#Basic Fall Flavors Taste Test

Scientifically, it's only been Fall for a few weeks. Thermometer-ly in North Carolina, we've had about three real days of fall (under 75 degrees, in my book). 

But emotionally, for all the #basics, fall started the day kids went back to school in August. Starbucks' cult of devotees were able to order pumpkin spice lattes and find commercial PSL products (like creamer and k-cups) on store shelves August 27 this year; and speculation about the release date began before we'd finished cleaning up our red,white, and blue, Fourth of July decor. 

I do not worship at the PSL altar but I do long for cool days, extra crunchy leaves, and all the other cliches around fall - infinity scarves, shabby-chic flannel with riding boots, slouch beanies, and general Hocus Pocus.

This will of course sound incredibly hipster of me, but I loved fall flavors before they were cool - and still do. We're right in the middle of apple country, so September - November we're overloaded with fresh, delicious apples and all the recipes that come along. Plus, in the South, we love our winter vegetables; bring on the sweet potato pie. 

Unlike hipsters who (constantly) roll their eyes at trends, I'm on board with the glut of products hitting shelves in the fall (or fall-adjacent) months. Some of it is absurd, bizarre and totally unnecessary, but sometimes you can find a gem. We turned this festive trial and error into a fun excuse for a seasonal thematic dinner and taste test with friends. 

K and I went to high school together and have reconnected since she and her husband joined our church. We've always had quite a bit in common, and it's become more pronounced that we're both broke state employees married to total nerds. We both make regular treks to Asheville for bargain hunting at Aldi and Trader Joe's. Currently, both stores are OVERLOADED with all things fall. Trader Joe's monthly ad, Fearless Flyer, is devoted to "Pumpkin Season" and Aldi's weekly specials are full of apple, cinnamon, pumpkin, caramel and maple flavors. 

October 2019 "Fearless Flyer" cover

I did some highly unscientific research with my Facebook community to gauge folks' fall flavor passions and was rather surprised by the results. In the (pumpkin?) pie chart below, my crowd prefers Cinnamon over everything else. No one voted for pumpkin spice and I was the only savory pumpkin hold-out. 

Our taste test dabbled in some of these flavor categories, but I promise, if your favorite was underrepresented there are at least five options at any grocery store right now! 

On to our picks! 

• Trader Joe's Autumnal Harvest Pasta Sauce, $3.49/jar - I love pasta and I really enjoy incorporating savory pumpkin and squash into our dinners. I've served pumpkin alfredo with tortellini for years, but this is so much easier. It's thick, creamy and full of robust flavors. I think of fall dishes as being really warm, rounded flavors, but this was surprisingly bright. We served it with large rigatoni noodles (I think that would be better than long, thin pasta) and a sprinkle of Parmesan. It'd be great with grilled chicken (or rotisserie chicken #MomHack) and roasted veggies. 

• Baby spinach salad tossed with Aldi Apple Vinaigrette - K brought a delicious salad of baby spinach and greens, with pecans, dried cranberries and hunks of goat cheese. She topped it with an Aldi dressing. (Note: Aldi's salad dressings are SO affordable; under $1.50, I believe. But they also have a more refined, glass bottle line, too.) This dressing was tangy - almost sharp - and vibrant, with just the right amount of sweetness from the apples. It pairs greatly with creamy cheese and nuts

• Trader Joe's Pumpkin Biscotti, $3.99/box - I have a love/hate relationship with biscotti. By nature, it's freaking crunchy and my teeny tiny teeth struggle. The flavor in these is delicious; they weren't overpoweringly pumpkin, spicy or sweet. However, it was like eating gravel - which is the way you want your biscotti. For nibbling - no, thanks. With a cup of coffee, in my favorite rocker, in complete empty house quiet - OH YEAH. 

• Trader Joe's Pumpkin Joe Joe's, $2.49/box - If you've never had a Joe Joe, it's basically an Oreo, but incredible quality and made with the most vibrant flavors derived from real ingredients. For example, their Neopolitan Joe Joe's scream STRAWBERRY because the creme is filled with freeze dried strawberry pieces (J would highly recommend). These Joe Joe's are just as saturated with pumpkin-y, spice-y flavor. And...it's a lot. The cookie is thick and just the right texture, but so flavorful. The creme is smooth and sweet and in perfect ratio to cookie, but so flavorful. Like the biscotti, I think I'll like them under specific conditions. Dunking one or two in a glass of milk would be divine. Eating a sleeve on their own (as one is wont to do with Oreos) is not for me. 

• Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cream Cheese - First of all, I love cream cheese. I could eat plain cream cheese right from the package. I ate at least one bagel slathered in cream cheese every day of my senior year of college (RIP 19 year-old metabolism). This, I did not love. It was cloyingly sweet; like honey nut cream cheese sweetness (which I enjoy) x 10. And we served it on plain mini bagels, so they weren't overdone with a pumpkin bread, either. Also, it's the most disturbing camel color... Did I mindlessly eat 2 mini bagels worth? Yes. Would I buy it again? Hard pass. 

• Aldi Bake Shop Pumpkin Cake Roll,  approx. $3.99 - I refuse to make jelly roll cakes. I made one once as a kid and it tore all to pieces; I let J make these desserts instead or better yet, I buy one for less than $5! I enjoyed this! It was simple, but really elegant-looking and tasted great. The cake was dense, but good texture; and the cream cheese icing made it just sweet enough. I'd buy this again. And I'm willing to bet it would freeze beautifully, too (AKA buy a zillion of these, freeze them and save yourself some time at Thanksgiving). 

• Aldi Apple Cinnamon Goat Cheese, $2.49/roll - You know how I said I love cream cheese? I also love goat cheese. I love the tangy smoothness that's easy to spread on a baguette or crumble in a salad. This was no different. The natural sour and saltiness of the goat cheese was perfectly complemented by a thin layer of diced apples and spiced sauce. Each bite gave a little apple crunch and perfect blend of salty and sweet. I served it with some lightly toasted baguette and Town House Crackers. This would be a perfect addition to a charceuterie platter or cheese board; I'd like to try it with some more inventive crackers or add-ons. Aldi also has a salted caramel version too. 

• Trader Joe's Baked Blood Orange Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cheese, $10.99/lb (this block was around $4) - TJ employee's are encouraged (or required?) to be incredibly knowledgeable about the inventory of their stores. They pride themselves on how well the know about the items, where they're located (they actually have to take you to them, not give you directions), how to prepare them etc. So I was slightly terrified when our cashier said "Ooh, what's this?" as he rang up this cheese. He looked at the label, "Baked, blood orange...chocolate chip...ricotta..? Hm.. Well.. Good luck on that." I paid for it, thinking all the while, "This is going to be awful." Boy, was I wrong. This was delicious. I've never had baked ricotta (other than a lasagna) so I didn't know what to expect. My foray into chocolate cheese last year was a NIGHTMARE. And orange flavorings can go wrong so quickly. This cheese was super smooth but light as air. It was fluffy and the flavor was so bright. It was basically a cheese version of the inside of a Three Musketeer's bar and tasted just like those chocolate oranges you get in your Christmas stocking and have to bang on a table. SO GOOD.  

(P.S. Highly recommend this podcast in general, but this episode in particular discusses how dedicated TJ employees are to their job, craft, and products!)

My winner from this was the Autumnal Harvest Pasta Sauce. I will buy this again and I'm very eager to try some of their similar products - like Autumnal Harvest Soup (or I may just add a can of coconut milk to their pasta sauce..) and Pumpkin Bisque. 

The Baked Blood Orange Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cheese gets honorable mention, too. It would be the MVP, but it doesn't quite fit our cliche flavor profile. I would include this on any fall/winter cheese tray; it'd be especially beautiful at Christmastime.

Some items from TJ and Aldi which weren't featured in our taste test, but that I'm so curious about and would love to hear your feedback on, include:

• TJ Spiced Pumpkin Madelines
• TJ Riced Cauliflower & Butternut Squash Risotto
• TJ Maple Ginger Cookie Swirl Ice cream
• TJ Apple Cider Jam or Cinnamon Bun Spread
• TJ Pumpkin Spice Biocellulose Sheet Masks - I may not be a PSL freak, but I'm a total sucker for face masks. Told you I had #basic tendencies. 
• Aldi Pumpkin Brioche

This was a fun, easy, and relatively budget-friendly way to entertain and would be a blast with a bigger crowd and on any theme. It can be an engaging riff on a classic potluck: everyone bring a new snack, Christmas food, exotic fruit etc. you want to try and share with the group. Add cocktails, board games, and lots of laughs.