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

Executive Lifestyle

Written by Ashley Lutz

2012-05-24T17:26:00Z

Check Out These Disgusting Recipes From The Glory Days Of Jell-O (1)

Charm and Poise on Flickr

Fruit Jell-O is a staple at family picnics and hospitals everywhere.

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But 50 years ago,Jell-O aspired to take over your entire dinner table.

Sharon Becker is a college professor from Baltimore who is obsessed with all things vintage. She uploaded pages from oldJell-O cookbooks to Flickr and was kind enough to share the images with us.

FromJell-O and shrimp to an entire salad set in the substance to the wonders of mayonnaise, here are some of the grosser recipes we found.

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This salad calls for pineapple, lime or lemon-flavored Jell-O, vinegar, onion, pepper and one to two cups of your favorite veggies.

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Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

The red roll seen below contains tomato and vinegar, while the green one is mint and pineapple. They're advertised as the perfect complement to a fine steak dinner.

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Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

This delicacy is called "Ring Around the Tuna." It contains chunks of tuna, pimientos, and cucumbers all molded into lime Jell-O.

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Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

Here Jell-O is used as a creative serving dish for crab salad. Your guests can even take part of the bowl!

Check Out These Disgusting Recipes From The Glory Days Of Jell-O (5)

Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

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Here's a beautiful "Tomato Aspic" recipe that ran in McCall's magazine. It calls for lemon Jell-O, tomato juice, hot sauce and vinegar.

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Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

You can show off your artistic skills with this peach Jell-O upside-down cake from the "Joys of Jell-O" cookbook.

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Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

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This recipe card says you can "fish for compliments" with this salad. It calls for cutting vegetables like cucumbers and carrots into fish shapes and molding into lime Jell-O. The finishing touch? Layers of Hellman's mayonnaise.

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Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

This coffee Jell-O is supposed to impress guests at a fine dinner party.

Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

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This is a "perfection salad," which calls for lemon Jell-O, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, onions and vinegar. The veggies are artfully set as you serve to guests.

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Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

Here's the Crested Tomato Salad, which calls for lemon or orange Jell-O, tomatoes and cucumbers. Set in this artful mold to impress your lunch party guests.

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Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

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Jell-O made a big push toward salads in the 1960's. This salad in an advertisem*nt featured lime jello and ham coldcuts. It also boasts that Jell-O brings out the best in everything from olives to fish to chicken.

Check Out These Disgusting Recipes From The Glory Days Of Jell-O (12)

Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

Here's a Bavarian Pie. Instead of using real strawberries and cream, you can mold strawberry Jell-O and CoolWhip into a beautiful form.

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Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

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Here's a seasonal souffle salad. You start with a lime Jell-O base and then add walnuts, grapes and mayonnaise. Garnish with more mayo on top.

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Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

Jell-O saw it fit to lead off an entire section of a 1960's cookbook with these dishes. The top one, "sea dream," involves setting your shrimp co*cktail in lime Jell-O. The other is a vegetable trio with a colorful array of carrots, cucumbers and spinach.

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Charm and Poise on Flickr

Source: Charm and Poise on Flickr

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Want to serve something classier?

Check Out These Disgusting Recipes From The Glory Days Of Jell-O (16)

AP Images

These are the 12 most expensive foods on the planet >

Ashley Lutz

Creative Director

Ashley Lutz was Business Insider's creative director. Ashley joined BI as a retail reporter in 2012. Her work led to Abercrombie adding plus sizes and Lululemon changing its policy of banning customers who tried to resell clothing online. She was previously a retail reporter at Bloomberg News. Ashley has a Bachelor's of Science degree from Ohio University. Follow her on Twitter @AshleyLutz.

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FAQs

Why is Jell-O no longer popular? ›

Jell-O shifted to single-serve cups and more convenient options as competition for snacks and desserts grew. Kraft in the early 2000's shifted the focus of Jell-O's advertising away from kids and toward adults. It pitched sugar-free Jell-O, for example, as a treat for Atkins dieters.

Why were the 50s obsessed with Jell-O? ›

To circumvent being seen as a "bad" housewife while still enjoying the benefits of a quick and easy dinner, women began to experiment with Jell-O, focusing more on presentation and adding ingredients to give their meals a "hand-made" appearance.

Why did Jell-O salad fail? ›

The problem was, the new processed substitutes couldn't be sold on taste alone, as Shapiro makes clear in her book Something From the Oven: They just weren't as good as the real thing. But American palates had been adjusting to industrial flavors for the entire 20th century.

What is the oldest Jell-O? ›

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).

Why do hospitals always serve Jell-O? ›

Why do hospitals serve so much Jell-O? 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.

Which state eats the most Jell-O? ›

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.

Why do elderly eat Jell-O? ›

It also provides essential amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, which can provide potent health benefits. The protein and amino acids in gelatin can help the body build more collagen, a vital element in healthy skin. As people age, their natural collagen levels drop.

Did people put meat in Jell-O? ›

Historically, meat aspics were made even before fruit- and vegetable-flavoured aspics. By the Middle Ages, cooks had discovered that a thickened meat broth could be made into a jelly.

What was Jell-O originally made for? ›

In 1897, Pearle Wait, a carpenter in LeRoy, was developing a cough remedy and laxative tea in his home. He experimented with gelatine and came up with a fruit flavored dessert which his wife, May, named JELL-O.

Why can't you add pineapple to Jell-O? ›

Gelatine is derived from the protein collagen. The enzyme in fresh* pineapple, bromelin, breaks down collagen and this prevents the jelly from setting.

Why do some people not like Jell-O? ›

Jello is widely consumed in the United States as a dessert or snack. Some people prefer Jello because it is sweet and has a smooth and jiggly texture, while others dislike it because it is overly sweet or tastes artificial.

What ruins Jell-O? ›

If you like making gelatin for dessert, the box often recommends not adding certain kinds of fruit, including pineapple, kiwi, mango, ginger root, papaya, figs or guava. People have a hard time getting the gelatin to solidify when they add these fruits.

Is there a black Jell-O? ›

JELLO Color Chart for Mixing (need black? Mix two purples and a green!) Jello, Jello jigglers, Jello recipes.

What was the first color of Jell-O? ›

1897 – The original four Jell-O gelatin flavors were raspberry, strawberry, lemon, and orange.

What is the most expensive Jell-O in the world? ›

Jellymongers Bompas & Parr have taken their skills to new heights with the creation of the world's most expensive jellies. Commissioned by Sony to celebrate the finale of its Sony Xperia Unleashed campaign, Bompas & Parr have created three bespoke jelly robots for the brand, totalling £6,000.

Does anyone still eat Jell-O? ›

Even though it contains artificial ingredients and has very little nutritional value, many people still eat jello because they enjoy its flavor, consistency, and convenience.

Why is Jell-O in short supply? ›

In the short term, the pandemic affected the daily operations of gelatin/collagen manufacturing and overall supply because of restrictions on transportation and a shortage of laborers, as well as feedstock availability due to supply disruptions from the slaughter industry in the U.S. However, the pandemic itself was ...

Is Jell-O making a comeback? ›

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.

Who eats the most Jell-O in the world? ›

In some circles, it is a well-known and boast-worthy fact that Utah has historically consumed more Jell-O per capita than any other state in the nation. This jiggling, fruity dessert made from horse hooves and artificial flavoring holds a special wobbling place in the heart of every Utahan, native or adopted.

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