"J E L L O!" the letters, sung to a rising scale, were a frequent childhood memory for me from TV commercials. Indeed, we were big Jell-O fans in the Enderland house in the 60's.
Mom loved it because it was inexpensive and simple to make. Dad loved it because it was easy for a dentures-wearer to consume. And I loved it because of that chewy, rubbery layer that would form at the bottom of the casserole tray that mom would typically pour the hot mixture into before popping it into the fridge, or icebox as we called it back then.
Of course, it would always be cherry Jell-O, with banana slices added. I must have eaten two or three hundred pounds of the stuff as I grew up in the 60's.
Another variant that mom would create was orange Jell-O with a can of fruit cocktail thrown in. Good stuff.
We inhaled lots of the sweet gelatinous substance despite rumors going around school as to its source: cow hooves.
I would roll my eyes at such allegations. How could something so sweet and irresistible come from such a disgusting source? I mean, sure, we had heard that Elmer's glue was a product of horse hooves, but that only made sense. After all, it was not something you would eat (although a kid or two in grade school did try it, as I recall). But delicious Jell-O must surely have originated from a formula with nothing more sinister than lots of sugar, syrup and the like.
Jell-O first appeared in 1895, when a fellow who manufactured patent medicine who had the rather unlikely name of Pearl B. Wait purchased the patent for the gelatinous dessert from industrialist Peter Cooper. Wait and his wife didn't have much luck selling Jell-O, so they sold the rights to entrepreneur and high school dropout Frank Woodward.
Woodward was within inches of selling the rights to the poor-selling product to his plant superintendent for 35 bucks when the product suddenly took off.
Sales rose steadily, as Jell-O became viewed as a sophisticated dessert for the beautiful people. Eventually, the company that made Jell-O became food mega giant General Foods.
By the 70's, Bill Cosby became a spokesman for Jell-O products and kept that position for thirty years.
Other gelatin manufacturers would try to compete with Jell-O, but the only one that I remember was called Mr, Wiggles or something like that. Jell-O has managed to thoroughly dominate a market without having its extremely familiar brand name (99% of Americans are familiar with it) turn into a generic term, as happened with Aspirin, for example.
You either loved or hated the rubbery layer that would form at the bottom of the container. My wife couldn't stand it. I thought it was the creme de la creme. Oh well, she won't eat raw oysters either.
Of course, nowadays we know that gelatin does indeed come from repellent sources, including cowhides, pig skin, and bones. But, we simply put it out of our minds as we enjoy a parfait, a Jell-O shot, or simply a casserole full of the cherry-flavored variant with banana slices thrown in for good measure, just like mom used to make.
Oh,and a BIG thanks to Mr Toast for the great graphic of Jell-O boxes from the 60's!
Comments (5)
I had completely forgotten about Mr. Wiggle until I read your post! :-) I remember bugging my mom to buy it.
I grew up in a Norwegian Lutheran household. Suffice it to say that Jell-O wasn't just a dessert, it was actually its own food group.
One thing for which I never developed a taste was Jell-O with mayonnaise. As a young kid, I would see this big dollop of white stuff on top of the Jell-O and mistake it for whipped cream. Then I'd take a big ol' bite, and whoa... blechhh.
Posted by Kenosha Mom | April 28, 2008 1:50 AM
Posted on April 28, 2008 01:50
Wow! Great post! I think I might go to the kitchen today and make cherry Jell-O with banana slices. :)
I never liked the rubbery bottom myself tho'.
Posted by Fourleafclover aka Darth Mommy | April 28, 2008 1:48 PM
Posted on April 28, 2008 13:48
I was just reading some news from Wednesday, April 23, where a driver was being treated at a Saint Johns County (Florida) hospital after his truck overturned, spilling Jell-O snack packs all over I-95. Just cringing at all those packs going to waste.
I still have jell-o from buffets almost every week.
Posted by David S Paleg | April 28, 2008 5:06 PM
Posted on April 28, 2008 17:06
A little younger than boomers here, but enjoying your site...anyone remember the "rainbow in a cloud" recipe ad from early 80's? Jello cubes spooned into a dessert glass of cool whip. (They did the same with pudding--"pudding in a cloud.") I had to have a jello cup w/cool whip just now. It's been so long since I've had the boxed kind I don't remember a "rubbery bottom layer" though...
Posted by Cynthia | December 29, 2008 4:40 PM
Posted on December 29, 2008 16:40
For guests or picnics mom always made it with chopped up celery and shredded carrot. I still put mine in the freezer. remember swishing it around in your mouth? it never turned back to liquid just small lumps. Yes i was disgusting as a child (still am sometimes)
Posted by David Chapman | June 14, 2009 9:29 PM
Posted on June 14, 2009 21:29