David is the main mayo eater in our house. He loves mayo. Specifically, he loves HELLMANN’S. But he was willing to experiment and try TJ’s mayonnaise for the sake of this
blog. He is a good sport. After trying it, here is what he said: “TJ’s mayo is a GOOD mayonnaise; it is just
not to my taste. I grew up on Hellmann’s
mayo and I like the lemony, fresh ZING flavor in it. The TJ’s is not quite as lemony, not quite as
zingy of a flavor.”
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| David pre-taste test - a nervous man afraid he may have to give up his mayo.... |
I think that the TJ’s variety tastes a little sweeter
(which is ironic, in that it has no added sweeteners… Go figure…).
We did a blind side by side taste test.
I put a cloth over David’s eyes and had him taste blobs of each brand of
mayo. I even tried to TRICK him and give
him two samples of the TJ’s one in a row, but he KNEW. He could totally taste the difference.
This is a good example of name brand loyalty. David grew up on one brand, Hellmann’s. The taste of Hellmann’s is, to him, the taste
of MAYO. The Trader Joe’s brand just
doesn’t taste “right” to him.
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| It is not BAD, it really isn't!! It just doesn't taste like the mayo he grew up slatering on his sandwiches |
Before I began this year long project, I thought that
store brands (plain label brands) were “beneath” name brand goods. I felt that name products were superior. But this year of eating so many Trader Joe’s
branded products has opened my eyes to the fact that my preconceived notion about
plain labels was often WRONG. The vast
majority of TJ’s brand things we have tried have been equal to and often times BETTER than more expensive “fancy
brands”.
But every once in a while, there is a name brand product
that you just can’t bear to give up. The
store brand just tastes DIFFERENT. That
is not to say it is BAD, it just doesn’t taste like what you are used to. And in those instances, it is worth paying a
little bit more to have the taste you love.
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| Very good price |
Here is the price comparison between the TJ’s brand and
Hellmann’s:
Hellmann’s - $5.29 for 30 fl oz
Trader Joe’s - $3.99 for 32 fl oz
David did some math for me and figured out that the
Trader Joe’s brand is about .5 cents cheaper per ounce. That is a good cost savings if you like the
taste!
All that being said, we will go back to Hellmann’s. We will spend a bit more to keep my main
squeeze happy. Cuz if David ain’t happy,
ain’t nobody happy. J
Price – $3.99
Rating – 3.5
