Here's yet another non-traditional pesto from Trader Joe's. And it's yet another winner in our book. We've got a red pepper base that provides a nice pasty texture and bell pepper flavor. Then we've got pecorino romano cheese for some rich tang and earthiness. Throw almonds and a winning spice blend into the mix and you're looking at a very unique and tasty spread/sauce.
Sonia made some fettuccine pasta with beef meatballs and cheese—see video below. It was scrump-dilly. Any drawbacks? This product isn't as thin as marinara sauce, so it doesn't always coat as well. It's more of a chunky paste rather than a liquid. I wish it had just a bit of heat or spice.
Also, Sonia and I basically polished off the whole jar in a single sitting. They should sell a larger container, although we must admit this small one (9.8 oz) is a great sample size if you just want to taste and experiment with the product before committing to anything larger.
As well as it worked as a pasta sauce, I think I appreciated it even more as a spread on sourdough toast. I could taste all the ingredients quite well. The onion, garlic, basil, and paprika worked great with any savory, salty food. Any veggie and meat combo would be worth trying this with.
$3.99 for the jar. Product of Italy. Organic. Would buy again. Sonia and I will both go with eight and a half out of ten stars on Trader Joe's Organic Roasted Red Pepper and Almond Pesto Sauce.
So apparently, an earlier iteration of this product was the subject matter of a lawsuit in which Trader Joe's was accused of misleading consumers by stating that their product was "100% manuka honey" when in fact only 60% of the pollen used in making the honey came from the manuka plant.
From what I understand, the court ruling favored Trader Joe's and did not penalize them, but it certainly looks like they took steps to prevent any further litigation by relabeling the honey as "multi-floral" instead of simply "100% manuka." Also, the ingredients list now reads just "honey" whereas the prior product listed "manuka honey" as the sole ingredient.
I find it hilarious that traderjoes.com states that their New Zealand honey is similar to manuka honey but tastes "less medicinal." LOL. They're not holding a grudge or anything.
Anyway, you'll pay upwards of thirty bucks for most authentic manuka honey, but this one pound jar will only run you $3.99 at Trader Joe's. We called around and it's not available at every location but some stores still have it in stock as of the time of writing this review.
Speaking of a review, you're probably wondering how this product tastes. It's delicious. It has the typical sweetness of any other honey, but there are floral notes, herbal notes, and I'd swear there's something nearly fruity in the flavor profile—like an essence of apricot or something like that. Very interesting.
And even more unique than the flavor is the texture. The honey is "creamed." Apparently that just means that it's been whipped into a fluffy consistency. It's like there are bunches of teeny tiny honey crystals mixed into a normal liquid honey. I honestly like it better than the syrupy texture of run-of-the-mill honey.
As mentioned above, this product will run you four bucks. It is indeed a product of New Zealand. We'd buy it again. Nine out of ten stars from both Sonia and me for Trader Joe's Creamed Multi-Floral New Zealand Honey.
