An Ode to Jello Salad

An Ode to Jello Salad

Lately, I’ve been working with two wonderful authors on a cookbook featuring the recipes from the 1960’s (due out in the Spring!).    Even though I wasn’t around for the 60’s, I’ve been getting a real nostalgia trip, because some of the recipes could be straight from my grandmother’s collection:  pot roast flavored with Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix, or casseroles with crushed potato chips on top, and even...something I think has become a lost art...the jello salad.     

Whatever happened to jello salad? Has it gone the way of Spam or the Pimiento Cheese Ball—a food that is charming only for its kitsch factor? I certainly hope not. For those of you who are wondering even what I’m talking about:  a jello salad is defined as any gelatin dish with fruits (or sometimes, vegetables) floating in it.  Important point: it’s considered  a salad, not  a dessert.   I know my grandmother wouldn’t have dreamed of setting a holiday table without a place for the jello salad.  It’d be (appropriately) housed on its own salad plate, maraschino cherry optional.  There was a special one she’d make just for me when I visited (lime jello with canned Bartlett pears); one just for Thanksgiving (orange jello with pineapple chunks) and of course, an extra special one for Christmas Day.  No matter which recipe she used, it was always a refreshing complement to the main meal.   

So I say, let’s bring back the jello salad!  I think my grandmother’s Christmas recipe just might make you a convert.  I give it to you straight from the old family recipe book.  But feel free to experiment:  if you can’t find store-bought cranberry-orange relish, try canned pineapple chunks.  And don’t worry if you don’t have a jello mold (who does?).  Just use a cake pan and cut into individual squares. Don’t forget the maraschino!

Christmas Jello Salad

Serves 8-10

1 (3 oz) package raspberry flavored jello

1 (3 oz) package lemon flavored jello

2 cups boiling water

1 (10 oz) package frozen raspberries

1 (4 oz) jar of cranberry-orange relish

1 cup of lemon-lime carbonated beverage (like Sprite or 7UP)

Dissolve the raspberry and lemon jello in 2 cups of boiling water. Stir in frozen raspberries, breaking up the larger pieces with a fork.  Add cranberry-orange relish. Chill until cold but not set. Carefully pour in lemon-lime carbonated beverage. Turn into a 6 oz (6 ½ cup) ring mold.  Chill until firm.

Note:  the Sprite/7Up gives it a bit of a kick! 

Here’s to the Jello Salad renaissance!

Jennifer

Image via here