As popular as it was, I know that Jell-O is not everyone’s ‘cup of tea’. Jell-O was synonymous with most, if not all, of the major holiday’s years ago but not so much anymore. It seems there are certain culinary traditions that accompany each holiday. Some are near universally enjoyed amongst those who celebrate those special days, others are more along the lines of a specific family tradition and some fall squarely into the middle.
When my siblings and I were growing up, a lime Jell-O salad with crushed pineapple, marshmallows and cottage cheese was always made to complement our Christmas dinner. One year, family friends that had been invited to dinner, asked if this salad had something to do with our German heritage because it always appeared on special occasions. To me this salad was like having a little dish of ice cream as it tasted so good.
Jell-O brand powder might seem as commonplace as sliced bread and pasteurized milk nowadays, but when it first emerged on the scene in 1897, it was a truly revolutionary food.
Gelatin itself had been around for many centuries, but the act of making it – a process done by extracting the gelatin protein produced when animal bones, connective tissues and other similar products are boiled and then using that product as a setting agent/ingredient in a sweet or savory dish – was a very labor intensive one and something that many home cooks saved for only the most special of occasions/fanciest dinner parties, if they even bothered at all. The French were the first to use gelatin in cooking.
Jell-O became available in Canada in 1904.The first Canadian Jell-O factory was located in Bridgeburg (now Fort Erie). As part of an advertising campaign, recipe booklets were sent to households across North America. These contained suggestions for how to use Jell-O in desserts, salads and main courses.
Initially jellied salads rose to fame in the 1950s and 60s. This recipe came from a magazine years ago. It is somewhere between a Jell-O salad and a dessert.
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- 411 gm (14.5 oz) sour pitted cherries with juice
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 85 gm cherry Jell-O powder
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 85 gm lemon Jell-o powder
- 1 cup heavy cream, whipped
- 170 gm cream cheese, softened
Ingredients
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- In a small saucepan, bring cherries with juice & sugar to a boil then add the package of cherry Jell-O powder. Stir to dissolve then pour into serving dishes. Refrigerate until firm. After cherry mixture has had time to start setting up begin the next step.
- Rinse saucepan & add 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil then stir in lemon Jell-O powder until it is dissolved. Refrigerate until slightly setting up.
- While lemon Jell-O sets up, whip cream until stiff & fluffy. Beat in cream cheese & whip together. Add lemon Jell-O which is just starting to become firm. Whip the mixture to combine.
- Pour lemon Jell-O mixture over the cherry Jell-O in the serving dishes. Refrigerate until firm. Serve with a dollop of whip cream if desired.
- Its so nice to be able to use cherries from our own tree in the back yard.
