A Very Brief History of Jell-O
Jell-O’s history is long and varied. From its beginnings in 1879 it has welcomed immigrants to America at Ellis Island; championed food campaigns for dainty, easy-to-digest, and pretty foods; presented time-saving solutions to the modern housekeeper; helped war-time housewives cope with rationing; become a popular ingredient in mainstream cookbooks; traveled into space; and had us begging mom to make Jell-O Jigglers.
Creative License and Jell-O gelatin
Jell-O saw it highest creative expressions in the ‘50s. Housewives began impressing guests by presenting molded salads with fruits, vegetables, nuts, and cream cheese suspended in red, green or yellow mounds. Shimmering masterpieces of lemon-yellow and lime-green wreaths graced the tables of potlucks, showers, funerals, and holidays.
There is no shortage of these Jello salad recipes in my recipe box collection and I often wonder at which of these events the curator shared them.
This lemon jello salad recipe from Peggy’s recipe box must have been served often. It is encased in a plastic sleeve to protect it but clearly not before it directed the creation of many salads. It is covered with splotches and stains and at one point was used as a grocery list.
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Ingredients
- 1 (3 ounce) package lemon Jell-O
- 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained juice reserved
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup heavy cream
- parsley or lettuce for garnish
- walnut meats for garnish
- pineapple chunks for garnish
Instructions
- Place the Jell-O in a heat-proof mixing bowl.
- In a medium saucepan, add reserved pineapple juice and bring to a boil.
- Add heated juice to Jell-O, stir until completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. Allow mixture to cool but not set.
- With a stand mixer or hand mixer on low speed, beat the cream cheese until creamy and whipped.
- Add the cream and mix until combined.
- Stir in the nuts, celery and drained pineapple.
- Add the Jell-O to the cream cheese mixture and blend until combined.
- Pour into a 6 cup mold and chill until firm.
- Unmold on serving plate and garnish with parsley or lettuce, walnuts, and pineapple chunks.
Nutrition
Recipe Box Roulette
This recipe is from a social media game we developed called Recipe Box Roulette. Find a family recipe box and play along.
The rules are simple. Let your fingers wander over the recipes cards in the box, draw one at random, share it with us on FB Page or on your Instagram Feed. Remember to tag @theheritagcookbookproject and use the hashtag #recipeboxroulette.
Extra credit – make the recipe and share a photograph.
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I’ve been seeing so many lemon recipes. That’s how you know summer is on its way I suppose! Haha, this sounds delicious and I’ll be sure to save the recipe!
Thank goodness for summer. We seem to gravitate toward those ingredients that help us celebrate the seasons. Cheers!
That’s so cool! My only relationship to Jello-o is the sweet dessert type, but apparently you can use it for so much more!
Oh Emmeline, there are cookbooks dedicated to using Jell-o from main course salads to desserts. It is pretty interesting 😉
Ooohhh I wanna taste, Lemon is my favorite but haven’t tried it on jell-o form. Can I have one please?
Hey Michael, if you like lemon, you’ll want to give this salad a try. It’s a unique flavor for sure. Cheers!
This is very different. I had no idea that Jello and cream cheese would go good together, I have to try this out
Adriana, I have so many recipes that include both cream cheese and cream with Jell-o. It was all the rage in the ’50s and ’60 in the states.
Never seen or tried a jello salad. Now I’m intrigued. Looks yum
It is definitely and American ingredient. During the mid-century you couldn’t go to a potluck or holiday meal and not see some type of dish that used it.
This is so cool! Definitely a good way to make the kids eat their vegetables 🙂
Hehe. A little sneaky isn’t it 😉
That was really an attractive outcome. I really love gelatin recipes, especially those with sour flavors.
Thank you, Geraline. It is a fun recipe with a lot of different flavors.
Never have I seen a jell-o salad. Looks pretty cool!
It is a pretty fun recipe. So many jell-o salads in my childhood. Always a good conversation starter 😉
Wow, it look so good and tasty recipe. I will definitely try to make this for my loved ones and I am sure they are going to love this taste.
Catherine, I hope that you and your loved one enjoy this recipe. Cheers!
Would you believe me if I told you I have never made a jello salad? It always looked intimidating, but your recipe is so beautiful and simple. Perfect for an Easter brunch.
I can’t believe that especially as you have lived in the Midwest 😉 It would be perfect for Easter brunch. You could even decorate it with some beautiful edible flowers. Cheers!
OMG Can I just say, I can’t help but drool over the picture! Who would not love to taste this! I’ll be printing out your recipe so I can try making this out over the weekends.
So glad that I could appeal to your taste buds;) Let me know what you think of the recipe when you try it. Cheers!
Thank you for sharing this recipe- I adore this but have never tried to make it myself. I will now, seems more simple than I thought and how stunning is yours!
Thank you for your kind words, Clare. It is a fun recipe and I hope that you enjoy making and eating it.
Wow, I love this recipe it is so delicious and look so easy to prepare. I will def try to make this for the whole family.
I hope that you and your family enjoy it. Cheers!