Trader Joe's Cara Cara Navel Oranges

I picked this up because I was intrigued by the teaser on the bag: "I'm an orange, but I'm pink."

And they kinda are, on the inside. Not as pink as pink grapefruit, not as dark red as blood oranges, but definitely pinker than standard oranges.

Incidentally, "Cara Cara" is a variety name, not a Trader Joe's thing. See Wikipedia, here.

I've had four of these now. In terms of flavor, one was outstanding. One was quite poor. Two were pretty average. All were admirably juicy.


Will I buy it again? 

No. It was an interesting experiment, but other than the novelty of the color, I'm not seeing any compelling reason to choose these over more typical varieties.

Trader Joe's Ultra Chocolate Ice Cream Super Premium

I'm used to store-brand chocolate ice creams being mediocre, despite their packages' dubious claims of being "premium." In fact, just before buying this from Trader Joe's, my previous purchase had been my first try with "Laura Lynn," which is the store brand of Ingles, the dominant supermarket chain in North Carolina. It was the typical disappointing stuff I had expected.

I thought, sadly, that TJ's would likely be pretty much the same. But I figured that I had to get it out of the way sooner or later (I've been procrastinating this purchase for a couple of years already), and might as well make it now, so I can get back to the Breyer's and Edy's that I prefer.

Well, blow me down and shiver me timbers--this stuff is actually wonderful! I like my ice cream on the softer side, and this is perfect. It's smooth and creamy, and just the right amount of chocolate. (I quibble with the moniker "ultra chocolate." It's just right, not "ultra.")

This is the equal of the best store-bought chocolate ice cream I've ever had--so good that after just two servings of it, I'm ready to declare it my new default ice cream choice. I see no need to go back to the brands I have been buying for several decades.

The ability to change a lifelong purchasing habit also means that it deserves a place in my Top Ten List (which is now up to 57 members; don't judge me).


Will I buy it again? 

Ultra Chocolate Ice Cream, I am coming for you!


Addendum, 4/19/17 

Correction to the above. It turns out that the soft consistency I liked was not an intrinsic part of this product, but rather an early sign (unknown to me at the time) that my freezer was failing. Now that I have a new one, and I can verify that it's at the proper temperature with a thermometer, this ice cream is actually quite hard, difficult to penetrate even with a great ice cream scoop. That is less than ideal, but I still like it a lot.

Trader Joe's Mull of Kintyre Scottish Cheddar Cheese

I might as well just be honest with you: I don't recall ever having heard of the Mull of Kintyre prior to last week, when I noticed this cheese at Trader Joe's. I know now that a song by that name was a huge hit for Paul McCartney & Wings, but it somehow escaped my attention for the last 40 years. What's more, I now realize that I've actually seen the Mull of Kintyre--the southernmost tip of the Kintyre peninsula--though I didn't know it at the time. During a tour of the British Isles in 2014, my ferry from Scotland to Northern Ireland passed by it.

But none of that had anything to do with this purchase. I just wanted some cheese, and my eye fell on this as one that I had not tried before. Frankly, I expected another in a long line of virtually indistinguishable white cheddars. It was not to be so.

This one is truly superior. It is as rich and sweet and smooth and creamy and buttery as any cheddar cheese I've ever eaten. Full-flavored without being the least bit sharp or harsh. Absolutely first rate. I quickly learned that I have difficulty stopping once I start eating it, even after I'm past being full.

This is a new product for TJ's. It apparently rolled out in February. I'm not clear on whether it's to be a perennial or is just a feature cheese, destined to disappear soon. Oh, please let it be the former! It would be a shame if the newest member of my Top Ten List were no longer available.



Will I buy it again? 

Every chance I get.


Bonus: Here's Paul McCartney and Wings playing "Mull of Kintyre":



Paul McCartney & Wings - Mull Of Kintyre (1977) by DemonPreyer1

McCartney bought a farm in Kintyre in 1966, about 20 miles from the mull, and spent a lot of time there in the 1970s. Apparently he has been functionally withdrawing from it in recent years, though.


Addendum 

I went back to the store to buy another chunk of this, and asked one of the employees to look up on the computer whether this was a permanent or temporary product. He found that what they had on the shelf was the last they were going to get--at least for this season. Will it come back next year? I guess we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, I bought four of them, and put three in the freezer. I know that freezing is not good for cheese, but I couldn't just let it go away without trying something. Get it while you can!

Addendum #2 

Last night I tried it side by side with some Lite Sharp Celtic Cheddar, effectively pitting Scotland against Ireland in an epic cheese contest. I like both of them a lot, but Scotland won.

Addendum #3 

I suspect that TJ's is repackaging one of the award winners from the Mull of Kintyre cheese company.

Addendum #4 

After posting my usual daily notice on Twitter of a new review here, I got this reply and retweet from an account I did not previous know existed:

Here's the account information:

From that, I think it's pretty safe to conclude that my speculation in Addendum #3 above was correct! And another TJ's supplier has outed itself on Twitter!

Trader Joe's Marbled Mint Crunch Chocolate Bar

When you mix chocolate and mint, you're going to get something good. The only question is whether it will be just mediocre-like-a-thousand-others good or really-special good.

This TJ's product, from Ireland, falls in the latter category. For one thing, it's beautiful. (The package says that it's a "strikingly visual bar." I wonder how many people saw and approved that copy, without thinking that it made no sense, and that "visually striking" would be better.) For another, the mint is subdued, like a good back-up singer, not trying to steal the spotlight. And finally, the little bits of cookie add some delightfully crunchy texture variation.


Will I buy it again? 

Yes. I hope they keep this one around for a long time.

Trader Joe's Living Butter Lettuce

I buy a lot of butter lettuce from TJ's, either by itself or in a blend with raddichio. But until last week, when I saw this new version, it never occurred to me that someday I might buy a head of it still in it own little piece of the earth.

This was a surprising find among the usual assortment of bagged, pre-made salads. After having recently also seen the hydroponically grown watercress, I wonder if this is the beginning of a whole line of food-still-in-dirt products from Trader Joe's.

Anyway, I cut the stem and cup of dirt and roots off, and chopped and washed the leaves. Then I mixed it with a bag of TJ's Spicy Spinach Blend and shredded carrots.

The result was, for me, indistinguishable from using the bagged, pre-cut, pre-washed butter lettuce. If I single out a lettuce leaf and eat it on its own, it does taste fresher and livelier. But (1) this could be a trick of the imagination, because that's what I'm expecting, and (2) since I never use it that way, I'm not sure that it matters.


Will I buy it again? 

No. It doesn't add enough value in terms of enjoyment to be worth the extra work.

A note about coffee

Everything is coffee right now at Trader Joe's. Coffee ice cream, coffee cookies, coffee body butter, etc. They're doing with coffee this year what they did with mango last year.

I'm having none of it.

I've literally never had a cup of coffee in my life, and I'm not about to start. The few times I've tried coffee- or mocha-flavored things, I've found them foul and revolting.

Coffee. Ick. I do not like it in a boat. I do not like it with a goat.

I will not be trying any of these dozens of new products. And you should be glad that I'm not, because the reviews would all just be, "Yuck, that's disgusting."

I hope this TJ's coffee craze will soon pass, so they can get back to making stuff that I want to try--both for myself and for my readers.

Roundup

This is my weekly compilation of news and other links about Trader Joe's.


9 Trader Joe's products for easy dinners

6 Trader Joe's products we can't live without

7 tips to help you survive rush hour at Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's karaoke

Trader Joe's foods for kids

Why I buy all my airplane snacks from Trader Joe's

22 Trader Joe's products we're totally obsessed with



Best tweets of the week:

It's sad to me I didn't know its inappropriate to just add #Uggs to your pajamas and go to #traderjoes. Lots of stares

— Danielle Rafferty (@dandogg12) March 25, 2017

I always feel like I have $800 worth of groceries in my cart at #TraderJoes but then they are like "your total is $27.46." 🙌🏻 #WhyILoveTJs

— Julie Daniel (@thejuliedaniel) March 24, 2017

#TraderJoes I love you but my landlord found my empty cat cookies container in the recycling bin and now thinks I have a cat #sos

— Emily Mervosh (@emervosh92) March 23, 2017

"I did the whitest thing today - I bought the wrong kale at #TraderJoes" - @emilytran27

— Puja (@pujsays) March 21, 2017

It's LITERALLY every time I'm in #TraderJoes there's someone with a cat on a leash. pic.twitter.com/4fkCWCT4xD

— Sebastian (@WoodyProducer) March 21, 2017

I tried crack for the first time last night. Thanks for nothing you damn dirty drug-peddling #TraderJoes. pic.twitter.com/l03ZmPwWLh

— Jake Emen (@ManTalkFood) March 25, 2017

And finally, in lieu of the usual cute cat in a Trader Joe's grocery bag, we have a cute cat on a Trader Joe's catnip-infused scratching pad.