20+ Easy Jello Dessert Recipes (2024)

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.

It's important to use the right amount of water, as using too much or too little can affect the taste and texture of the Jell-O. Additionally, you can add fruit, whipped cream, or other ingredients to enhance the flavor.

Fresh fruits like strawberries, blueberries, bananas, kiwis, or peaches are great additions. Other fruits have enzymes in them that make them unsuitable for adding to jello.

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.

When Jell-O freezes, the tiny pockets of liquid trapped inside harden and expand, but the gelatin itself stays flexible and pliable. What you end up with is a blend of hard and soft textures in a cool, chewy treat. Shockingly, you can eat it straight out of the freezer before it thaws without hurting your teeth.

The boiling water is important because it helps to fully dissolve the Jello powder and ensures that it will set properly. On the other hand, if you were to use only cold water, it would not dissolve the Jello powder as effectively and could result in a mixture that doesn't set properly or has lumps in it.

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.

Why do you put vinegar in Jell-O? ›

Entire cookbooks were devoted to lime Jell-O, according to Belluscio, often instructing cooks to add a tablespoon of vinegar to cut the sweetness when using flavored gelatins in savory vegetable salads.

Drain whatever kind of canned, or fresh fruit you have and just stir it around until it is all through the jello mixture. (It should be set enough not to sink to the bottom). Put back in the fridge for 1 hour and serve!

This recipe works best with sweet juices, like grape juice or apple-cranberry juice. For a sweeter result, you can replace the boiled water with an extra 1/2 cup of juice that has been heated to a boil in a small saucepan. (So you'd use 4 cups juice in total.)

Chill in refrigerator for about 1-2 hours, or until a thick jelly-like consistency. Add other fruit into Jello, spread evenly. Place back into refrigerator for about 2-3 more hours. Enjoy!

But in the decades after World War II ended, the problems that JELL-O had initially solved went away. Cheap food items did not impress a wealth-building American society, and wartime staples became repellant. In the 1970s, JELL-O languished as a children's snack and hospital dessert.

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.

Feedstock availability for gelatin in the U.S. is anticipated to remain tight in 2022 because of the pandemic, resulting in supply constraints such as trucker shortages and high absenteeism in the meat rendering industry, resulting in lower slaughter rates and high levels of wastage in the meat rendering process.

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.