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Monday, January 10, 2022

Trader Joe's Baked Lemon Ricotta Cheese

That cheese section at TJ's can be dangerous. There are so many interesting choices, it would be very much within the realm of possibility to blow your entire grocery budget before even getting out of the cheese department. I mean, good cheese isn't exactly cheap, and it's getting even pricier these days. I generally just steer clear altogether. That's why I have ordained the lovely Sonia with the title: Resident Fromager de Chateau Rodgers.

Apparently this item has been around for a number of years. I wasn't aware. Shows how much time I spend in Trader Joe's cheese area. I probably would have picked it up sooner since I'm generally more of a lemonophile than the wifey...although fruit-flavored cheeses aren't necessarily something I'd gravitate towards. What this is: a mild cheese with a modest amount of lemon flavor. What it isn't: a stand-alone dessert food.

The texture is almost spongy, yet creamy. It's nice and soft, supple, and not very dense. The rind is, of course, significantly darker and firmer than the inner portions of the wedge. The picture included might have an inordinate amount of rind represented (the brown parts) but at least you get an idea of what the cheese itself looks like.

I could see this working well in baking applications. You could easily create some kind of lemon pastry by baking this stuff into something bready and topping with lemon curd or some other type of citrusy icing.

Surprisingly, Sonia liked this cheese more than I did. She was fine snacking on it plain. We both had some on crackers. It worked okay with any type of neutrally-flavored crackers like water crackers and butter crackers. I think it would have clashed with anything with seeds or garlicky flavors or anything like that.

Next time, we'll have to get more adventurous in the kitchen and see if we can whip up something lemontastic despite our lack of mad baking skills. Four stars from Sonia. Three and a half from me.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

6 comments:

  1. You know how I eat this? With a fork. It's basically cheesecake except good.

    Unfortunately neither of my TJ's seemed to carry it this year :(

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  2. Their cheeses have been hit or miss for me. I have encountered a higher probability of moldiness. But occasionally I take a chance. This one has been on my list for a while. I was thinking of it as a standalone dessert item, so I'll prepare myself for disappointment there. Although the other commenter gives me hope. I saw it a long time ago, but they haven't seemed to carry it since.

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  3. I guess I am in the minority on the "eat it by itself" thing...

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  4. The natural grocery deli by my house used to sell a 'no sugar added' version. Tasted sublime. Unfortunately they now sell the one with added sugar.

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  5. Put it on an English muffin or toast, and top with jam. You're welcome.

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  6. Try a graham cracker next time.

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