Check Out These Disgusting Recipes From The Glory Days Of Jell-O (2024)

FAQs

Why did Jell-O salad fail? ›

The problem was, the new processed substitutes couldn't be sold on taste alone, as Shapiro makes clear in her book Something From the Oven: They just weren't as good as the real thing. But American palates had been adjusting to industrial flavors for the entire 20th century.

During the Great Depression and World War II era, Jell-O was pitched as an affordable food, a way to turn a few ingredients into a family meal people could use to stretch their dollars.

People did like it because it was cheap, easy, pretty, and sweet. I just associate it with being the only thing one could eat when sick to one's stomach. The 1950s are infamous for having many gelatin-based recipes.

“Gelatin was very easy to prepare by mid-century cooking standards, and storing foods suspended within gelatin helped those foods stay fresh longer,” explains Ruth Clark, author and blogger at Mid Century Menu.

Some fresh fruits prevent Jell-O and other types of gelatin from gelling. These are fruits that contain high levels of proteases. Proteases are enzymes that break chemical bonds in proteins, such as collagen in gelatin. Pineapple, kiwi, papaya, mango, and guava are examples of fruits that cause a problem.

Hospitals often serve gelatin to patients. It has qualities that make dessert easy to digest, and it melts in the body as a liquid. This allows the body to take in calories without losing them, as some foods can trigger nausea if a patient has taken certain medication or undergone anesthesia.

Jello is a food product derived from animal collagen. Jello is not the healthiest food option, but eating it in moderation likely won't hurt you.

Utah is famously known for its per capita consumption of Jell-O—so much so that two decades ago, in 2001, the Utah State Legislature voted to name Jell-O its official state snack. But apart from Utahns' hearty consumption of Jell-O, the roots of the connection are shrouded.

Utah eats more Jell-O than any other state

The people in Utah love their Jell-O! The state has an entire holiday week dedicated to the jiggly treat, and it's even Utah's official state food.

Although the exact history of how Peter Cooper created the product is unknown to us today, we do know that in 1845 he secured a patent (US Patent 4084) for a gelatin dessert powder called “portable gelatin.” His invention was a basic edible gelatin that had no flavoring to it.

Is Jell-O good for you? ›

Jello is high in sugar and low in fiber and protein, making it an unhealthy food choice. One serving (6.4 grams of dry mix) of sugar-free jello made with aspartame has only 13 calories, 1 gram of protein and no sugar. Still, artificial sweeteners may have negative effects on your health ( 2 , 3 ).

Jell-O's decline

After all, it's commonly associated with patients eating it in hospitals or disgraced comedian Bill Cosby, who was the face of the brand for 30 years. And, Jell-O molds and now-defunct flavors like Italian salad and mixed vegetables are in recipe books for “nauseating” foods.

Yes, savory Jello molds were a popular dish in the mid-20th century in the United States, especially during the 1950s and 1960s. These dishes were made by combining savory ingredients, such as vegetables, meat, and cheese, with Jello gelatin, which would then be chilled until it set into a mold.

The original gelatin dessert (genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a registered trademark of Kraft Heinz, and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

In 1897, Pearle Wait, a carpenter in LeRoy, was developing a cough remedy and laxative tea in his home. He experimented with gelatine and came up with a fruit flavored dessert which his wife, May, named JELL-O.

Jello salads were popular in the 1960s and are now considered retro. Because of its many elements, the result has speckled bits of interior color against a colored gelatin background, and so the dish can be appreciated for its colorful visual appeal.

Bromolain in pineapple, papain in papaya and actinidin in kiwi are all enzymes capable of breaking down proteins, hence the warning that these fruits cannot be used in Jell-O. But canned fruits are fine because the pasteurization process they undergo destroys the proteolytic enzymes.

People were still eating colorful gelatin, but they were no longer serving it as a main course as frequently as they used to. These days, it's more of a quirky novelty snack than an accepted meal option.

Raw pineapple and raw papaya should never be added to a gelatin (Jello) salad or mold. Enzymes in the fruit prevent the gelatin from setting up (getting firm). Loose salad greens should be stored between 36F and 41F. This keeps them crisp and fresh, but prevents freezing.