"So long" ...and "Welcome back!": Product discontinuations and reappearances
If you shop at Trader Joe's, you undoubtedly know that products are discontinued now and then. This doesn't happen as often as it used to years ago - most of TJ's inventory seems pretty stable - but we still notice when a favorite is no longer on the shelves. But even if your favorite disappears, it might not be for good. Often it seems they are being repackaged (like frozen potstickers last year...or Mixed Olive Bruschetta earlier this year). And sometimes, if people ask after it, TJ's might just bring it back. Like a demo chef once said to us: "Never say never." We were happy to see the recent return of Rice Sticks a few weeks ago at our TJ's. We've also heard unconfirmed reports that frozen Greens with Envy and a few other frozen veggies (made in China and pulled) are coming back. Hooray!
India Relish: Looks like this one has been discontinued. If you miss it and are looking for a straight substitute, check out your local Indian or Asian grocer. Look for "Tomato Relish" or "Tomato Chutney" and you'll find something similar.
We use it in our cookbook on page 36 for the "Sweet Potato Samosas" recipe. In this recipe, you can just make the following substitution with ingredients you may already have in your kitchen:
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup diced canned tomato, drained
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp curry powder (or use 1 tsp yellow or brown mustard seed plus 1 tsp coriander seed plus 1/2 tsp cumin)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
Saute the onions in oil until soft, add remaining ingredients, and then substitute this for the India Relish.
Lemon Dill Sauce: This is another sauce that seems to be scarce on the shelves as of late. We often use this as a marinade, such as in Lemon Dill Chicken Skewers on page 129 of the cookbook. Trader Joe's has just come out with a new Parmesan Shiitake Mushroom Sauce (in a very similar jar, similar acidity) that we might like even better with chicken! Try it instead!
India Relish: Looks like this one has been discontinued. If you miss it and are looking for a straight substitute, check out your local Indian or Asian grocer. Look for "Tomato Relish" or "Tomato Chutney" and you'll find something similar.
We use it in our cookbook on page 36 for the "Sweet Potato Samosas" recipe. In this recipe, you can just make the following substitution with ingredients you may already have in your kitchen:
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup diced canned tomato, drained
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp curry powder (or use 1 tsp yellow or brown mustard seed plus 1 tsp coriander seed plus 1/2 tsp cumin)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
Saute the onions in oil until soft, add remaining ingredients, and then substitute this for the India Relish.
Lemon Dill Sauce: This is another sauce that seems to be scarce on the shelves as of late. We often use this as a marinade, such as in Lemon Dill Chicken Skewers on page 129 of the cookbook. Trader Joe's has just come out with a new Parmesan Shiitake Mushroom Sauce (in a very similar jar, similar acidity) that we might like even better with chicken! Try it instead!
I'm so sad when they discontinue my favorites! I loved the Sweet and Sour Sauce for stir fries, which went the way of the India Relish. Any ideas for good substitutions? I miss it!!
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Have you tried General Tsao Stir Fry Sauce? Friends turned me onto this, claiming it's their absolute favorite stir fry sauce. We use it in the Spicy Szechuan Tofu recipe on page 112 of our cookbook, if you'd like to see other ways to use it.
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No, I'll check General Tso out! Thx!
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Another substitute to try is the Sweet Chili Sauce!
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After carefully planning my book club menu for tomorrow using your cookbook, I was terribly disappointed when I showed up today at my TJ's in Indpls and learned they did not have the fire-roasted papaya-mango salsa (for the spicy tropical shrimp boats) OR the marble or apricot tea loaf (for the pound cake with berries and cream). I also had to make another stop to find sesame melba rounds (for the salmon crostinis), and now I have to come up with another appetizer and dessert. Please post recommended substitutions for the shrimp boats and dessert, if available. Thank you.
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The good news is that those items haven't been discontinued. However, we know how frustrating it can be when popular items are out of stock.
For the shrimp boats, you can use the Cilantro Dressing substitution that is suggested in the book. For the dessert, any pound cake loaf (even from another store!) will do just fine.
One appetizer suggestion I would have that is quite easy is the Baked Apricot Brie: you will need a wedge of Brie, some apricot jam (raspberry is also good), and almond slivers. It's always really popular at our parties.
One other tip is this: My store captain once suggested to me that if there's something I really know I need, to call and they'll set it aside for me in case they go out of stock later that day (which is common at our store).
Good luck--I hope that your menu goes fabulously!
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Thanks for your quick reply and alternative suggestions. The products were not simply out of stock; I was told they are not carried by the Midwest stores. I have run into this problem a lot. The good news is that I'm headed to Pasadena next week, so I will check there and ship non-perishable items back if I find them. It will be too late for book club, but I'm never long between parties.
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Thanks so much for letting us know! We have a few testers in the east and one in Ohio, so we'll keep a closer eye on availability.
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A quick post-book-club report: The smokin' salmon crostinis (I used fresh dill) and curried chicken pitas were HUGE hits! The flavor of the herb goat cheese log was a winner, but I had trouble getting the nuts, berries and herbs to stick to the cheese log. (Any tips here?) I cheated at the last minute and bought two frozen peppermint Joe Joe's cheesecakes instead of making something sweet. They may not have been BETTER than the desserts in your cookbook, but they were certainly EASIER when I got into a time crunch! Thanks for your terrific cookbook, and sorry if my earlier message sounded crabby - I had just really hoped to find that papaya mango salsa for the shrimp boats. All went well tonight, however, and I think I sold a dozen friends on your cookbook!
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So glad to hear the menu was a hit!
About the cheese log, I'm not shy about pressing really hard! You can also put the herb-nut mixture on top of wax paper and use a second piece of wax paper on top to hold the goat cheese and help press it down.
Some brands of goat cheese logs can be a little firmer than others... If so, you can either bring it to room temp before coating, chop the ingredients a little finer, or brush on just a little olive oil to help things stick.
And if you know any pepper lovers, another variation on this recipe is to use freshly ground peppercorns to coat the outside.
Thanks again for telling us about the party-it's fun to hear back on how recipes went over.
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Thanks for another quick and helpful reply - and for the goat cheese log tips. Count me now among your faithful admirers!
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Hi, Deana and Wona, and thanks for your wonderful cookbook. I just brought the roasted vegetables to a potluck, and they were a big hit (and SO easy...). I'm a very busy graduate student and your book has made me excited about cooking for the first time ever.
I was wondering, have you ever considered making a big list of discontinued ingredients? I think that your readers might find this very helpful. I know that I would. I'm imagining a webpage or PDF on your website that lists each recipe and whether any of the ingredients in that recipe have been discontinued or aren't available in certain regions. Being able to have a quick reference like that in one's hands while looking through the cookbook would be very valuable.
I just bought the book from Amazon three days ago, and like it enough that I've already tried out a number of recipes. But when I asked a customer service agent whether they had frozen green garbanzos, he said that he had never heard of them. Likewise, my oven is preheating right now to make your garlic and herb chicken roast. Unfortunately, they also didn't have "Poultry Blend fresh herbs [1-oz pkg]." Like many of your readers may be, I'm very much "culinarily challenged." I was able to figure out that I could substitute standard garbanzos for frozen green garbanzos, but that is about the extent of the sophistication that you can expect from someone like me
I can't imagine that I'm alone in this. The reviews of your book on Amazon are currently overwhelmingly positive, yet Amazon typically lists "most helpful critical review[s]" as well, and the one they showed me said, "The problem is that my TJs didn't have essential ingredients (e.g frozen green garbanzos for the green garbanzo salad; refrigerated Balsamic Vinaigrette for the Balsamic Green Bean dish.) So I would be all over the store gathering the other ingredients, then look for the missing ingredient only to find they didn't have it, so then I was all over the store replacing the ingredients I couldn't use after all." I'm sure that the problem will only get worse as time passes.
That's why I think that the central resource that has an entry for each recipe would be very helpful. One could consult it at home when choosing what to make, or at the store if a key ingredient happens to be out of stock.
I'm planning on posting my own review of the book on Amazon once I've tried more of the recipes, and will definitely mention any resources for discontinued items, because I think that people may find it helpful.
Thanks again for the great book,
Rob
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PS...
Come to think of it, a wiki would be a perfect way to gather different people's ideas for substitutions. Wikis are quite easy to set up and use, and I bet that your community of readers would enjoy sharing the workarounds that they've found. The nice thing about user generated content is that it can add a lot of value without costing much.
Just an idea...
The challenge, also, would be keeping it in a format that could be easily printed out.
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Hi Rob,
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughtful comments. Your comments are also very timely as well: we're getting ready to post a more formal list of the dozen or so discontinued (and seasonal!) items and their substitutions. It will be a tab on the main page.
Also, we will be launching a new website in October (currently being created) that will allow users to post recipes, comments, ratings, and their own substitutions (as well as creative variations). We really appreciate the suggestions you made concerning this need. The new website functionality will also include nutritional info, and will allow creating menus and generating a master shopping list to print and take to the store (which we're excited about).
The good news is that we find that >80% of TJ's inventory is very stable--they are products we've used for years and years. Of course that doesn't make it any less frustrating when an ingredient does get discontinued (as you experienced).
As to your specific substitutions, your instincts were great. And as far as amounts and measurements, you really can't go wrong eyeballing or playing with amounts when cooking (unless you're baking: a cake, souffle, etc. In those cases, you do want to measure!). In general, for fresh herbs vs. dried, use 2-3x more of the fresh herbs for an equivalent amount of dried. When roasting the chicken, you really can't go wrong with any amount. 1/4-1/2 cup chopped, loosely packed fresh herbs would be just fine. Use any combination of herbs such as rosemary, thyme, basil.
We hope you have continued success with the cookbook (and cooking in general!). When you mentioned grad school, I suddenly remembered certain nights in the lab eating only pretzels for dinner. Perhaps if I'd lived near a Trader Joe's in those days, things would have been different!
Thanks again for your feedback: very much appreciated.
Also, if you'd like to "see" one of the recipes step-by-step, we just did a spot a few days ago:
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/food_wine&id=6310590
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PS. I neglected to mention that if you wanted to use dried herbs with the chicken, just use about 1-2 Tbsp of dried herbs (rosemary and/or thyme and/or basil and/or sage.) At other stores, you might see blends such as "Herbes du Provence" which would be nice for a roasted chicken.
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Hi, the new website sounds terrific. I just checked out the substitutions page, as well, and it looks very helpful. I've printed out a copy, and will keep its with the book. I don't know if you've considered making the text in the substitutions page black to help people who want to print it out.
The chicken ended up coming out well. I ended up including an onion in the stuffing (by which I mean the stuff you put in the body cavity), which was listed as optional in the recipe. As a result, the cavity was quite full, and took a long time to heat up. I noticed that because I had read somewhere online that if you cook stuffing, it needs to reach a certain temperature to be safe. I didn't eat the stuffing, so I didn't know if that mattered. For example, when most of the meat was at the right temperature, the "stuffing" was only at, maybe, 130° (I don't remember the real number). That isn't high enough to kill salmonella, and I didn't know if I should be worried about that. I forget exactly what I did, but I never got sick, so all's well that ends well.
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Hi Rob,
Glad the chicken turned out well! Roasting a chicken once a week with a bunch of different veggies (carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, garlic cloves, etc) is a great way to make an easy meal and great leftovers!
Did you use a whole onion inside the cavity? If so, just cut it up next time so that it heats and cooks more efficiently. For flavor, you really need only a quarter or two of an onion in there along with the lemon, garlic, or herbs.
As a general rule, if you're roasting the chicken at 425F, then it's about 15 minutes cooking time per pound of chicken.
At 350F, then about 20 minutes cooking time per pound of chicken. Wona usually does the former and I do the latter. Both ways are good and acceptable (and many chefs argue over which method is better). If you stuff the chicken (meaning if you stuff it tightly with more than just some herbs and a lemon) then it will need longer to cook as you observed.
For doneness, you can use a meat thermometer stuck into the thickest part of the thigh for measuring temp (dark meat cooks the slowest), but the fail safe test for doneness is to cut into the thigh joint and meat and see if the juices run clear. Then you're done.
It's true what you said: The chicken may be completely cooked and at 170F, but if the chicken is very tightly stuffed, the center of the cavity may not have yet reached 165 degrees (where salmonella is killed). Often, when people plan on eating the stuffing, they will remove it from the cavity and cook it further by itself while the chicken is resting. That way you don't overcook or dry out the chicken while trying to get the stuffing to the right temperature. In our case, the stuffing was thrown out (just for flavoring) so I think all was well with what you did. I would just stuff it more loosely next time so there is no gray area.
The safest way is to cook chicken is to loosely stuff with herbs, lemon, etc for flavor. OR, if you want to have something like bread stuffing to eat (like at Thanksgiving dinner), the safest way (but less flavorful way) is to cook it separately in an ovensafe dish. Growing up, I remember it was common to stuff the cavity of a chicken or turkey (and I don't remember anyone ever using a thermometer) but now that people are more concerned with salmonella risks, stuffing is usually cooked separately.
Cheers,
Deana
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I'll bear that in mind as I hope to roast chicken fairly frequently. Thanks for all of your help!
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Best of luck! Roast chicken is a regular in our household - I make it almost every week. I also make my own chicken stock, which sounds like a lot of work, but it actually isn't and is sooo yummy. If I don't have time to make stock right away, I toss the bones in the freezer for future use. To make chicken stock, just throw the bones into a large pot of water with celery, onions (or leeks), carrots, and a couple of bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for an hour or two. Let the stock cool, discard veggies, and put in fridge so the grease solidifies. You can then scrape off the grease from the top, and there you have it -- healthy, flavorful chicken stock. I keep at least one container in the freezer at all times. A friend also taught me to freeze into ice cubes, so that you can take out as little or as much as you want at a time. In addition to soups, I use chicken stock to flavor vegetables -- the same method used to make Pan-Toasted Brussels Sprouts on page 195, works with any veggies. It's my standard way to make broccoli too. Adds great flavor, and my kids gobble up their veggies quite happily.
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I live in Ohio and Trader Joe's has discontinued the Thai Style Lime Rice Pilaf any good recipes I am down to my last package and can't imagine life without it!!
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Hi Sarah,
Here's another TJ fan who felt your exact sentiments. She came up with her own recipe for it:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Thai-Style-Lime-Pilaf-262608
I'm going to try it myself. Let me know if you like it!
Here's the text in case the link doesn't work:
"Oh, yum! My version of Trader Joe's. I was down to my last bag of TJ's Lime Pilaf and dreaded the long (2hr) drive for more. Decided to try to recreate, this is what I came up with. Hope you enjoy as much as I do! Cook times are approximate, you may need to adjust for your stove/cookware and elevation."
SERVES 4
Ingredients
* 1 cup jasmine rice
* 14 ounces light coconut milk (1 can)
* 1/4 cup water or chicken broth, plus
* 1 tablespoon water or chicken broth
* 1/2 lime, zest of
* 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed
* 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
* 1/4 teaspoon granulated onion
* 1/8 teaspoon sugar (I use Splenda)
* 1 teaspoon fresh basil, slivered
Directions
1. Combine all ingredints except basil in pot, stir over medium heat until reaches boil.
2. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes without lifting lid.
3. Remove lid, add basil and fluff with fork. Let sit, covered for 5 additional minutes.
4. If your rice seems sticky, a small squeeze of fresh lime juice stirred into rice will help.
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We were informed by our local TJ that they no longer carry the Mango Ginger Chutney. As we use it in a lot of different recipes, the news is quite devastating to us. Do you have any idea of a substitute ... we'd be grateful for any help.'
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Hi,
I just received the cookbook for Christmas and have already made lots of the recipes. However, I was disappointed that the following products have been discontinued: Mango Sauce, Swedish Style Pancake & Waffle Mix, and Chimichurri Sauce. The Cook-in-the-bag Lemon Pepper Chicken Breasts were unknown by the two Trader Joe's crewmembers I spoke with....what section are these usually in or maybe they have been discontinued too? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated! I am hoping to find substitutes! Thanks!!
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Hi Sheila,
Indeed there are a few products that have been discontinued, as is bound to happen eventually with Trader Joe's. Some ingredients are seasonal, which means that they'll disappear and reappear during certain times of the year.
Fortunately, we find that most of their TJ-branded products seem to be pretty stable and most of our recipes are ones we've made for years.
For a list of ingredient substitutions for discontinued products, please check out this list on our website:
http://cookingwithtraderjoes.com/Substitutions.html
If you see any ingredient substitutions that you need help with, send us an email and we'll brainstorm a suggestion for you.
For the Lemon Pepper Chicken Breasts, you can coat the breasts with olive oil and grind some Lemon Pepper (found in the spices in a grinder) on the breasts.
You can also use olive oil, black pepper, and lemon zest to season them.
Cheers,
Deana
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Deana,
Thanks!!! That link is a HUGE help! I'm sorry I didn't find that before I posted. I'm off to make my shopping list!
Thanks again,
Sheila
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Love the rice sticks for my gluten free girl. The General Tsao sauce is fabulous, sans the food coloring, so do try it!
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Without a doubt the best seasoning blend on the market (until TJ's discontinued it!) is there Pasta Seasoning Sauce. It is fabulous on chicken and fish, especially salmon. Please go to your local TJ's and request they bring it back. It should be named All-purpose Blend. It's great on just about everything (including pasta).
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Hello,
I was a TJ's in Goleta, CA buying ingredients for some of your recipes today including one for Seafood Paella. The 9 oz. boxed Spanish Rice has been discontinued, according to a manager. Thought you might like to know!
Margie
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Thanks for letting us know, Margie. Yes, we also noticed its absence. Hopefully it will come back one day - it was a good one!
As a substitution, any Spanish Rice mix from another grocer will work well, such as the Casbah brand found at Whole Foods.
For other substitutions, check out
http://cookingwithtraderjoes.com/Substitutions.html
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Thanks Deanna. Next time I'll try Casbah, I like their products. I used Zatarain's Spanish Rice, (which I found at the 99cent only Store!) which required me to use a can of chopped tomatoes. It was well received by my family, but I found it bland. Weird, because their products are usually too salty.
In the next day or two I made your Asian Dumpling Soup with Thai Shrimp Gyoza. That was excellent. Looking forward to more experiments!
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Hi there!
I just want to encourage everyone that comes across a beloved discontinued Trader Joe's product to email them through there website about it. If there is enough interest they will sometimes bring a product back
From one TJ's lover, Lee
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One method of treating ulcerative colitis is to administer physiologically acceptable oxiding agents and tocopherol such that the former oxidizes the latter in the gut to yield the active substance. A human white 60-kilogram male, 34 years old,with a chronic history of ulcerative colitis for 8 years, was the test subject. He presented chronic bloody diarrhea, severe facial rash and scalp lesions, and intense cramps and arthritis. A therapeutic regime was undertaken consisting of ingesting650 mg of ferrous gluconate, and 1,000 IU of tocopherol three times a day with one third of the dose being taken with each meal. Within 2-3 days there was a progressive decrease in the severity of the symptoms, and by the end of one week there wassignificant remission of all symptoms
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I merely went to a tent revival and had the preacher heal me of ulcerative colitis and monobrow. Now I can slink through the aisles at Trader Joes and move my forehead unimpeded, and no need for adult diapers. Thanks, Trader Joe's!
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I don't know if I will ever forgive TJ's for discontinuing their Lemon/Artichoke pesto. I used to buy it 4 or 5 at a time and freeze them. After not seeing it the past few times I shopped, yesterday I inquired about it and was told it was discontinued. Great...keep the 3 green pestos, but get rid of the unique one.
Any suggestions?
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