The Discontinued Garlic Shoppers And Chefs Alike Want To See Back At Costco

Costco holds a special place in the hearts of its members. It's the third-largest retailer in the U.S. (behind Walmart and Amazon) and boasts a dedicated customer base — which The Hustle reports is a little cult-like – who share their hauls in hundreds of Costco-centric blogs, Facebook groups, Instagram pages, and TikTok videos.

The brand also manages to attract bargain shoppers and foodies alike. Even professional chefs are Costco shoppers, like Samin Nosrat, who is a devotee of their Kirkland brand olive oil (per Pulse). Products like its olive oil are no accident, of course. Everyone is feeling the pinch at the grocery store these days due to a 40-year high in inflation, and buying in bulk is one way to save a little money, especially on non-perishable items. But Costco takes things a step further than a normal discount store by stocking products that are both super inexpensive and high quality. Sure, not everything is cheaper at Costco, but overall the warehouse giant has millions of devotees for a reason — you can get some good stuff for a low price. The only downside is when Costco decides to discontinue something popular.

Do a quick Google search and you can find plenty of top ten-type lists of which products to buy at Costco. But make sure you check the date on those articles because even the most beloved items can sometimes get the ax, and they might not be on the shelf when you get down to the store. Every retail chain discontinues products that aren't selling well or if their suppliers can't meet the demand, especially Costco, which offers low prices partly because it buys a lot of products to leverage lower prices. Costco thoughtfully lets its customers know that a product is on the discontinued list; however, by adding a small asterisk in the top right-hand corner of the price tag — a move that devoted shoppers call "the death star" — and a price that ends in $0.97 (per Business Insider).

While Kirkland olive oil probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon, there is one product going away this season that has chefs and shoppers stocking up before it's gone forever: Industrial-sized jars of Litehouse Freeze-Dried Garlic. This major fan favorite is the equivalent of 45 cloves of garlic for $5.79 and is an easy way to get garlic flavor into your dips, marinades, spice rubs, and stews. It's used in the same volume as you would for fresh garlic, so it's perfect for making garlic-heavy recipes like Lauren Purcell's Creamy Garlic Soup.

Fans of the "jarlic" (per Reddit) from the brand known for its extensive line of dips, salad dressings, and spices have lamented the loss of the foodservice-sized containers but can take heart that Litehouse is not discontinuing its entire line from Costco, just the jars of dried garlic. In fact, it has recently introduced freeze-dried herb variety packs and a blue cheese dressing, according to The Sun.

If you don't shop at Costco regularly, the best way to keep up with what's on the chopping block is to follow some of the top blogs and influencers, like Costco Insider, The Costco Connoisseur, and Reddit's r/Costco. In addition to keeping you in the know on what's going away, they'll also be the first to spot a product coming back from the dead — which does happen from time to time — so don't give up hope on your beloved jars of garlic. Perhaps with enough blowback from shoppers, the higher-ups at everyone's favorite warehouse store will change course. In the meantime, smaller jars of the same freeze-dried garlic are available from regular grocery stores if you use it in your regular recipe rotation — you just won't get the same big-sized jars at that deep Costco discount.