Where to find Jaffa cakes?

[Goldielocks1225]

Does anyone know where I can find Jaffa cakes in the Chicago area? I just heard about these English cookies and would like to give them a try. Thank you!

[Querencia]

In case anyone is still looking for Jaffa cakes, the Aldi's that's on the first floor under Trader Joe's on Clybourn sells them in a box twice the size of others I've seen around town (ie twice as many cookies) and they are $1.99 instead of around $3.25. Raspberry or orange. Delicious. Made in Europe.

[bufordtwain]

Long time Jaffa cake eater here :)

The ones at Aldi's are pretty good but not quite the same as "real" jaffa cakes. They have a slightly different flavor. If dunking in a cup of tea you probably won't notice the difference.

The ones by French biscuit maker Lu are every bit as good as the real thing though, in my opinion. Lu also makes other biscuits (i.e. cookies) such as the "petit ecolier" which aren't bad in a pinch.

By the way, for biscuit/cookie fans, the following web site is a fun read:

http://www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com/

[rjka]

One thing I discovered last summer is that Jaffa Cakes is not a brand like Oreo. It's more like "chocolate chip", so you can find a lot of products labeled Jaffa but made by different companies.

[ferret]

While Jaffa cakes are now a descriptive term they were, in fact, just like Oreos at the start. The fact that the the style has been copied over the decades is not unlike the many Oreo look-alikes that have also sprouted up in the last half-century.

[rjka]

Right, except the Oreo look alikes are not allowed to call themselves Oreos, the way Jaffa Cakes can be used on the label regardless of who makes them.

[ferret]

I'm guessing it's more of a US/UK distinction.

[bufordtwain]

As ferret said, Jaffa Cakes is in fact a true brand. For a long time McVitie's Jaffa Cakes were the only Jaffa Cakes. Nowadays, happily, there are quite a few acceptable knock-offs, such as the ones by the French biscuit manufacturer, LU. The knock-offs often aren't called Jaffa Cakes, I guess because of trademark restrictions. For those interested in Jaffa cakes and UK biscuits you might want to check out the following biscuits:

1) McVitie's chocolate digestives (milk and/or plain chocolate)
2) McVitie's hobnobs (available with or without chocolate)

[rjka]

Not to beat a dead horse on this but.....

Yes, McVitie's is the original Jaffa Cake. Last summer I was at Fresh Farms in Niles and looking in the cookie aisle. They were selling Jaffa Cakes in an unusual package. I looked at the manufacturer and it was Burton's Foods, a different UK biscuit manufacturer. I was very surprised due to what I thought would be trademark infringement. I then spoke to a work colleague who is very knowledgable about the UK food business, especially biscuits, and he explained that Jaffa cakes are not trademarkable in the UK and anyone can use the brand.

So people like LU use Pims to keep their own brand identity.

[SGFoxe]

Aldi's carries raspberry & orange jaffa cakes (10 oz for $2) -- made in Germany -- they're good

[rjka]

Occurs to me that the Wedel Delicje cookies that you can find at a lot of Eastern European stores are also another form of Jaffa cake

[rjka]

I've seen them in Cost Plus World Markets, of which there are a few in Chicago and the suburbs.

Also, Pims, which are made by Lu in France and are in most of the big Jewels and other supermarkets in the "gourmet" cookie section, are a pretty close knock off of the Jaffa concept.

[ferret]

Pims ARE Jaffa cakes, they've just expanded their offerings beyond the traditional orange-flavored variety.

[rjka]

Sorry, you're wrong. Jaffa cakes are made by United Biscuits in the UK and do come in a couple of different flavors. Pims are made by Lu France, which used to be owned by Danone and is now owned by Kraft/Nabisco. The product and lineup of flavors is pretty similar but the manufacturers are totally different.

[ferret]

I understood the OP to be looking for the genre rather than the brand name (oreo vs Oreo). If he/she was looking for the brand name, then I withdraw my recommendation (although I do prefer Pims).

[rjka]

Sorry for the misunderstanding. The genre idea was why I suggested Pims as an alternative. I took your comment "expanded their offerings" to mean they were made by the same company.

[Querencia]

If you mean Jaffa cakes as in spongecakey cookies with orange filling and chocolate covering, they are definitely at Andy's Fruit Market (which is a whole supermarket with a lot of European items) on N Kedzie about a block south of Lawrence. If you're not driving take the Brown Line to Kedzie and you'll be 1/2 block from Andy's (which is on the east side of Kedzie). While you're in the neighborhood cross the street to Al Khayam, a comprehensive Middle Eastern market---no Jaffa cakes but lots of baklava.

[Goldielocks1225]

That is exactly what I was looking for... I'll make sure to also get some baklava. Thank you!

[WorldEaters]

The baklava is so amazing at Al Khayam I almost cried the first time I had it!

And it's Andy's Fruit Ranch on Kedzie if you want to google it. What is a fruit ranch? I don't know but the store is great!

[Eldon Kreider]

Andy's started out as a fruit and vegetable store where some of their parking lot is now. Hence the name. A few years ago they acquired some adjacent real estate and built a much larger store that carries meat and a lot more packaged items. Then they tore down the old store and converted all its space to parking.