this introduction to the product. I already had a trip to the store planned, so of course I added it to my list. It wasn't in the candy aisle, nor in the "new items" section, so I had to ask at the customer service desk. The guy's face brightened, and he said, "Oh yes, those just came in today. I know exactly where I put them." They were in a display by the cashiers.

So this does appear to be a brand-new product, available for just the last 24 hours at the time this review is being posted Tuesday morning, July 14.

I knew I wouldn't be sharing this bar with my vegetarian girlfriend, because unlike the"Baconesque" popcorn, this has real bacon in it. But because this is such an unusual product, I wanted opinions in addition to my own--so I took it to my Monday night poker game, broke it into pieces, and passed it around. Four or five people tried it. They were unanimous: Good chocolate, but barely any bacon flavor. That was my impression, too; I didn't notice any bacon flavor or tidbits (it's minced) until about my fourth small bite.

However, when I got it home and ate the remaining three sections, the bacon flavor was much more pronounced--right up front. I think I know how to explain the difference. It was a hot day today, so I had refrigerated the bar for several hours before I took it across town to the game so that it wouldn't melt in the car, and I put it in the hosts' refrigerator for another couple of hours before passing it around so that player's hands wouldn't be too messy to play cards. I believe that the cold inhibited the flavor of bacon from standing out. I did not put the last few pieces back in the fridge, so they were room temperature when I ate them.

Unchilled, this bar is a big mess to eat. There's an outer layer of dark chocolate, with eight hollow sections. Those sections are filled with the ganache, bacon shreds, and a bit of salt. But try as I might, I could not get it to break cleanly along the section lines. Every single break I made veered off of the fracture lines and went through one or more of the filled sections, leaking their contents around.

I know that other chocolate-bacon combinations have been made and marketed before, but I've never tried any of them. Frankly, it seems like a strange pairing. I like doughnuts and I like ketchup, but I don't want a ketchup-filled doughnut. I feel roughly the same way about bacon and chocolate. That opinion has not been materially altered by sampling this new TJ's bar. I was prepared to be surprised and find that they paired much better than I had anticipated, but I did not find that to be the case. It's just weird. Not awful, not inedible, but peculiar and kind of off-putting.

Will I buy it again?

No. It's messy and kind of strange, not delicious. But if you like both chocolate and bacon, it's probably worth trying it for yourself at least once just for the novelty of the experience. Maybe you'll like it better than I did.

As always, I'm interested in hearing about readers' experiences in the comments. Whether you agree or disagree, let me know what you think of it.