I covered up the label of these almonds before serving
some to David and his little brother Ted (I say “little” but by that I mean he
is YOUNGER THAN DAVID, not that he is actually little) so that the taste would
be a surprise. Here is what they
thought:
Ted: (After eating
a nut or two) “I disqualify myself from participating in this review… I like a high quality nut, but dislike the
combination of a FLAVOR and an ALMOND. I
am an ALMOND PURIST. This particular almond
tastes of garlic and smoke… Maybe people
would eat it with a sweet tasting beer…
These are not to be eaten by the handful like peanuts. I can imagine a high end restaurant serving
them on a cheese plate with some other fancy nuts.”
 |
| Truffle Marcona Almonda - fancy |
David:
“GARLIC.” (Interesting, eh? In the blind taste test Ted thought the
truffle flavor was garlic, too.) “These are nice. I would be happy eating these (editor’s note
– there is little that David would NOT be happy eating – he loves to
eat…). (Then I told them that the taste
was actually TRUFFLE and showed them the bag).
Now that I know they are TRUFFLE they taste FANCY!! They do what they set out to do. You know what they are perfect for?? If you are giving a party, you put out little bowls of these in a few places. People nibble on them and think, "These are interesting. What are these??”.
 |
| David and his "little brother" in Cincinnati - his "little" brother is taller than he is |
And here is my opinion (obviously mine was not a blind
taste test): These are very Truffle-y
(that is not a proper word but it fits in this situation). I wouldn’t want to eat a whole bag of
them. I think they would pair well with
a red wine. They are weird. I would consider them a “novelty nut”. They are for chi-chi parties – a chi-chi nut. They MIGHT work chopped up really fine and
sprinkled on a salad.
 |
Marcona almonds are expensive. Truffles are expensive. Put them together and what do you get? EXPENSIVE
(But they would be more in other stores than they are at TJs, so if you want them, go to TJs for them) |
They are pricey - $6.49 for 6 oz. These are not BAD, but I would rather spend
that $6.49 on something else.
Price – $6.49
Rating – 3.5
Bought a bag of these last night. Uhg. They are awful. I ate about 7-8 pieces in total. They taste like the smell of very bad breath. I had to brush my teeth after I ate them and could still taste that "bad breath" taste. I then rinsed with mouth wash and that worked. I think it was the "truffle-y" flavor you refer to. More like rancid garlic. Would like to try the roasted & salted to see if they are any better.
ReplyDeleteI hope you take them back!! TJs well will happily give you your money back our exchange then for a more tasty nut!! Especially if you tell them that these tasted like BAD BREATH....
DeleteI'm with you. Been shopping TJs for almost 40 years, never hated anything like I hate these. Way too salty, for one thing. I'm surprised they're still selling them in Feb 2018.
Delete:) Agree Dave Dixon! It is funny how sometimes they TAKE AWAY a product I love, but KEEP what I consider to be "yucky" ones (like these almonds). Oh well, everyone has different taste buds, so people must like them!
DeleteI love the truffle marcona almonds! They are definitely earthy but I experience them as being redolent of the floor of a forest: that rich, dark dirt that somehow smells like new life and old tree bark. I love eating these with TJ's dark chocolate covered ginger as a nice evening snack, but I could probably mow through a bag at any time of day. My biggest issue is that I feel they're a tad oversalted, which impedes said mowing, but it's probably a blessing in disguise as then I'm forced to portion them out.
ReplyDeleteAhhh, maybe that is why they salted them so much - PORTION CONTROL :). Tricky, Trader Joe's, verrrry tricky.
DeleteI love love love these! Of course I love Truffles and salt, so they are delicious. Interestingly, my 19 month old granddaughter also really likes them. I was a bit surprised because they have such a strong robust flavor. I would drive an hour to the nearest Trader Joe's just for these!
ReplyDelete