Trader Joe's Pizza Dough to lose kosher certification

[tarsky]

I just heard this news from a friend in D.C. A friend of hers called TJ's and got the following response:

She called TJ's and found out that they had to move to a new company. (She asked why, and he said that he didn't know but it could be any number of reasons, like keeping up with demand, etc) TJ's always prefers that their products be kosher supervised, and asked the new pizza dough co. if they could be under kosher supervision, and they will see if they can work with a supervision company, but the transition is already done about a month ago, and since then, the dough has not been under supervision. They said that if we want to "rally" we should send in notes on their website, that they want to hear from us.

So, if TJ's apparently is responsive to kosher consumer pressure, and they want the kosher consumers to email in....we should! I know for those of us who live in NY and can get kosher pizza anytime, the dough may not be as important, but for my friends and fam who live in places without (good) kosher pizza, TJ's pizza dough is key!
Just wanted to spread the word. TJ customer inquiry form is here:

http://www.traderjoes.com/about/produ...

[susans]

This article http://thefastertimes.com/genericfood... says who makes the TJ's pizza dough, at least at the time it was written. I saw that brand for sale at Stater Bros Market in Long Beach, CA today, but did not pull it out of the freezer case to look closely, but will do so next time I am there to check for a kosher cert.

[noya]

Our TJ's in NJ still has kosher pizza dough--is it just a matter of time or could it be that NJ stores receive supply from a different source?

[tarsky]

could be that they looked to provide the NJ store (are you in bergen county?) with a kosher dough....TJ's is very aware that they have frustrated many kosher consumers!

a new TJ's is about to open on the UWS of manhattan right after yom kippur. i am curious to see what that location will carry. maybe the glatt kosher meat i have heard about at other TJ's!

[ravyossi]

This might have been a false alarm-CT still has a fine supply of kosher dough.

[avitrek]

It feels like the vendor TJ uses in DC was changed and the OP assumed that meant a nationwide change. But other TJs outside of the DC area seem unaffected.

[noya]

were in essex county

[parkydoc]

still has the hechsher in the Rockville, MD store!

[parkydoc]

interestingly I found a terrific fresh whole wheat pizza dough at WalMart with a Kof-K hechsher. It's in the deli section and I've bought it both in Florida near Deerfield Beach and Frederick MD. IMHO, much better than TJ's

[SoCal Mother]

Costco had kosher pizza dough for a while but it was a short time thing. I don't believe that TJ's in CA has it, but Albertson's has something called Mama Mary or something like that.

[mamaleh]

I bought frozen pizza dough from Glatt Mart in LA. It was very good and not too many additives. Can't remember the exact name - something like NY Pizza Dough.

[azna29]

I just tried the trader joe's pizza dough. I found it with the hechsher at the paramus trader joe's. But I had trouble rolling it out thin. It kept shrinking back into itself. Has anyone else had this problem?

[ravyossi]

Did you let it rest outside of the refrigerator for at least an hour? Dough will resist stretching but if its rested long enough then it will stretch relatively easily.

[azna29]

I had defrosted it in the microwave and then left it out about 30 min. I'll try leaving it out longer next time. Thanks.

[ravyossi]

I tried defrosting once in the microwave, it was very bad. Defrost it for about 8-10 hours in the fridge, then 1-2 hours at room temp. Or 3 hours or so at room temp will do it too.

[GilaB]

Defrosting it in the microwave can cook some bits while leaving other parts raw. If you need to quick-defrost, put it in a well-sealed bag in a bowl of room-temperature water.

[azna29]

It wasn't too bad as I half defrosted in the microwave so it was still cold and then let it sit out for 20 minutes. Next time I will go with leaving it in the fridge the night before.

[websterhall1994]

No matter how long I leave the dough out to come to room temp, I have NEVER EVER been able to get Trader Joe's Dough to stay put when stretched. I am all for buying ready made and I'm a very lazy cook, but I make my own dough - it takes 5-10 minutes.

[ravyossi]

I make my own dough, but I use TJ's when I don't feel like making my own, and once I learned to rest it for a while, I had no problems.

[azna29]

Can you share the recipe? My daughter loves to make pizza with me and making the dough too would be fun for her. Thanks.

[GilaB]

There are a zillion recipes out there, but broadly speaking, take any recipe you use to make regular white or part-whole-wheat bread and replace a few tablespoons of water with olive oil.

[gleibler]

it is real ny pizza dough and it comes in original and whole wheat.there is also the unger brand with chasidish kashrut and contains no l-cystein

[ravyossi]

It is strange that there hasn't been a "kosher alert" to this effect. Has anyone called the KVH, who certifies the dough, to check this info? Additionally, this information seems to indicate that the dough is already not under supervision, even though the packaging might say that it is...again, I would expect a notification from the KVH if it were true.

[tarsky]

well, consumers in minneapolis (friends of friends) have already reported that their stores are carrying new dough, with no hashgacha. some stores still have the old stock. TJ's is switching to a different company that makes the dough - its not that the KVH is taking their certification away, TJ's just isnt carrying the same dough anymore

[kosherdoc]

We haven't had kosher dough in a long time in chicago. Of note, they also no longer have the OV (St Louis i believe) on one of there bagged lettuce which is a big bummer because it was the only pre-washed non-iceberg lettuce that was under hasgacha.

[ravyossi]

Wow-thanks for the update. I havent gotten their dough in a few weeks because I'm making my own now, but I definitely want it to be available. I'll see what I can find out-in the meantime we should definitely encourage them to get certification on the new brand-any idea where it's made?

[ravyossi]

For what it's worth, Trader Joe's in Westport, CT still has the kosher dough, and seems well-stocked.