Trader Joe's Hold The Cone! Mini Ice Cream Cones--Vanilla

As you can see, this is a box of eight miniature ice cream cones with chocolate coating. They're small enough that Nina and I each ate four of them in one sitting after dinner.

I thought they were OK, but not great. They were most spoiled by soggy cones. The box itself was kind of warped (as you can see above if you look closely), apparently by water. I suspect that they underwent some thawing/refreezing at some point, either in transport to the store or after I had purchased them. So the soggy cone thing might be a problem unique to this box, rather than being intrinsic to how the product is manufactured.


Will I buy it again? 

Yes, at least once, to clear up that soggy cone question. And Nina liked them more than I did, so I know they'll be a hit for another dessert.

Trader Joe's Organic Reduced Sugar Cherry Preserves

This is excellent--as good as any cherry jam/preserves I've ever had. I would never know it's a "reduced sugar" variety without looking at the label.


Will I buy it again? 

I don't use cherry as much as strawberry and raspberry, but once in a while for a little change, sure.

Trader Joe's Raw Milk Cheddar Cheese

See yesterday's explanation for why I picked this.

It may be the least flavorful white cheddar cheese I've ever tried. It's kind of amazing how they've managed to create a cheese that you can't even taste. It looks like cheese. It slices easily like cheese. And yet you put it on a cracker and it's like nothing is there.


Will I buy it again? 

Ugh, no. This product shouldn't exist. What's the point of eating cheese if it doesn't taste like cheese?

Trader Joe's Wisconsin Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese

I was almost out of my new favorite white cheddar, the perfect Extra Sharp Canadian, so I was planning to buy another block of it. But when I looked at the variety of cheeses available at Trader Joe's, I had another thought: I could take advantage of having a little of it left to do a direct comparison with one or two other of TJ's selection of white cheddars. So I picked, more or less at random, this one and the one I'll review tomorrow.

This Wisconsin variant is fine, nothing particularly wrong with it, but it's your run-of-the-mill, undistinguished white cheddar. I would not call it "extra sharp." It is clearly less flavorful than the Canadian. On the plus side, I like its texture--easy to slice with no crumbling.


Will I buy it again? 

No.


Addendum, November 2, 2018: 

I tried it again and had a change of heart. See update here.

Roundup

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


The 8 best cocktail ingredients to buy at Trader Joe's

My favorite Trader Joe's products

Trader Joe's ingredients for a backyard barbecue



Best tweets of the week:

Subliminal #SolarEclispe2017 cheese. Pretty savvy, #TraderJoes. pic.twitter.com/WNns2xrWW3

— Scott Anderson (@901cravings) August 21, 2017

Have to stop shopping at #traderjoes. As soon as I like something, they stop making it. RIP #caramelcashewcookies

— Elden Rhoads (@EldenRhoads) August 23, 2017

Thanks Trader Joe's for making triple ginger snaps, a looking for an excuse to hit the gym 5 days a week instead of 4 #TraderJoes

— Richard Wadd (@manaa_manaa) August 23, 2017

Stocked up on #TraderJoes mineral waters for #Harvey. Why? Because I survive with style.

— Mason Patterson (@MMPatterson24) August 24, 2017

The thing I hate most about peanut butter pretzels is how much I love them #TraderJoes

— Kimberly Young (@KAnnYoung) August 25, 2017

My signature domestic policy is the unpopular Finish the Gross Costco Peanut Butter Pretzels Before U Can Eat the Good Trader Joes Ones rule

— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) August 25, 2017

Yet another reason why I ❤️ #TraderJoes : mini 🍦samples to keep procrastinators (me) happy while in SUPER long line to buy water #Harvey2017 pic.twitter.com/eNG50pestF

— Allison Gaito (@AllisonGaito) August 26, 2017

And finally, here's this week's cute cat in a Trader Joe's grocery bag on a Trader Joe's wine box.

I think she's unimpressed by my choice in wine. #itsforsangria #dontjudgeme #3buckchuck #AnnabelleCreepyCat #TraderJoes pic.twitter.com/QmoGGwKv6z

— Carolyn (@cmidnightsky) July 20, 2017

Trader Joe's Organic Purple Maize Flakes

These are corn flakes, but purple. And organic. And pretty much flavorless, for some reason.


Will I buy it again? 

No.

Trader Joe's Mini Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

I am usually not a fan of the blend of chocolate and peanut butter. But I passed by the shelves of candy at TJ's the other day, and just had a sudden impulse to buy these.

They're pretty good, compared to other such things I've tried. I think that's probably because the tiny size means that there's a higher surface area:volume ratio, which translates to a higher chocolate:peanut butter ratio. The peanut butter is also appropriately salty, making it taste, I dunno, crisper or sharper, in nice contrast to the mellow milk chocolate.


Will I buy it again? 

No. There are many, many chocolate candies I like a lot better. But I'm not sorry I yielded to the urge to toss it in my basket just this once.