30 Old Fashioned Jello Salad Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What were the Jell-O flavors in the 1950s? ›

By the 1950s, salads became so popular that Jell-O responded with savory and vegetable flavors such as celery, Italian, mixed vegetable, and seasoned tomato.

Jell-O salads were born out of modern convenience.

Gelatin salads had been around long before that, but it was only after the extensive rationing and scarcity of World War II that Americans began to fully embrace the convenience of Jell-O and other pre-packaged foods.

Jello salad fell out of fashion in the 1960s and 70s. The rise of Julia Child and the popularization of French cooking in the United States made the jello salad appear less elegant, and dieting trends eventually turned against sugary food like Jell-O.

Plain Jell-O and sweet Jell-O salads are still widely consumed in the US, especially in the rural Midwest and the Deep South. Savory Jell-O salads do, however, remain popular in Utah and other heavily Mormon areas.

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.

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.

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.

Kids ate cold cereal in summer, cooked cereal (sometimes) in fall and winter. We had orange juice from frozen concentrate (no health lectures please — we know now that this can cause problems but that wasn't known in the 1950s). My parents had toast and butter, sometimes eggs and bacon on weekends.

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.

What 2 ingredients should never be added to a gelatin salad? ›

Raw pineapple and raw papaya should never be added to a gelatin (Jello) salad or mold. Enzymes in the fruit prevent the gelatin from setting up (getting firm). Loose salad greens should be stored between 36F and 41F. This keeps them crisp and fresh, but prevents freezing.

"Jell-O Belt"

According to the Los Angeles Times, "Salt Lake City is America's Jell-O-eating capital. Every man, woman and child in Salt Lake City buys two boxes of the stuff annually, or twice the national average, says Mary Jane Kinkade of Jell-O brand gelatin-maker Kraft Foods.

The best Ambrosia Salad recipe is made with pineapple, mandarin oranges, yogurt, mini marshmallows, coconut and whipped cream. This easy side dish has a delicious tropical sweetness and is always a crowd favorite!

By the 1950s, meat aspic was a popular dinner staple, as were other gelatin-based dishes such as tomato aspic. Cooks showed off their aesthetic skills by creating inventive aspics.

In our case, it was thawed frozen strawberries and nut-covered cream cheese balls immersed in strawberry Jello, a pretty typical 1960s-style dessert. The 1961 Betty Crocker's New Picture Cookbook. Though not a new food, the popularity of gelatin-molded salads and desserts reached their peak in the 1960s.

1991: Ready-to-eat Jell-O snacks come out. 1992: Berry blue flavor is launched, becoming Jell-O's third most popular color after red and orange.