Trader Joe's Dill Pickle Hummus

It's a new product! Except it has replaced or displaced a preexisting favorite. Is this how gentrification works? Like, "yay! new hipster neighborhood with beautiful apartment and shopping complexes!" Except gone are the people who are displaced out of that market cuz they don't make enough to stay around...ooo is this too dark for a Trader Joe's blog? Maybe. The darkness is just an expression of my inward feeling of loss, loss of a nostalgic favorite. I need a moment please. RIP, pickle popcorn.*** 

Alright maybe pickle popcorn wasn't actually replaced by pickle hummus - it was replaced by every other new delicious snack that has hit the shelves and then reprised by a hummus dip.*** I would be lying if I didn't say I wasn't at least a tiny bit happy to see a pickle-flavored something back on the shelf. But it's like if you can imagine Disney canceling all of the classic animated films ever and then reprising them as those live-action reboots. Would people be upset? Not everyone, some one would be like "yay I get to watch Lion King again." And then other people would be outraged - I know live-action has some Beyonce in it but how does a live-action version ever compare with the OG?? 

***6/4/2020 Edit - please note that the pickle popcorn has neither been replaced nor discontinued. It is currently available for purchase at Trader Joe's. It is seasonal. However, you can tell that I enjoy this product so much that I experience a bit of a loss when I go without it for a long period of time. :P*

Nostalgia has power y'all. 

Dill pickles are a love or leave it food. But for those who love dill pickles - they are the top of the pickle chain. Bread and butter pickles? Absolutely disgusting with no redemptive quality whatsoever. No one would ever buy a bread and butter pickle dip. But dill pickle dip? Sure. 

1) This is a very average store-bought quality hummus dip. By very average I mean the base of it is a basic store-bought hummus that is actually not that good (think a mediocre Sabra hummus or Tribe brand) but many people buy it. I know there's a camp of people out there that believe all grocery store-brand hummuses are garbage. I'm not so extreme, but I definitely agree that storebought hummuses range from terrible to actually pretty good, and the base of this one is somewhere in the middle but skewed a bit toward the terrible direction. 

1a) I don't understand why the base of this tastes sort of mediocre to me. I think the plain/roasted-garlic Trader Joe's hummus is pretty good and better than a lot of the plain-flavored hummuses of other brands. But it's as though they used a plain/garlic base hummus of a different brand to make this product instead of using their own. 

2) It does taste like dill pickles. If you haven't had a dill pickle flavored food product lately, you'll find the tang and zing very sharp and rather disruptive. I had the same visceral reaction I did when I first tried the pickle popcorn - "....what is this??!?" But then you get used to the flavor and the sharpness settles down. 

3) There's something about this hummus that doesn't make me want to repurchase or come back to it. It could have something to do with the texture - this can make or break a hummus, and yes it's completely subjective. Yes, this hummus is smooth but thick and a little bean-y, so that combined with a fragrant dill pickle flavor, I think, might not be the most pleasant experience for everyone. 

4) If you like dill pickles, you might like this hummus. If you have nothing against store bought hummuses and can take dill pickle taste, you might appreciate this hummus. If neither of those statements apply to you, I recommend skipping this product. 

5) $1.99 for one 8 oz tub. 

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Dill Pickle Hummus. A punchy, dill pickle grocery store hummus. I love me some dill pickles, but this is just ok. 6 out of 10. Mantou Joe repurchase? No thank u, next.