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

FAQs

Why is Jell-O no longer popular? ›

With Jell-O salads becoming less popular, the brand looked for its next hit. But it had a problem: With the increase in women entering the workforce, families weren't sitting down for as many meals and eating dessert like they once did. And new, ready-to-eat foods were hitting the market that were more convenient.

It was economical: A housewife could stretch her family's leftovers by encasing them in gelatin. And, since sugar was already included in the flavored mixes, the new packaged gelatins didn't require cooks to use up their household stores of sugar.

It's cheap, aesthetically pleasing (by the standards of the day), and relatively easy to prepare. This is when the still popular jellied salads began to appear.

“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.

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.

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.

Gelatin contains collagen. That's a material in the cartilage that cushions the bones in your joints. The idea behind this usage is that eating gelatin (with collagen) will add collagen to your joints.

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.

Gelatin is rich in protein, with amino acids that may reduce joint and bone pain, increase brain function and help reduce the signs of skin aging. Gelatin is a protein product derived from collagen. It has important health benefits due to its unique combination of amino acids.

The original gelatin dessert began in Le Roy, New York, in 1897, when Pearle Bixby Wait trademarked the name Jell-O. He and his wife May had made the product by adding strawberry, raspberry, orange, and lemon flavoring to sugar and granulated gelatin (which had been patented in 1845).

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.

1897 – The original four Jell-O gelatin flavors were raspberry, strawberry, lemon, and orange. 1904 – Cherry and chocolate flavors are introduced. 1918 – Coffee flavor is introduced, but only in certain regions. 1930 – Lime flavor is introduced, accompanied by a recipe book.

Aspic came into prominence in America in the early 20th century. By the 1950s, meat aspic was a popular dinner staple, as were other gelatin-based dishes such as tomato aspic.

But in the decades after World War II ended, the problems that JELL-O had initially solved went away. Cheap food items did not impress a wealth-building American society, and wartime staples became repellant. In the 1970s, JELL-O languished as a children's snack and hospital dessert.

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.

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.