Dried melon jerky and a food that smells like vomit. These are no-goes next time you go to Trader Joe's.
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00:00Dried melon jerky and a food that smells like vomit. These are no-goes next time you go to
00:05Trader Joe's.
00:07Trader Joe's Everything But The Bagel seasoning blend has quite the fan base.
00:10It was introduced in 2017, and it was once voted as the best item available at TJ's,
00:16so the logical conclusion would be to sprinkle it on everything, right? But in the case of the
00:20Everything But The Bagel seasoned kettle-cooked potato chips, two rights have somehow made a
00:24wrong. It sounded like a recipe for success, but many customers wound up disappointed.
00:29One person commented on Reddit that they threw away their bag after everyone refused to eat them,
00:34while another noted that they were too sweet. And one comment summed up the general consensus,
00:39Love the seasoning, hate the chips.
00:41Don't hate the player, hate the game, son.
00:43Everything But The Bagel isn't Trader Joe's only seasoning, of course.
00:46And while there are plenty of hits, there are also some occasional misses,
00:50including the cheesy seasoning blend. On paper, it sounds like a genius idea. You
00:54can add cheese to any dish you want. Alas, it somehow wasn't a good idea in this case.
00:59Many customers have gone online to voice their initial excitement to try the seasoning that
01:03then quickly faded upon the first taste. Some people pointed out that the blend didn't even
01:07taste like cheese. The Trader Joe's Reviews Instagram account noted that the primary
01:11flavors were garlic, onion, and rosemary. Last time we checked, none of those are cheese.
01:16If you're curious and still want to try this cheesy seasoning blend for yourself,
01:20remember that the flavor you're probably anticipating may not be what you ultimately taste.
01:25If you've committed yourself to the Trader Joe's lifestyle,
01:27then you probably had high hopes about the gluten-free JoJo's chocolate and vanilla cream
01:31cookies. It's TJ's version of the classic Oreo, so what could be better? But ultimately,
01:36it just doesn't measure up. One customer, who actually happened to prefer JoJo's to Oreos,
01:41reached out on Reddit to see if they could find any like-minded customers. But instead,
01:45the thread filled up with those who were in fact let down by JoJo's.
01:48TJ's also sells a variety of seasonal JoJo's cookies, including a Halloween version,
01:53a pumpkin spice flavor for fall, and a candy cane variety during the holidays.
01:57Someone who actually liked the original cookie left a comment on Trader Joe's reviews to say
02:01that they were horrified by the autumnal edition.
02:04Overnight oats are a convenient breakfast to start your day. You can soak your own at home,
02:08or you can opt for the convenience of a pre-made version. Trader Joe's
02:11sells vanilla overnight oats, which you can usually find with other prepared foods
02:15in the refrigerated section. Alas, there's a Reddit thread about Trader Joe's products
02:19to never purchase again that kicks off with one person tearing down the overnight oats.
02:23As it turns out, the taste is bad and the price is a sticking point. One small cup costs $1.99,
02:28but since you're only getting 5.5 ounces, it's not that great a deal.
02:32Your time and money is better spent buying a bag of rolled oats and making it yourself.
02:37One Trader Joe's item that seems to be universally disliked is the frozen beef
02:41bust soup. It was, in fact, one of the most mentioned items in a Reddit thread
02:44about the worst products at the store. One customer declared it unsalvageable,
02:48despite adding various spices and seasonings to enhance the dish.
02:52Ultimately, TJ's customers love pho, but this frozen version is a huge letdown that
02:56misses the mark on what makes this soup so tasty in the first place. Across the board,
03:00it seems like plenty of customers would love to find a quick and easy frozen option,
03:04but this one simply doesn't meet their standards.
03:07If you follow a gluten-free diet or are looking for healthy substitutes for your favorite cheat
03:11meals, chances are you're already familiar with cauliflower pizza crusts. They're offered at
03:15multiple major grocery chains, including Costco, Aldi, and, as you might expect, Trader Joe's.
03:20TJ's version is tasty enough, but it's a bit of a letdown nutritionally. People tend to turn to
03:25cauliflower substitutions when they're seeking healthy alternatives to gluten and wheat flour,
03:29but a glance at the nutritional facts tells a different story in this case.
03:32According to the packaging, one-sixth of the crust, or roughly one slice,
03:36contains 17 grams of carbohydrates. With an ingredient list that includes cornflour,
03:40cornstarch, and potato starch, some customers feel a bit slighted by what
03:44they thought would be a low-carb option.
03:46Is butter a carb?
03:48There are tons of ways to dress up a basic bowl of pasta, from classic red sauces to a
03:52simple drizzle of melted butter. For something a little different, you can turn to vodka sauce
03:56for a unique flavor. So if you come across a jar of pre-made vodka sauce at Trader Joe's,
04:01it's natural that you'd feel tempted to add it to your weekly lineup of meals,
04:04but TJ's customers are divided over this sauce. Some love the flavor,
04:08while others think it's more like a basic marinara rather than vodka sauce.
04:12One Reddit thread mentioned that the flavor was boring and closely resembled a run-of-the-mill
04:16red sauce that needed some heavy seasoning in order to liven up the taste. Some comments on
04:20Instagram mentioned its bland taste, with one person declaring it barely vodka sauce.
04:24So is it a decent jar of red sauce? Perhaps. But is it actually vodka sauce? That seems to
04:29be up for debate, so if you're looking for that distinct vodka sauce flavor,
04:32you're probably better off making it yourself from scratch.
04:36Every once in a while, you might come across a grocery item that sounds so unique that you
04:40figure it must be an undiscovered gem. After all, why would any company go through the trouble of
04:45making something so wild if it doesn't taste good? The dried fruit craze has reached nearly
04:49every fruit imaginable. But while some dried fruits are common, others require a little more
04:54heavy lifting to convince shoppers that they're worth a try. Which brings us to the unique
04:58selection of watermelon jerky. Dried fruit can be a healthy snack, but that didn't matter to
05:02one customer on Reddit who called Trader Joe's watermelon jerky an abomination to anything
05:06called jerky. Another opined that it wouldn't be so bad if the bag weren't filled with crunchy
05:11black seeds. And still another went so far as to describe the jerky as solidified garbage juice.
05:17Ranch dressing should be a safe bet for anyone who likes it on salad or as a dip.
05:20It's so popular and so commonplace that it shouldn't be hard to mess up.
05:24But somehow, Trader Joe's did mess it up.
05:27You done messed up, A.A. Ron!
05:29Trader Joe's sells a large assortment of unique dressings and sauces,
05:32and its organic ranch is one of the most divisive. One person on Reddit declared it
05:36to be inedible, while another was surprised that it wasn't the top answer to a thread about the
05:40worst product offered at TJ's. Simply put, you can find much better versions of ranch at pretty
05:45much any other supermarket. The freezer section at Trader Joe's is often where you'll find the
05:50most original and tastiest items. At first glance, the honey walnut shrimp might sound
05:54like a delicious option, so you may quickly find yourself tossing a couple of bags into
05:58your shopping cart for an easy dinner. But as it turns out, you should actually stay far away
06:03from these shrimp. As usual, it's worth consulting Reddit threads to see what other customers thought.
06:08One comment describes the shrimp as awful, while adding,
06:10"...it smells like vomit and tastes only slightly less worse."
06:13Another commenter noted that they usually love walnut shrimp,
06:16but Trader Joe's version didn't measure up because it was too sweet and goopy.
06:20However, this might not be a completely lost cause,
06:22as one other customer recommended adding sriracha chili garlic sauce to enhance the flavor.
06:28Trader Joe's excels in a few categories, especially its butters and spreads. Most of
06:32their nut butters have a passionate following, as evidenced by a Reddit thread filled with words
06:36of praise for seemingly every variety they offer. For fans of the almond butter, excitement was
06:41surely high when TJ's rolled out their almond butter puff cereal. Despite the company's claims
06:45that almond butter makes up 40 percent of the recipe, one customer insisted on Reddit that
06:49they wouldn't have been able to tell that was the predominant flavor in a blind taste test.
06:53Several commenters were similarly underwhelmed, with many pointing out that the cereal is so
06:58hard and crunchy that they initially thought it was stale. Another Reddit thread highlighting
07:02the stale consistency included many comments from customers who were excited to try what
07:06seemed to be an almond butter version of Reese's Puffs, only to be sorely let down.
07:10"...I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed."
07:14If you hail from the American Northeast, then you probably have very strong opinions about
07:18apple cider. A false staple in many households, it should have a distinct fresh flavor that you
07:23won't find in any garden-variety bottle of processed apple juice. Depending on where you
07:27live, you may find that your local Trader Joe's sells fresh apple cider in its refrigerated
07:30section. But nationwide, you're more likely to come across its shelf-stable spiced apple cider.
07:35It comes with a laundry list of ingredients, including spices like allspice, cinnamon,
07:39and cloves. Many customers who tried it were quick to point out on Reddit that the addition
07:43of these flavors took away from the apple-forward aromas that cider fans expect to taste.
07:48While TJ's spiced apple cider may offer something different than regular apple juice,
07:52the unique flavor you find in fresh apple cider is missing from the shelf-stable version.
07:56The majority of the commenters on Reddit preferred fresh cider to the spice version,
08:00with one simply calling the latter,
08:01"...trash."
08:02Long story short, spiced apple cider might be a step up from apple juice,
08:06but it pales in comparison to any fresh variety.
08:09There are few food groups more universally beloved than melted cheese,
08:12so whenever there's an opportunity to pick up a jar of queso,
08:15consumers naturally jump on it at lightning speed. With that in mind,
08:18we can certainly understand if your expectations are sky-high when you
08:22come across the queso cheese dip at Trader Joe's. Alas, get ready for those expectations to be
08:27dashed. A review from the What's Good at Trader Joe's blog dings the cheese dip on both texture
08:31and taste, pointing out that heating it up is an absolute must in order to be able to somewhat
08:36enjoy it. One person on Reddit wondered how anyone could think it's tasty when it contains
08:40zero grams of fat, while another simply called it, "...disappointment in a jar."
08:43Others criticized the dip for tasting too vinegary,
08:46which probably has something to do with apple cider vinegar being one of the ingredients.
08:51Another disappointing category of Trader Joe's items isn't actually a type of food.
08:55Just like any other grocery store, TJ's also sells inedible household products,
08:59including paper items like toilet paper and paper towels. While it may be tempting to
09:03make Trader Joe's a one-stop shop and pick up a few rolls of paper towels while you're there,
09:07we caution against it. When asked about the worst product at Trader Joe's,
09:11one comment on Reddit noted that the paper towels are worse than any food item,
09:14claiming that they basically dissolve the moment they come into contact with water.
09:18Another commenter warned users to avoid even touching the paper towels with wet fingers,
09:22or they will immediately disintegrate. And the toilet paper is just as bad,
09:26according to these reviews.
09:27I demand TV! I demand TV!"
09:29Some consumers, however, insist that the paper towels are decent quality for the price,
09:33and that they're comparable to many other store brands.
09:35You'll ultimately have to decide whether it's worth the gamble yourself.
09:44you