Surprise, surprise! Trader Joe’s has a new item. Who could’ve seen it coming? Not me, I tell ya. This unexpected, brand spankin’ new product is called “Crunchy Jalapeño Lime and Onion.” And if you’re confused about what the heck it is, don’t worry, it’s not just you!
As far as I can tell, this product is like if chili crisp, chimichurri, and salsa had a lovechild. I looked at the ingredients listed on the TJ’s website and that cleared it up… only slightly. Described as a “true try-it-on-everything topping,” the product contains olive oil, dried onions, dried garlic, dried jalapeño, dried green bell pepper, sea salt, cilantro flakes, citric acid, natural flavor, and lime oil. So it is essentially a crunchy, salty, spicy, limey, garlic and onion-y, cilantro-y infused olive oil? Cool!
I still kind of don’t get it, but one Instagram commenter said that it was really good with salmon, which I could totally see. Another commenter said that it would be good mixed with cream cheese to make a dip, which sounds dank as hell from where I’m sitting. That got my gears turning. I bet this stuff would be good drizzled over pasta, or a summer salad, or avo toast, or heck, on those Turkish yogurt eggs (called Çilbir) that were super big on TikTok earlier this year.
I still can’t classify this thing, and maybe that’s okay. Maybe not everything belongs in a category! I mean, no one knows for sure if a hot dog is a sandwich or not, but that doesn’t make hot dogs taste any less good. I can see how this seasoned oil could (quite literally) spice up a myriad of different dishes and maybe that value added is enough. Point is, Trader Joe’s can make whatever crunchy, spicy, olive oil-based whatever-the-heck-it-is they want, and I’ll still drive all the way there and buy it because Mr. Trader Joe made it and I want to be a supportive girlfriend… er, shopper. What? What did I say? Anyway, off to TJ’s to try this stuff out!
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!