Jell-O salad is a side dish made by combining Jell-O with fruits, vegetables, nuts, and spreads, often formed in decorative molds. It was popular in the 1950s and 1960s and is still made today. Jell-O salad is a staple of community gatherings and parties and is typically associated with potlucks, picnics, and family reunions in the United States. Most Jell-O salad recipes focus on fruit, but some contain ingredients more common to a regular garden salad.
Jell-O salad is a type of side dish prepared by combining Jell-O or other gelatin with any combination of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and spreads. Most Jell-O salads are formed in decorative molds. They are typically associated with potlucks, picnics and family reunions in the United States. While still made by some today, they were most popular in the 1950s and 1960s.
Many food critics rank Jell-O salad as a quintessential aspect of postwar American cooking. Families who had become accustomed to rationing and food shortages during World War II took particular delight in the bright colors and often outlandish ingredients added to Jell-O salads. The salad was inexpensive, however, and could be made with almost anything a cook had on hand.
For many years, Jell-O salad has been a staple of community gatherings and parties. It would have been rare to host a potluck in the United States in the 1960s without receiving at least one version of a jelly salad. More often than not, families had their favorite salad recipes, many of which were improvised and improved upon over time. Jell-O salad was largely out of popular cooking around 1970, although some cooks continue to make these salads today, mostly from old family recipes. Salads are also very popular at themed parties and “retro” dinners.
Most Jell-O salad recipes focus on fruit. Jell-O flavors such as lime, pineapple, or orange are typically the most common. Cooks then add grated citrus bits, canned fruits such as pineapples or tangerines, and often nuts. Fruit-based Jell-O salads are traditionally served with whipped cream.
Many Jell-O salads also contain ingredients more common to a regular garden salad. Cucumbers, carrots, celery, olives and even shredded lettuce can be added to a Jell-O salad. Salads in this style are often referred to as a congested salad. Some congested salads are made with unflavored or plain gelatin, but more often than not, they’re made with fruit-flavored Jell-O — usually, lime. Vegetable salad types are often garnished with horseradish or mayonnaise.
If the salad is to be made in a shape, which is common, the cook must quickly pour the Jell-O fruit mix into a mold. Shaped Jell-O molds are available from some retailers, but cake pans — especially bundle pans — are also commonly used. The Jell-O must be installed in the refrigerator, which often takes several hours.
Not all Jell-O salads are molded. Some salads, especially those meant to be served straight in individual servings, are more blended. Jell-O seafoam salad is perhaps the most popular example of a salad made in this style.
A meerschaum salad is made much like a typical fruit-based Jell-O salad, except that whipped cream, cottage cheese, or cream cheese is added directly into the gelatin mixture at the same time as any fruit. When Jell-O sets, it revolves around these creamier agents, resulting in a soft, shapeless substance that is easily slid into individual glasses or bowls. The name “seafoam” comes from the frothy, ocean-like appearance this type of salad takes on when made with green or blue Jell-O.
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