Jello, A golden era treat!

[dhermann1]

Ever heard of Hormel "Flavr-Sealed" Canned Whole Chicken? A 1920's era treat -- cooked in the can and encased in a solid jelly mass for your dining pleasure. Chicken-flavored Jello is an idea long overdue for revival.

I recall when you could also get a whole WW II Jeep in a 55 gallon drum the same way, for only $264.

 

[miss_elise]

I like Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me.
I like it for dinner, I like it for tea,
A little each day is a good recipe!

At its peak in the 1940s, the jingle was played over 100 times per day on radio stations, and it is one of the longest-running jingles in Australia.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroplane_Jelly

 

[cassylynn]

Here's a few Jello Recipe Books

Through the years...

Jello 1916

Jello 1930

The Charm of Jello....looks to be around 1920-1930

 

[cassylynn]

Jello....Oh how pretty

My grandmother still makes Jello just like this.....presentation and all....

 

[JimInSoCalif]

My aunt's contrbution to holiday dinners used to me molded Jello with fruit cocktail in it. Hated the stuff back then and have stayed away from it for the past 50 years.

When Jello was a sponser on the Jack Benny radio program I thought the flavors were 'strawberry, rasberry, orange, lemon, lime.. and tapioca pudding too'. But, my memory might be bad - heck, I know it is.

Cheers, Jim.

PS - I think Jello is only suitable for hospital patients because they don't have much choice.

 

[LawnFlamingo]

There are five flavors of Jello that flopped and thus were taken out of the product line-up...celery, coffee, cola, apple and chocolate.

I wish they'd bring back "Apple."

 

[Vintage Betty]

There are five flavors of Jello that flopped and thus were taken out of the product line-up...celery, coffee, cola, apple and chocolate.

I wish they'd bring back "Apple."

Celery??? CELERY?? What marketing fool came up with THAT idea?? Oh mom! Can I pl--ee--aa--ss--eee have celery jello-o?? *yucky*

 

[LawnFlamingo]

Yeah! it seems like such an odd flavor. I'm guessing that it was more for cubing and tossing into salads, than for eating alone as a treat. I bet it had a lovely color to it.

 

[JimInSoCalif]

Celery??? CELERY?? What marketing fool came up with THAT idea?? Oh mom! Can I pl--ee--aa--ss--eee have celery jello-o?? *yucky*

Betty, you beat me to it. And, not only did someone think of that flavor, they probably had to convince one or more decision makers that it was a good idea.

Well, it could have been worse, consider Beet flavored Jello or some other vegetable flavor that I care for even less than Jello.

Cheers, Jim.

 

[Laura Chase]

Now, I'm not American, so I've never actually tested Jello, but I've always thought of it as a jelly dessert. So what's this thing with putting it in salads? I didn't know you did that, and it seems like it's quite common? I think it sounds kinda *yucky*, how does it work, doesn't it get all mushy when it's mixed in the salad, or am I just not understanding it right?

 

[Haversack]

I think the reason why the Jello company made celery flavoured Jello is because most dishes that traditionally used aspic have been savoury dishes and not desserts. Things like chicken aspic. Cooks have been making aspics from meat broths since at least the 14th C. What Jello, (and Knox's gelatine), did was make it convenient. You didn't have to cook down broth and bones or boil seaweed. (As to the latter, I remember learning about seaweed from that 19th C. Junior Survivalist Manual, _The Swiss Family Robinson_.

Haversack.

 

[Big Man]

I like Jell-O shooters ...

 

[AmateisGal]

Whenever I had an upset tummy, my mom would make me Jell-o. I'm not sure how the wobbly stuff was supposed to help me, but it did.

Anyone ever had Jell-o cake? Some of the best cake on earth, IMO.

Jello Cake recipe

 

[desi_de_lu_lu]

An alternative for Jello for all the non-pork eating and/or for the vegans/vegetarians is Agar Agar.

Check your local Asian import market for boxes of ready to go Agar (made from seaweed) Jello-esque deserts. I enjoy the coconut Agar and the Mango Agar.

Or you can buy Agar Agar flakes loose, in a bag. You can't taste the difference...

 

[patrick1987]

Now, I'm not American, so I've never actually tested Jello, but I've always thought of it as a jelly dessert. So what's this thing with putting it in salads? I didn't know you did that, and it seems like it's quite common? I think it sounds kinda *yucky*, how does it work, doesn't it get all mushy when it's mixed in the salad, or am I just not understanding it right?

You put the salad ingredients, like cubes of fruit, into the liquid Jell-o before it's chilled, where they become suspended, not the other way around. Then you lay down a bed of lettuce on a plate and tip the molded salad onto it. See the Book of Surprises above. Does that clear it up or muddle it even worse?

 

[Miss Neecerie]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congealed_salad

also helps explain

 

[Edward]

I don't think we ever had the Jello brand over here? Now I know why the Americans insist on calling Jelly Jello, though - it's like Hoover, Walkman, Scotch tape (sellotape for the UK equivalent) - one of those brands that became a generic term, right?

I love jelly. Jelly in a trifle is one of my specialist deserts when I have folks in (beaten in the popularity stakes by only my rhubarb crumble). That I picked up from a longstnading Christmas tradition of my folks - the sherry trifle. I also enjoy it as a "plainer" desert with fresh cream and/or vanilla ice cream. That stems to back in the day when my beloved paternal grandmother (three years gone in August coming) used to have us in as kids, and dinner would be beef sausages, chips and peas or baked beans, followed by strawberry jelly and vanilla ice cream. There's only one restaurant i know of that still offers that as a desert (off the kids menu, at least) - the Stockpot, on London's Old Compton Street. It's still a favourite when I go there.

 

[Laura Chase]

You put the salad ingredients, like cubes of fruit, into the liquid Jell-o before it's chilled, where they become suspended, not the other way around. Then you lay down a bed of lettuce on a plate and tip the molded salad onto it. See the Book of Surprises above. Does that clear it up or muddle it even worse?

No, it makes perfect sense, I thought it was the other way around, but this way it's sort of like a fruit pudding dessert. On Wikipedia it says that it's mostly made with fruits, which sounds yummy.

 

[adamjaskie]

I don't think we ever had the Jello brand over here? Now I know why the Americans insist on calling Jelly Jello, though - it's like Hoover, Walkman, Scotch tape (sellotape for the UK equivalent) - one of those brands that became a generic term, right?

Yeah, it's a brand that became a generic term. You walk into a store and you can usually find two brands of gelatine dessert: Jello, and the store brand. "Jelly" here usually refers to a pectin-based fruit spread, similar to a jam, but more firm and strained to eliminate seeds and bits of fruit. It is much less firm than Jello, and usually much sweeter and more flavorful.

I'm not a big fan of Jello. I don't dislike it, but I just don't find it all that exciting.

 

[olive bleu]

Growing up in Newfoundland, Sunday dinner was never complete without the standard dessert of "Jelly and Custard" The custard part being made from Bird's Custard Powder, which i bet at least our friends from the UK will recognize