I haven’t made Jello for a million years, but when I did last, I clearly remember measuring water into a pan which was heated on the stove. I tend to consider any action that includes using the stove to heat food to be a form of cooking. Have they changed Jello enough that you can make it with tap water now?
I’m now considering going to the store and buying a box to play with. That would involve disturbing a sleeping cat, though, so probably won’t happen.
No. It’s just that a number of us boil the water in the microwave in a pyrex measuring cup. No pan to wash.
Oh, and when they say boiling, they do not mean hot. They mean boiling.
Microwaves weren’t around when I was making Jello, so that’s a pretty big change right there!
In my case, there’s the added benefit that the microwave goes ding when it’s over while the pan will just boil until it goes dry. Which I guess is another way to fuck up jello.
Moved to cafe society.
I knew a guy in Junior High who ate his lunch-room Jello with a straw; the sound was puke-inducing.
Jello sucks.
His did.
Did you faithfully follow the directions? When we were 11 a friend and I made a batch of Jello that never set. We only used boiling water, not the prescribed 2 cups boiling + 2 cups cold.
Your wife isn’t Asian by any chance, is she? Her method would work just fine with agar-agar, which is pretty much the Asian equivalent of Jello.
One of the delights of living in Indonesia (and probably most places in Asia, although I can’t definitively speak to that) is the ready availability of a powder that basically works like Jello but doesn’t need refrigeration to set. A Japanese friend told me it was also good because it has protein, but I don’t have a cite for that and am not sure she was correct.
This Swallow Brand is what I bought all the time in Indonesia. It was awesome when I had a small child to feed.
Hey! I’ve be accused of lots of shit, but I’ve never faithfullyed anyone!
I found this out the hard way.
…or perhaps not enough?
I know! It felt funny when I typed that.
This reminds me of the Jello-pineapple rings my mom made for holiday meals. She would drain the can and fill it with Jello of an appropriate seasonal color. After it came out of the can she sliced it into rings (or maybe it was pre-sliced).
Anyway, this always struck me as one of those weird culinary things that came out of 1950’s women’s magazines.
Via corporate advertising gimmicks, apparently (scroll down to see the Dole ad pitching this recipe).
That’s precisely what my mom always made. Except she used Fall colors–orange and lemon–for Thanksgiving and Christmas colors–lime and strawberry–for Christmas.
It was actually pretty tasty. The Jello rings occupied space right next to the devilled eggs and stuffed celery on the table.
I love how that woman from the blog poses her American Girl dolls for all of the recipe photos.