As we're under quarantine, certain employers and industries have been deemed "essential" to continued operations and life-giving activities. Among these are medical personnel, public works employees, and humble grocers. Employees of stores like Meijer are hard at work, keeping their shelves stocked so persons like you and I can purchase necessary things for survival (like food).
I can only speak for myself, but being under quarantine means that I'm doing a lot more home
cooking. As a result of this, my consumption of seasonings and condiments has also increased. This week, Meijer had a deal on their brand of salsa. So, my wife and I bought 2 jars of hot salsa: The regular ol' Meijer brand, and the Meijer True Goodness organic brand. And, when I say "hot salsa," I mean that the jars are labelled as such. They have red caps, instead of yellow or green. While I personally am not a pepperhead, I tend my own garden in the spring and summer, and will often grow peppers as spicy as habaneros, which I'll pickle or make sauces out of in the fall. I realize that I'm nowhere near the heat tolerance of some folk, I don't actually find either of the Meijer salsas to be particularly spicy. Your mileage may vary, of course, given your own personal palate and your propensity to eat spicy food.
Today at lunch, armed with a platter of nachos, I got to do a true head-to-head comparison between the two; an idea that sprung to mind when I ran out of one type so I reached for the other jar to top off my plate. As I munched, and sipped my ice cold Pepsi cola, it hit me: This is the perfect low-effort, softball content for a burner blog entry!
Appearance wise, the True Goodness Thick And Chunky has more liquid in it; it pours nicer and is slightly easier to scoop. TG seems to have larger chunks of veggies and whatnot, which might explain the more fluid motion. Regular Meijer Thick And Chunky has heavy emphasis on the "thick" part. RM is dummy thicc, thicker than a bowl of oatmeal, and came out of the jar in a golf-ball sized lump instead of pouring nicely.
I took a bite of each, and immediately noticed a difference: The TG had a more tomato-forward
flavor. Flipping over the jar, TG has tomatoes in the first two ingredients on the list; RM only has one. A few more bites in, and the differences became more apparent. TG has slightly more complex, layered flavors; you taste the onion, the pepper, and the tomatoes separately. RM tastes more homogenous; reminding me of eating chips and salsa in fourth or fifth grade, before society became more culturally aware of the quality of foods we were consuming. As far as which one is hotter – that's a tough call. The layered flavor of True Goodness makes it easier to parse out the individual bits of jalapeno, but the Regular Meijer feels hotter on the tongue, even if just marginally so, probably due to the homogeneity of the sauce.
One interesting tidbit: The True Goodness had an expiration date nearly 3 months later than the Regular Meijer salsa. The ingredients were generally the same, the only difference was the order in which they appeared on the list. I can only presume that higher quantities of acidic ingredients, like tomatoes and vinegar, is what extended that expiration date on the organic salsa.
Comparing both Meijer salsas to national brands is tricky, as I don't have any Old El Paso, Newman's Own, or Pace Picante Sauce on hand. I will say this: I love the fresh, spritely flavor of Newman's Own; and the sensuous heat of Pace Picante Sauce. The reason I skipped the three aforementioned brands was because, as noted above, there was a sale on the Meijer brands this week.
To sum up this Meijer True Goodness Thick And Chunky Salsa review, I'll leave you with a few bulllet points:
-True Goodness Thick And Chunky has a more subtle, layered flavor
-Regular Meijer Thick And Chunky has a slightly spicier, more homogenous flavor
-True Goodness has a substantially longer shelf life, despite advertising no preservatives
-True Goodness pours from the jar nicer and neater
-Regular Meijer pours from the jar in a large lump
Is it worth 10¢ more for Meijer True Goodness Organic Thick & Chunky Hot Salsa, versus regular plain ol' Meijer Thick & Chunky Hot Salsa? By all means, please do not overextend your grocery budget. I understand things are tight for many folks, and I'm blessed to be in a situation where an extra expenditure of 10¢ won't make or break me. But, depending on usage, I'd definitely say it's worth the extra dime: The layered flavor of the TG, at least to me, would go better with lighter fare; chicken burritos, nachos, or street tacos. Regular Meijer, with the homogenous flavor, would stand up to heavier, bolder flavors, such as wet burritos, enchiladas, or maybe a quesadilla burger if you're feeling saucy.
I can only speak for myself, but being under quarantine means that I'm doing a lot more home
 |
| Meijer True Goodness "TG" Thick & Chunky Salsa |
Today at lunch, armed with a platter of nachos, I got to do a true head-to-head comparison between the two; an idea that sprung to mind when I ran out of one type so I reached for the other jar to top off my plate. As I munched, and sipped my ice cold Pepsi cola, it hit me: This is the perfect low-effort, softball content for a burner blog entry!
Appearance wise, the True Goodness Thick And Chunky has more liquid in it; it pours nicer and is slightly easier to scoop. TG seems to have larger chunks of veggies and whatnot, which might explain the more fluid motion. Regular Meijer Thick And Chunky has heavy emphasis on the "thick" part. RM is dummy thicc, thicker than a bowl of oatmeal, and came out of the jar in a golf-ball sized lump instead of pouring nicely.
I took a bite of each, and immediately noticed a difference: The TG had a more tomato-forward
 |
| Regular Meijer "RM" Thick & Chunky Salsa |
One interesting tidbit: The True Goodness had an expiration date nearly 3 months later than the Regular Meijer salsa. The ingredients were generally the same, the only difference was the order in which they appeared on the list. I can only presume that higher quantities of acidic ingredients, like tomatoes and vinegar, is what extended that expiration date on the organic salsa.
Comparing both Meijer salsas to national brands is tricky, as I don't have any Old El Paso, Newman's Own, or Pace Picante Sauce on hand. I will say this: I love the fresh, spritely flavor of Newman's Own; and the sensuous heat of Pace Picante Sauce. The reason I skipped the three aforementioned brands was because, as noted above, there was a sale on the Meijer brands this week.
To sum up this Meijer True Goodness Thick And Chunky Salsa review, I'll leave you with a few bulllet points:
-True Goodness Thick And Chunky has a more subtle, layered flavor
-Regular Meijer Thick And Chunky has a slightly spicier, more homogenous flavor
-True Goodness has a substantially longer shelf life, despite advertising no preservatives
-True Goodness pours from the jar nicer and neater
-Regular Meijer pours from the jar in a large lump
Is it worth 10¢ more for Meijer True Goodness Organic Thick & Chunky Hot Salsa, versus regular plain ol' Meijer Thick & Chunky Hot Salsa? By all means, please do not overextend your grocery budget. I understand things are tight for many folks, and I'm blessed to be in a situation where an extra expenditure of 10¢ won't make or break me. But, depending on usage, I'd definitely say it's worth the extra dime: The layered flavor of the TG, at least to me, would go better with lighter fare; chicken burritos, nachos, or street tacos. Regular Meijer, with the homogenous flavor, would stand up to heavier, bolder flavors, such as wet burritos, enchiladas, or maybe a quesadilla burger if you're feeling saucy.
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