Refried beans, chunk chicken, and seasonal favorites – oh my! Which canned Trader Joe staple that you buy is better left on the shelf?
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00:00Refried beans, chunk chicken, and seasonal favorites, oh my!
00:05Which canned Trader Joe's staple that you buy is better left on the shelf?
00:10Like any grocery store, Trader Joe's is where you will come across an array of canned goods
00:16to stock up on in your pantry. While canned beans might be one of those items you casually grab
00:21without a second thought as you walk down the aisle, loyal Trader Joe's shoppers are wary
00:26about one canned good. When it comes to the store's giant baked beans in tomato sauce,
00:32the vegan experimentalist perhaps put it best.
00:36Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.
00:39The promise of an affordable shelf-stable kitchen staple quickly evaporates when
00:44reviewers reveal that you'll probably taste the can more than the beans themselves.
00:49Those on Reddit seem to be in agreement about another criticism from the vegan experimentalist.
00:54The beans are just too sweet. It is probably assumed that baked beans will come with a touch
01:00of sweetness to them, but the giant baked beans leave many confused about what exactly to do with
01:05them. It's also worth pointing out that some users on Reddit wondered whether the canned
01:10beans were more palatable if you heated them up or not. If you need to bother asking the question,
01:15then perhaps you already know the answer.
01:18If you are unfamiliar with Greek cuisine, you may be puzzled by the concept of dolmas.
01:24But those in the know may be quicker to give them a try when you come across a can at Trader Joe's.
01:29The Greek delicacy, made with leaves usually stuffed with a rice filling,
01:34can be quite tasty if done well. Unfortunately, Trader Joe's seems to miss the mark with its
01:39particular variety. While eating at Joe's admits that it may take a while to grow accustomed to
01:46the taste of dolmas, Trader Joe's is not doing its dolmas any favors by throwing in an odd mix
01:52of ingredients, like dill and mint, into the mixture. A shopper on Reddit mentioned how the
01:57dolmas are their least favorite thing to buy at Trader Joe's, but added that there are better
02:02versions out there in the world. So it is not so much that dolmas are a total lost cause.
02:08Rather, it's specifically the Trader Joe's dolmas that are a lost cause.
02:12Not to be outdone by our friend the sardine,
02:15dorade is another kind of fish that shoppers can buy in a canned variety at the grocery store.
02:21If you have an affinity for sardines and are looking to branch out, you might have stopped
02:26in the canned food aisle in the past and considered picking up some dorade to see how it compares.
02:31While most of Trader Joe's canned fish varieties seem to be widely popular,
02:36such as its smoked trout, the dorade appears to come up short when one looks for any sign
02:41of approval. One comment noted that the dorade sold at Trader Joe's is unusually
02:46terrible when compared to the other choices available, like sardines, herring, and mackerel.
02:53Oh. My. God.
02:55Another Reddit thread revealed many shoppers who found the smell to be quite off-putting,
03:00only to be followed up by a so-so experience when eating them.
03:04Several noted that the flavor of the dorade was bland and definitely not worth the labor
03:09that is required to get past the smell. Of the canned fish sold at Trader Joe's,
03:14the dorade seems to be the only kind that received multiple knocks against it,
03:18which is interesting considering that it received good marks for flavor from Fortune Fish and Gourmet.
03:24Perhaps the dorade is the kind of fish that's best eaten fresh and not straight out of a can.
03:31Stepping away from the world of canned fish, but without straying too far,
03:35let's discuss the complexities of canned chicken meat. That's right,
03:39tuna and sardines are not the only common shelf-stable protein you can find in grocery
03:44stores. Canned chicken can work in a pinch if you need a small amount and you're shopping on a
03:49budget. However, when you do the math, canned chicken may not be as good of a bargain as you
03:54might think. Canned foods are usually synonymous with affordability, but if you shop around for
03:59deals, you may find fresh chicken meat for way cheaper at the per pound rate than its
04:04canned counterpart. While the flavor of canned chicken is not nearly as offensive as you may
04:09think, most of the criticism found on Reddit points out that buying canned chicken from
04:14Trader Joe's is simply not a good deal. While the flavor is not bad, per se, it is also not doing
04:21any favors, as we pointed out on our previous list of canned foods to avoid at Trader Joe's.
04:27If you get this can, you'll have to rely on the seasoning to do all the heavy lifting.
04:33In the world of dairy substitutes, coconut milk has a creamier texture than many of its
04:38competitors, which many consumers will find appealing when adding to their favorite beverage
04:43or soup. The creaminess is amplified by coconut milk's added benefits, such as lower calories in
04:49one cup than cow's milk, according to Medical News Today. There are countless brands that are
04:55capitalizing on dairy substitute trends, including Trader Joe's, which sells cans of coconut cream
05:01in its stores. If you're a longtime customer of Trader Joe's, then you may recognize when the
05:06formula changes in your favorite items. That seems to be the case with its organic coconut cream,
05:13as shoppers on Trader Joe's reviews note that the quality is not what it used to be.
05:18Many noticed that its oily consistency is not what they were expecting from this particular product.
05:24As with many other products, a natural separation of oil is nothing to be alarmed by,
05:29but in this case, it's hard to ignore. We noted that it was nearly impossible to stir the cream
05:35as the ingredients remained separated, making all of us mourn the passing of the Trader Joe's
05:41coconut cream of old. Trader Joe's just seems to be striking out left and right with their
05:47coconut cream products these days. There are also a large variety of canned beverages you can find
05:52at the grocery chain, including some canned coffees. If you're looking to enjoy your morning
05:58cup of Joe without any dairy, then its coconut cream latte may sound too good to be true.
06:04Well, according to the reviews we found, that unfortunately does seem to be the case.
06:09It sounds like a lot of…
06:11Hoopla!
06:13Sounds like a…
06:14Hoopla! Hoopla!
06:16Yeah, sorry, there's no hoopla around this cup of Joe. Just like the coconut cream mentioned
06:23before, the coconut cream latte seems to have a rather oily problem. One review on GoDairyFree
06:30mentioned that the oily base made the drink unappetizing, while another review complained
06:35that the drink made them sick. The sharp criticisms continue over on Reddit, with many comments noting
06:41the drink's sour taste. Some even pointed out that they could not finish the drink,
06:45and it wound up in the trash after just a couple of sips. Ouch.
06:51Some canned goods are simple, straightforward, and exactly what you would expect. Whether you're
06:56stocking up on canned vegetables, tuna, or beans, there's not a whole lot of mystery involved when
07:02picking items up from the grocery store. To keep things interesting, Trader Joe's concocted its
07:07Grecian-style eggplant with tomatoes and onions. Canned eggplant? What could go wrong? Apparently,
07:13a lot can go wrong. According to What's Good at Trader Joe's, the featured flavor of eggplant
07:19is overshadowed by the tomatoes. Perhaps this is less of a can of eggplant featuring tomatoes
07:25and more of a canned tomato situation featuring eggplant. Taste aside, the reviewers pointed out
07:31the bizarre texture they experienced was not something they would expect from eggplant,
07:36which culminates in a downright confusing food item. If you love tomatoes, then this item might
07:42be a winner in your book. But if you understandably purchased this expecting eggplant, then you
07:48probably will be let down. Refried beans can be dressed up or dressed down in a number of ways,
07:55with the best canned versions coming with some sort of added flavor-enhancing simple
08:00but filling beans. Trader Joe's sells traditional refried beans, but if you want your beans to come
08:05with an extra bit of zest without having to add any ingredients yourself, Trader Joe's offers its
08:11refried black beans with jalapeno peppers. The mistake made here would be to simply purchase
08:17and prepare the can of beans as-is without any sort of accompanying ingredients. Trader Joe's
08:22rants pointed out that the jalapeno flavor seemed non-existent, and just a few minutes of added
08:28attention could seriously elevate this side dish into something more.
08:32Careful now, this frito pie is spicy, spicy, spicy.
08:36Several others on Reddit also noticed the rather disappointingly bland flavor that these black
08:42beans carried, making them no different than a regular can of beans. Due to the lack of added
08:47flavor from the supposed jalapeno peppers, you're probably better off picking up a can
08:52of traditional refried beans and dressing them up yourself. Trader Joe's creates a bit of a frenzy
08:59multiple times each year with its rotation of seasonal items arriving in the stores.
09:04Whether it's the butternut squash, macaroni and cheese in the fall, or the chocolate-covered
09:09peppermint JoJo's for the holidays, the arrival of its seasonal offerings have grown into a cult-like
09:15event, much like the annual return of Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte. But not every seasonal item
09:21at Trader Joe's is a hit, as is the case with the sparkling Pomegranate Punch. Pomegranate is a
09:27signature fruity flavor during the holiday season, with an array of cocktails and bubbly beverages
09:33popping up on your Pinterest board each fall. So when cans of sparkling pomegranate juice arrived
09:38on the shelves at Trader Joe's, holiday cocktail enthusiasts were ecstatic. Unfortunately, many
09:45quickly noticed the drink had an off-putting flavor that reminded them more of ginger than
09:49pomegranate. Trader Joe's Food Reviews added on Instagram that the pomegranate drink was
09:55missing its most important flavor, pomegranate. And What's Good at Trader Joe's simply put it as
10:00the drink not being pomegranate-y enough. It's worth mentioning that Trader Joe's does sell
10:06more flavors of sparkling juice that customers seem to enjoy across the board, via Reddit.
10:11It must have simply missed the mark with this pomegranate variety.
10:15Do not use the sparkling Pomegranate Punch as a metric for whether you should purchase
10:19other sparkling juices from Trader Joe's. Fans seem to enjoy most other flavors.
10:26Last, but certainly not least, there is the canned turkey chili with beans. For starters,
10:32this is not the healthiest of items you can find in the store. You are far better off preparing
10:38your own turkey chili from scratch, as one can contains a whopping 800 milligrams of sodium,
10:45or 30 percent of the recommended daily amount, according to Fujicate.
10:49Not only that, but let's address the fact that this is just a processed version of something
10:54you can probably make fresh with much better results. Even if this were a healthy version
10:59of canned chili, the off-putting smell and taste alone have sent many Trader Joe's
11:04shoppers running with a similar reaction to the giant baked beans.
11:09Nope. Nope. Nope. That's gross.
11:11We also must address the elephant in the room. Beans are high in non-digestible compounds like
11:17fiber and raffinose, both of which are responsible for gas production in the gut,
11:22according to Healthline. So consuming a can of turkey chili may, as one pointed Redditor suggests,
11:29serve as an effective means of colonoscopy preparation. Of all the different Trader Joe's
11:35canned items, this only may be the one that you have to be most wary of consuming,
11:40particularly if you're in the company of others.