Life’s a Dreamsicle Retro Jell-O Salad

​There’s no doubt that pineapple is on the menu!  Since this symbol of welcome is currently trending everywhere, I was delighted to find a vintage pineapple-shaped Jell-O mold when I was thrifting.  This led me to rediscover Jell-O salad in all its fruity, wiggly retro splendor!  I haven’t eaten a Jell-O salad in many years.  My Grandma Marcie used to make them when I was a little girl.

Cooking with gelatin was cutting edge in the 1950s– an intersection of the culinary arts and modern food science.  French cuisine was the first to use gelatin for cooking.  Since rendering and clarifying gelatin was labor intensive and expensive, only the wealthy could afford to use it.  The invention of pre-granulated gelatin in 1894 by Charles Knox and the eventual widespread use of refrigeration made it accessible to everyone.

Here’s my updated version of a Jell-O fruit salad.  To make it, you’ll need:

• A box of orange Jell-O
• A 15 ounce can of fruit cocktail in fruit juice
• A can of Eagle sweetened condensed milk
• A vintage Jell-O mold

1. Strain and save the juice from the can of fruit cocktail.  The can has about a ½ cup of juice.  Add ¼ cup of cold water and ¼ cup of condensed milk to the juice.
2. Arrange the canned fruit in the Jell-O mold.
3. Boil a cup of water and mix in the dried Jell-O.  Then, add the mixture of fruit juice, water, and sweetened condensed milk to the boiling water with the Jell-O.                                Tipsy Tip: To take your Jell-O salad to an adults-only level and make it the life of the party, spike it by adding coconut rum or tequila now!!!
4. Pour the liquid into the mold and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours. 
5. To remove the Jell-O from the mold, set it on top of the tray you want to serve the dessert on.  Lightly run warm water on the mold for less than 10 seconds.  The Jell-O will release and be ready to eat!

​I told my daughter stories about my grandma as we made this Jell-O salad.  We both think it tastes like dreamsicles and sunshine.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.