I'm the first one to admit Trader Joe's isn't always the best place to buy fresh produce. But Sonia was quick to point out that we've never even tried any of their pre-cut fruit options. Hey, there's a first time for everything, so we picked up a batch of Trader Joe's Fresh Cut Watermelon Chunks.
Hot take: this batch of watermelon was pretty good. At $3.99 for a full pound of pre-cut, fully de-rinded seedless watermelon, it was a great value. They were nice uniform cubes, none too big, none too small—perfectly bite-sized.
As is the case with most watermelons, certain pieces were a darker shade of red than the others. There was a sliding scale going from pale pink or almost white to that deep rich red that you want to find. I'd seek out the reddest piece, stab it with my fork, and pop it in my mouth. So good. There's nothing like cold watermelon on a hot day.
The paler pieces were, unfortunately, far less sweet and far less scrumptious than their deep red counterparts. They weren't awful—far from inedible. They were simply, predictably, not as good. Just a tad bland.
I'm pretty picky when it comes to fresh fruit in general, but especially with watermelon. I'd say about 2/3 of the plastic tub was up to my standards. I ate a few of the paler specimens just to convince myself that they weren't really up to snuff, and the beautiful wifey took one for the team and finished them off after dressing them up a bit with lime juice and Trader Joe's Chile Lime Seasoning.
All things considered, I think we'd buy this product again. It was at least as good as other batches of pre-cut watermelon I've had from other grocery stores. Product of the USA. Let's go with seven and a half from me for Trader Joe's Fresh Cut Watermelon Chunks. Sonia will go with eight out of ten.
Pork purists may be appalled by this peculiar prosciutto product. Sonia and I were pleasantly pleased. We don't perpetually partake of pig.
Trader Joe's Uncured Beef Bresaola is the first bresaola I've ever had. It's very similar to traditional prosciutto in some ways, but it's made with very thinly-sliced beef instead of ham. It's dry aged, salted, and seasoned, and it gets dehydrated during the preservation process. The result is a very unique cut of meat. It's delicate like prosciutto, salty, and meaty.
The beautiful wifey and I have tried our hands at fancy charcuterie boards in the past, but this time we just went lowbrow. We treated these sumptuous slices of beef like common cold cuts and opted for Italian subs. We grabbed some basic hoagie rolls and stuffed them with this bresaola, Trader Joe's Garlic & Basil Monterey Jack Cheese Slices (review upcoming) some iceberg lettuce, as well as some Applegate Turkey Pepperoni. With just a touch of mustard and mayo, we were in business. They made very tasty little subs. I think they might have been even better if we'd drizzled them with red wine vinaigrette instead of traditional condiments. Oh well. There's always next time.
This bresaola is mostly lean, but there are swaths of fat running through the slices. Most bites are slightly firm and a tad chewy, not unlike the mouthfeel of a slice of pepperoni. It's not too far from the texture of regular prosciutto, but there's less fat overall and less melt-in-your-mouth softness.
It's saltier and more peppery than, say, a typical slice of roast beef. It still has the same red meat flavor, but the super thin slices make it feel lighter somehow. You can taste hints of the celery powder, cherry powder, nutmeg, and clove used in the curing process, but they're extremely subtle.
$6.99 is a little steep for about 15 thin slices of meat, but it's a very unique product. We might buy it again for a special occasion. Sonia was a little more enthusiastic than I was, so she'll spring for eight and a half stars. I'll go with seven and a half on Trader Joe's Sliced Bresaola Uncured Beef Prosciutto.
