I’m new with these things. Both brands are equally hard to zip closed. You have to show them you mean business to get them closed.
I think they are worth the effort, cukes are lasting much longer.
Buy from TJ, you can always return if you don’t like them.
I love the ones I have. I use them in the freezer for peeled garlic cloves, ginger chunks, cubes of sauces etc. They don’t let moisture in like zipper-lock thin bags and since they are dedicated to one food substance, I don’t have to worry sbout carry over odors. When they are on sale, buy!
I bought some of these a long time back with a view to sous vide, but forgot about them. Will have to find and try out.
Ikea’s silicone storage bags might be a better deal but you have to buy a set of three. Unless you get 3 for $10 from TJ’s. I bought a set thinking I’d use them or sous vide but use them mostly for storage. They work especially well camping in a cooler since they can smush down, aren’t hard sided or huge. The largest one fits a surprising amount.
Did you try them for sous vide?
Curious about this too. I didn’t even think about re-using them for the same food items, so I wonder if there are any concerns with smell or flavor transfer, and how that holds up in sous vide situations. Also, how easy are these to clean?
The Trader Joe’s silicone bags are dishwasher safe and cleaned very easily in our dishwasher.
I put endive and baby cukes in the same bag.
I SV’ed some chicken breasts and carnitas, and it worked fine but getting all the air out and then sliding the retaining clip/slide was a minor hassle. Takes some practice but not crazy. The slide clip does seal things tight however.
Yes, the silicone bags are dishwasher safe and clean well on the top rack. Can’t imagine washing those by hand and getting fat and sv mess off.
That’s my worry. I have a dishwasher, but it’s a nice drying rack for 99.9% of the days. I hand wash my dishes and pans each night, so that might be a nightmare for me. I don’t want to run a dishwasher just for the bags. It’s more of a hassle for me to run the dishwasher when I don’t have a high volume of dishes and pans each night, so sous vide at least would definitely be out of the question.
Easy to hand wash if you just use for fresh produce.
Yeah, I don’t think you need to put these through the dishwasher vs. hand washing unless you’re using them for raw proteins. Just using them for pantry or fridge storage where you don’t need to worry about bacteria, just hand wash.
The three for $10 at TJ’s look to be equivalent to the two smaller sizes in the Ikea set, plus another smaller one. Separately, you can buy a single gallon-size bag at TJ’s for $6.
I thought it said ½ gallon.
Maybe so, regardless, it is pretty big in practice, though a little smaller than the 2.6 qt bag in that Ikea set.
Your review encouraged me to buy these today. A definite YAY. I like the buttery flavor of the “wafer,” which to me is more like a super thin rolled cookie. If these were covered in dark chocolate I would lose all control 
.
MEH to the ice cream bon bons with chocolatey coating. The chocolate cookie base is tasty but the coating and the ice cream themselves taste kind of cheap, like inexpensive ice cream bars.
YAY for the frozen chocolate covered strawberries, lightly coated chocolate almonds, and chocolate cheesecake bites. 
I’ve needed comfort food 
Those are the only TJ cookies I crave; all my friends love them too. I don’t know why they’re rarely available.
not a product, per se — but it looks like a yay!
Huge nay is they discontinued the salted caramel hot chocolate powder which I really liked. Last year I was looking and they told me seasonal, but it wasn’t around during the holidays either. Last week they told me it was seasonal and then discontinued before it came into season again last year. Bleh.
YEA: White queso dip. Good consistency, nice cheesy flavor enhanced by green chiles. Even better if you cook up some chorizo and throw it in there.
YEA: Herb marinated chicken thighs. Nice blend of I’m not sure exactly which herbs. (I suppose I could read the label but that sounds like a lot of work.) Makes an easy weekday dinner.
MEH: Caesar salad dip. I actually liked the first few tastes of this, but it got old very quickly. Something about the flavor just bugs me, and I’m not sure what.
YEA: Bacon cheddar chicken dip. This is basically the bacon cheddar ranch dip they used to have (which I’ve been missing) but with chunks of chicken added–I’m not sure why. IMO the chicken doesn’t add much, but it doesn’t really detract, so it’s fine.
I was excited about these but yeah, kind of flavorless. Used them in an artichoke-spinach dip, which was fine because lots of other flavorful ingredients. Probably won’t buy again.
