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

FAQs

Why is Jell-O no longer popular? ›

Jell-O shifted to single-serve cups and more convenient options as competition for snacks and desserts grew. Kraft in the early 2000's shifted the focus of Jell-O's advertising away from kids and toward adults. It pitched sugar-free Jell-O, for example, as a treat for Atkins dieters.

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.

“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.

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.

There are a few reasons: Jell-O is easy to swallow and digest, making it suitable for patients who have difficulty eating solid foods or have digestive issues. It's smooth texture and mild flavor make it more tolerable for those with sensitive stomachs or who are recovering from surgery.

Gelatine is derived from the protein collagen. The enzyme in fresh* pineapple, bromelin, breaks down collagen and this prevents the jelly from setting.

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.

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.

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.

What was Jell-O originally called? ›

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.

Though Jello is low in fat, it has a high sugar content, making it high in calories. While occasionally having it in as a treat may not cause harm, in the broader picture, it does not make for a nourishing, healthy snack option.

Most meals are topped off with desserts. They can range from a layered jello dessert to cake to ice cream to homemade pies. The sweet tooth reigns in Amish communities. Many of the recipes that are a hit with the visitors are improved by the addition of sugar while they are being made.

1895 – Pearl B. Wait, a cough-syrup manufacturer in Le-Roy, New York was having business troubles. He decided to give up the cough-syrup business and branch out to the food industry. He and his wife, May, experimented with adding fruit syrups (strawberry, raspberry, orange, and lemon) to gelatin.

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.

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.

Nonetheless, I informed my mother that yes, Jell-O is indeed making a comeback. Today, Solid Wiggles — a business with a decidedly millennial aesthetic operating out of Kit in Brooklyn and online through Goldbelly — creates Jell-O cakes that are often boozy and always beautiful, selling for $100ish a pop.

In some circles, it is a well-known and boast-worthy fact that Utah has historically consumed more Jell-O per capita than any other state in the nation.

Instead, it now had the added reputation of being a diet food which only increased in the early 2000s as Jell-O pivoted to promoting it's sugar free products to take advantage of the Atkins diet craze.