Trader Joe's Sells My Favorite Nuts To Serve At Parties — For Way Less Than Whole Foods

I started working at Trader Joe's after college and my time there provided me with a graduate education in specialty foods. It was there that my palette expanded and grew up. Having lived on a diet of pizza and french fries as an undergrad, I developed a taste for so many of Trader Joe's hidden gems. These were "fancy" products I'd never considered, like olive tapenade (a discontinued item; trust me, I've asked), chevre goat cheese, and strawberry mochi. And it was there that I learned to love its roasted and salted rosemary Marcona almonds. 

I'll never forget the day I first tried these rosemary Marcona almonds. In the middle of a busy, hectic holiday shift, one of my coworkers brought a bag to share to the break room. With that first crunch, I was hooked, and just for a moment, the stress melted away.

From then on, I bought them almost every day I came in. This was a snack I could nosh on quickly while taking a break from "reg" (pronounced "redge," it's what crew members call working the cash register). And since leaving the company, these roasted and salted rosemary Marcona almonds have remained on every shopping list. If I'm hosting a party, you can bet there'll be a bowl of these nuts alongside the charcuterie, olives, crackers, and cheeses. My time at Trader Joe's didn't just teach me how to eat well; it made me a better host and dinner party guest. 

Sourced from the Mediterranean coast of Spain, Marcona almonds taste and look different than the more widely available California variety. Flatter, smaller, lighter in color, and less bitter, they're crunchy with a soft, slightly sweet inside, offering an enticing contrast with every bite. The almonds are roasted in sunflower oil, giving them a delicate, buttery taste. But as I used to tell customers coming through my line, it's the combo of salt and rosemary that ties everything together to make this snack sublime. There's simply nothing like the flavorful crunch of a Marcona almond.

Working at a location that sold wine, I learned that rosemary Marcona almonds pair exceptionally well with a light white, like a chilled chardonnay or sauvignon blanc. And while they're great on their own, they're versatile; try sprinkling some onto a spinach or kale salad or drizzling them with dark chocolate. With its delicate combination of flavors and aromas, each bite transports the taste buds to the warm and inviting Mediterranean coast of Spain. 

You can find Marcona almonds in many grocery stores, but I haven't been able to find a better deal for them outside of Trader Joe's. As explained to me during my training, the store's products and prices are geared toward the "unemployed grad student" shopper. This means a customer with refined tastes and an interest in harder-to-find foods, but a limited budget. 

At $5.99 for a 6-ounce (oz.) bag, the Marcona almonds are perfect for the budget-minded foodie that Trader Joe's considers its primary audience. Whole Foods sells a smaller amount of a comparable product — 4-ounce containers of Mitica brand Valencia almonds with rosemary — for $7.99. Valencia almonds are native to the region around Valencia, in the Southeast of Spain; they're slightly smaller but have a similar flavor profile to the Marcona almond. As far as I'm concerned, this product is one of the things Trader Joe's does better than Whole Foods. 

When I was a crew member, it was the reasonable price that allowed me to make this product a staple. Even when I ate them daily, they always tasted like an indulgence. I don't get to Trader Joe's as much as I used to, but if I'm throwing a party, it's still my first stop. Since new and interesting products appear all of the time, I keep an open mind when I shop there. But I always leave a little room in my basket for their rosemary Marcona almonds.