# Trader Joe's, where is your uncrystallized candied ginger??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368 "2011-03-20T17:18:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/1 "2011-03-20T17:18:43Z")
Come on, Joe, you’re letting me down. This stuff is one of the only things that makes one of my fam members feel better. It is medicinal for him. Yet you hardly ever have it in stock. I’ve been Googling for it and it is unbelievably difficult to find. I could try to make it but it would be easier to buy it by the bag. My two local TJ’s don’t carry it currently. Anybody else here spot it in their store? ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/2 "2011-03-20T17:41:15Z")
What’s the difference between crystallized and candied ginger? I’d always thought they were synonymous. ---
**Author:** ![Parenchyma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/3 "2011-03-20T18:04:12Z")
Chowhound has a dedicated section on chain stores and restaurants, with an ongoing Trader Joe’s thread. There’s a mention of the ginger about halfway through this, a month ago: [http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/756766](http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/756766) They discuss specific products and specific stores. Note that they have terrible software and searching is tedious. It might be easiest to register and post about your local store. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/4 "2011-03-20T18:08:43Z")
This is a perennial problem with Trader Joe’s. They get you hooked on something that no one else carries, and then it disappears. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/5 "2011-03-20T18:13:59Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > This is a perennial problem with Trader Joe’s. They get you hooked on something that no one else carries, and then it disappears. I still miss the frozen escargots-in-the-shells that they had back in the '80s. God, those were good! And their merguez sausages, and frozen ducks. More recently: Cocoa Almonds. (I don’t care as much for the ‘black’ ones they replace them with.) So what _is_ the difference, about which **GilaB** asked? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/6 "2011-03-20T18:39:10Z")
Why don’t you ask to talk to the manager at your local TJ’s and find out what the deal is? It’s my experience that the employees there are unfailingly pleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/7 "2011-03-20T18:45:20Z")
From what I have been told - Trader Joe’s model is to always be eliminating their bottom 10% sales performers. I can only speculate that this is a problem with items that would not be expected to be big sellers in the first place. Whereas milk and eggs would always be sellers, escargot or candied ginger would not. And yes, I always experience the same syndrome - my favorite items disappear from the shelves It’s useless to talk to your store manager, because these decisions are made by the number crunchers somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/8 "2011-03-20T22:59:09Z")
Yeah, I’ve got people in several counties calling their TJs and the consensus seems to be that they are hoping to get them back in stock in mid-April but they cannot rely on promised due dates. Also, the supplier is in Thailand, so maybe that’s an issue? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/9 "2011-03-20T23:00:10Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > What’s the difference between crystallized and candied ginger? I’d always thought they were synonymous. Crystallized = sugar syrup Uncrystallized = no sugar syrup but still sweet Both are called candied. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/10 "2011-03-20T23:49:33Z")
Try [The Ginger People](http://www.gingerpeople.com/). I love the ginger chews. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/11 "2011-03-22T15:28:14Z")
Unless your family member can’t have sugar, the [Penzey’s crystalized ginger](http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyscrystallizedginger.html) might be an acceptable substitute. It is cut small and somehow not as sugar coated as some others I’ve tried. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/12 "2011-03-22T15:36:40Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > It’s useless to talk to your store manager, because these decisions are made by the number crunchers somewhere else. But it can be useful to know if they’re discontinuing the product, or if they just happen to be out. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/13 "2011-03-22T17:18:19Z")
TJ’s model is funny in that way. As someone else said, reading all the quarterly TJ threads over at [chowhound.com](http://chowhound.com) is probably the fastest way to see if a particular item might have been discontinued or has been reformulated. It can be a PITA to scroll through the threads, given that there’s over 100 posts in every one, but there’s a lot of info there. I’ve never been a huge TJ’s shopper – it’s a hike for me on a regular basis – but the times I do stop in to get something I’ve always known/loved, chances are it isn’t being carried anymore ☹ ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/14 "2011-03-22T17:48:34Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > Unless your family member can’t have sugar, the [Penzey’s crystalized ginger](http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyscrystallizedginger.html) might be an acceptable substitute. It is cut small and somehow not as sugar coated as some others I’ve tried. Looks good! He can have some sugar, and that price looks a bit more reasonable than some. thanks ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/15 "2011-03-23T16:03:12Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > Looks good! He can have some sugar, and that price looks a bit more reasonable than some. > thanks I popped into the thread to suggest this very product. We have a jar at home and I’ll pop a tidbit from time to time when I’m rummaging through the spice rack for something else. Definitely not too sugary. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/16 "2011-03-23T21:33:36Z")
I stir it into my morning oatmeal. I found it when a relative of mine was using ginger and ginger products to settle her stomach. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/17 "2011-03-24T03:11:16Z")
Crystallized is crunchy. Uncrystallized is chewy. Big difference, especially when your tummy’s upset. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/18 "2011-03-24T22:36:59Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > Crystallized is crunchy. Uncrystallized is chewy. Big difference, especially when your tummy’s upset. I really prefer the chewy. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-where-is-your-uncrystallized-candied-ginger/575368/19 "2011-03-24T22:38:29Z")
Ginger is such a great medicine, isn’t it? I have used it for motion sickness as well as for a digestive aid. My brother’s conditions are multiple: AVM (arteriovenous malformation) and a bundle branch block (heart circulation/conduction disorder); both have caused pain and dizziness. He says he feels better if he is up and moving around, if he donates blood, or when he eats that chewy ginger.