The pros: Trader Joe's Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam is a good attempt at Onion Confit. However, it's called a jam for a reason and there is a lot of sugar and pectin holding this product together.
The cons: Very sweet. First ingredient is sugar. Not as savory as I would have hoped for.
The verdict: For $2.99, I was hoping for a jar of mostly caramelized garlic & onions. What I actually got was a jam with some garlic and onions in it. I would have been willing to spend more for less sugar in this product because I believe it has potential. Caramelizing onions is time consuming. Time is money and the cost would have to be passed along to the consumer. That being said, they could have added some salt to this to temper the the sugary elements here. While it says savory, sugar, caramelized onions, and balsamic vinegar add to the sweetness here.
Eating this on it's own is like eating your favorite jam with only subtle savory elements. When added to crackers and cheese (I chose Parmesan for this experiment) it eased some of the sweetness, but not enough. I added some to a flatbread and put it in the oven. The experiment can be best summed up by my husband's words: "Don't ever make that again." I have to admit he's right (for once). I haven't tried this on a burger, but given the sweetness level here I'm not sure I would get a result I'd be happy with. If you've tried using this, let me know in the comments section.
Here is the visual rundown of what you can if you purchase this item:
The jar:
The nutritional information:
The ingredients:
Out of the package you get:
Would I buy this again? It may or may not still even be available. Trader Joe's Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam was so very sweet. What was missing was some salt to make this more savory. I think it had good potential but due to costs it became loaded up with too many sweets here. I think if they could put together a really good savory jam of onions and garlic I would adore it. And yes, I'm willing to pay more if they can improve the quality here. If anyone found some good uses for this, I'd be happy to hear about it and please comment below.
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Very very good on roasted vegetables
Hey Joyce! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.
I’ve put it on toast with sharp cheddar cheese which is delectable, Also on an egg sandwich, delish. The Trader Joe’s in my area hasn’t carried it for a while now. 😩
Hey Kelli! I haven't seen this or the bacon jam in a very long time. You can always reach out to Trader Joe's and let them know you miss this product and would love to see it back on shelves.