Lime Gelatin Salad
What?! No applause or expectant sighs?! Not on this side of the computer either, but maybe part of the fun is in the molds, the jiggle, and the surprise of what's truly inside that transparent sugar-laden gel.
Gelatin has been around for centuries and has a multitude of uses. It is a protein substance derived from collagen, a natural protein present in the tendons, ligaments, and tissues of mammals. It is valuable as a basis in food processing jellied desserts, the preservation of fruit and meat, and to make powdered milk, merinque, taffy, marshmallow, and fondant. It is also used to clarify beer and wine. In industrial applications gelatin is used in making medicine capsules, photographic plate coatings, dying and tanning supplies, and paper production.
If you are interested in more detail you can read here:
A name we've come to know worldwide for the powdered flavored gelatin used in home cooking is Jell-O. In 1897 Mr. Pearle Wait, a carpenter, while working on a cough remedy and laxative tea, experimented with gelatin and came up with a fruit flavored dessert. His wife, May, named it Jell-O. In 1899 Mr. Wait sold the formula for $450. The sales and marketing success of the brand is an incredible story and told best by the Jell-O folks themselves.
So in the true spirit of the mid-century here is our Lime Gelatin Salad!
The Jell-O has to thicken slightly so while we've waiting I'll share a little of our personal history with you. This is a four-generation picture of my family. The baby is me, held by my great-grandfather Frank Hubbard Walker who was born August 24, 1865. My mother, Mary Ellen Case Sukanen born March 23, 1931. My grandmother Irma May Walker Case born March 17, 1897. 1897 - the same year Mr. Pearle Wait was developing Jell-O.
This photo was taken in 1950. My father had epilepsy and although he and my mother had married, the state annulled the marriage since it was against the law for epileptics to marry, the thought being it was an inherited condition. As a result I went to live with my grandmother and grandfather while my mother went to a nearby larger city to work. Grandpa had been married and had 7 children when his first wife passed. He married my grandma and they had 6 children of their own. My mother was near the youngest of the second group and my blessed grandma had raised all 13 children and now was taking care of me. Most amazing was that she was doing this in a home in northern Wisconsin without running water or indoor plumbing. Everything was cooked and heated on the big wood stove in the kitchen, the well pump handle was part of the kitchen sink, and there was an outhouse a brisk walk from the house during the winter and chamber pots under the beds. It was a wonderful life! Well, to me it was!
Back to the Lime Gelatin Salad - the Jell-O is partially thickened, all the veggies are diced, and the molds are prepared with a thin coating of oil. Since I don't have any true salad molds I'm using my dessert glasses, a leaf-shaped muffin pan, and a gingerbread village pan. Should be interesting shapes even if the flavor is not.
While the molds are in the refrigerator for the final firming, I want to share with you something that was an absolute shock to me. Thinking back to 1950 to 1953 at which time my mother remarried, I lived with Grandma and Grandpa in the house without the plumbing. We heated all our water on the wood stove, washed clothes in wash basins with a scrub board and hung them on the clotheslines to dry, we heated the water and took baths in the big tub. For all these years I never thought about what might have been invented and available to the general public until I saw this page in the same recipe book I'm using in this Challenge.
Range, refrigerator, dishwasher, automatic washer and dryer. I was stunned! "Hotpoint for better living - in '51 and the years to come." Did Grandma even know such things existed? Even as a pre-teen visiting her in that same house she was always so cheerful and seemed so satisfied and not wanting for anything. I still remember that fabulous Easter dinner made in the big wood stove. So The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread for me is our wonderful appliances!
Time to unmold our salads and taste test! The first is in the dessert cups. A short dip in hot water, a knife around the edge and unmolding is easy.
The dessert cup didn't give much of a shape but Patrick tasted it anyway. He said "I hope you like it". Which means he doesn't. I'll admit, the mouthfeel is odd. The veggies are very crunchy but the gelatin is smooth and it took a few forkfuls for me to get used to it. But it is very fresh and refreshing. I added the mayo and pimiento to the top of a molded salad and the presentation is pretty. Blurry in this photo, but pretty.
Next I tried the leaf muffin pan molds. Again a short dip and they came out easily onto a flat plate. I took a spatula and moved them to the smaller, lettuce-lined plates. With some dressing I think this would be a nice serving. The mold created some great detail into the salad.
Lastly, the gingerbread house mold. A dip in warm water and it, too, slid out easily. It would have been great fun to fill the entire gingerbread village and lay out fresh fruit and veggies throughout and serve.
Historical Food Fortnightly
The Challenge: #7 The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
The Recipe: CBS Homemakers Exchange Recipes April, May, June 1951
The Date/Year and Region: 1951, United States
How Did You Make It: Followed recipe exactly with a variety of molds
Time to Complete: 6 hours
Total Cost: $4.00
How Successful Was It? Only 2 thumbs up - mine. Patrick says he only likes Jell-O pudding. Chocolate preferably.
How Accurate Is It? Not having any vintage molds, not very on that end. But the recipe is accurate and, you know, There's Always Room For Jell-O.
Anyone up for chocolate pudding?
Patrick and Jeanette
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