Do they call it "labneh" because it's grown in a lab? There's quite a list of live active cultures there on the ingredients. My favorite is "streptococcus." But no worries. It's streptococcus thermophilus, which is a probiotic that's "generally recognized as safe," according to Gemini. Phew. I thought I was going to get a sore throat from eating this...
Despite our fondness for Mediterranean cuisine, neither Sonia nor I had ever tried labneh before, so we can't really speak to the authenticity of this particular offering. It's a thick dairy product popular in the food cultures of North Africa and the Middle East. It's not a far cry from Greek yogurt or sour cream in terms of taste and texture, and it's often mixed with olive oil and spices.
This particular specimen has sunflower and canola oils (boo) mixed in, along with a delightful blend of seasonings. In terms of overall flavor, Sonia and I taste the yogurt flavor the most, followed by roasted tomato, then dill and garlic. There are faint whispers of vinegar and mint, as well. It's tangy, creamy, and herbaceous—and it mixes well with pretty much any Middle Eastern dish. Falafel, chicken shawarma, kebabs, fish, or pita and hummus would all work remarkably well with Trader Joe's Labneh.
I was perfectly fine snacking on this labneh with little pita bites or crackers, although it shines even more when served as a topping for one of the entrees named above. It's surprisingly thick. Both dippable and spreadable, it's a versatile condiment that we're eager to experiment with. I'm anxious to try other versions from local Mediterranean restaurants.
$3.49 for the 8.5 oz tub, found in the refrigerated section. Would possibly buy again. Eight out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Roasted Tomato Labneh Dip. Seven out of ten stars from Sonia.
I didn't know if this would work when I first heard about it: strawberry snickerdoodle cookies. They have the same dimensions, ingredients, and texture of original snickerdoodles for the most part except they substitute the cinnamon elements with strawberries.
Although looking at the ingredients list right now, I notice that the fruit pieces are actually both apple and strawberry puree mixed with sugar and pectin and a few other things. There's really no discernible apple flavor. It all just tastes like strawberry flavored sugar cookie. The strawberry flavor comes through for sure, but it's not overwhelming. I think they nailed the balance of berry to baked good brilliance.
The texture of these cookies is superb. They're some of the softest cookies we've tried from TJ's in quite a while. They're crumbly and slightly fluffy, but they're rigid enough to make the perfect "bread" for an ice cream sandwich.
We tried strawdoodleberry sandwich cookies with both vanilla and strawberry ice creams. I preferred vanilla, for sure. Strawberry ice cream yielded a decent dessert, but it was a bit of strawberry overload. I'm sure any flavor of ice cream would work just fine.
There are two individually wrapped cellophane packages within the box. Each one contains three cookies. The product did get markedly more stiff and stale after being opened for a couple days. Since it's just the two of us, we usually can't finish products like this in a single day. The flavor was still just fine, but the soft cookies became a bit more crispity crunchity.
$5.49 found with the baked goods. Would buy again. Sonia and I will throw out eight and a half out of ten stars for Trader Joe's Strawberry Doodle Cookies.
I'm no cheese expert, but we've had good luck with Trader Joe's selections in the past. This is at least the fourth toscano cheese we've seen from TJ's, in fact. We enjoyed the cinnamon dusted variety in particular.
This one is sill nutty, creamy, and faintly sweet, but now we've got the savory flavors of Trader Joe's Chili Onion Crunch. It adds a little heat for sure, but it's not nearly as spicy as I'd want it to be. Just like the cinnamon toscano, this one is far more flavorful around the rind. The center of the wedge is pretty much just plain toscano, which is delicious in its own right, of course.
The cheese is semi-firm, texture-wise. It's crumbly, compact, and pleasant to chew. It softens even more after it's been out of the fridge for a while.
The cheese is great by itself or it's nice when served with crackers. Sonia put some on her morning eggs, and it tasted great. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm thinking grilled cheese served with some kind of peppery, spicy soup..?
It's $11.99 per pound in the cheese area. Our wedge was just under half a pound. Would buy again. Eight out of ten stars from both Sonia and me on Trader Joe's Crunchy Chili Onion Toscano Cheese.
