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I love to read some of the vintage Jell-O recipes that have veggies and even meats mixed into them. They're horrifyingly hilarious, especially those with colored illustrations that really bring out the "uck' factor.
Not all that horrible. The green olive thing is quite good when made with lemon gelatin, plus chopped celery, and shredded carrot. You must also top it with a mix of half sour cream, half mayo.
I can't add anything to this conversation, other than to say the first thing I learned to make in Home Ec class in 1971 was tomato aspic - and we plated it garnished with green olives for "interest".
Not all that horrible. The green olive thing is quite good when made with lemon gelatin, plus chopped celery, and shredded carrot. You must also top it with a mix of half sour cream, half mayo.
Yep, I liked them, if done correctly. My mom was a good cook and made a pretty tasty lime jello salad.
Last edited by Stacey27520; 09-26-2022 at 03:11 PM..
Reason: Typo
It's nearly Halloween and I came back to this thread to look at the scary pictures.
These time-consuming jello salads were a kind of backlash by the working woman. In the Fifties all those packaged mixes came out to make kitchen work easier for women. And the timing was good since so many women had become liberated from household chores during WWII and were glad to take shortcuts that enabled them to work outside of the home or take time with their families.
Along with that came some criticism from the "a woman's place is in the home" crowd.
By chopping up a few colorful olives and veggies they could produce something for the table that looked like it had taken more thought and time than cracking an egg and measuring a cup of water.
And I do remember when aspics were the height of elegance for the hoi polloi." Or as Dubble T's web site says, "Dainty food for dainty people." LOL.
When we went to eat at Charley's Cafe Exceptionale (even the name sounds tacky) in Minneapolis I remember their giant hors d'oeuvres tray included tomato aspic with lemon slices. I was enchanted. And their's was good - like semi-solid fresh tomato juice.
In the early Seventies my husband took a job in Nebraska and our new church women's group was having a ladies' lunch potluck.
I agonized over what a proper young mother and housewife should bring. But we were on a budget and I had to settle for my tasty, but homely, cole slaw. Everyone in that little town walked in lock-step and the table was loaded with jello salads. There were fruit ones with whipped cream or cream cheese and there were vegetable ones with colored veggies carefully arranged. Most of them red.
I thought it was an "Oops" for me but I can't tell you how fast my cabbage disappeared!
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I love olives, but not in my jello. I will admit that once at a Salt & Straw ice cream store in Portland, Oregon, I had a cup of their Arbequina Olive Oil ice cream. I was surprised that it tasted so good, and had a really smooth, velvety texture. Would I have it again? Maybe, but there are so many other flavors to try it would be a long time. Next time maybe I'll try the Pear & Blue Cheese, so far nothing there with actual olives in it.
The newest Geico ad has a jello mold of green jello stuffed with green pimento olives. My question is: is this a real thing? Do people really eat this?
My mind tried combining the flavor of savory pickled green olives and pimento with sweet lime jello and I come up with "yuck".
But is this a family favorite enjoyed by the masses?
I'm not intending to try it. My reaction is still "yuck". It makes me feel a bit queasy whenever I see that ad,
Not all that horrible. The green olive thing is quite good when made with lemon gelatin, plus chopped celery, and shredded carrot. You must also top it with a mix of half sour cream, half mayo.
I agree with this. My mom made a nice lemon lime mold with crunchy chopped veggies with a mayo dressing drizzled on it. It was refreshing and delicious.
Back in the gelatin salad heyday (1950s), the Jell-O box did not contain sweetener. One had to add the sugar to create the sweet version.
So a lot of savory dishes were created that would horrify folks today, because the Jell-O today comes with the sweetener already in it, as that's where virtually all Jell-O sales originate now.
That said, a sweetened lime Jell-O blended with cottage cheese was always a favorite of mine. So was lime or orange Jell-O with shredded carrots.
If you don't have sangria, you can use cranberry juice in its place. You can use any flavor Jell-O. We particularly like it with black cherry Jell-O, and normally use frozen berries in the gelatin, and fresh berries in the center presentation. It's a standard at family holiday dinners.
Tomato aspic , believe made it years ago for a pot luck. No one ate it if I recall.
This Thread should be titled How to Lose Your Appetite !
Tomato aspic has fallen out of favor now. When I was a kid, it was everywhere, especially at funerals and church suppers. When I was little I despised it but as an adult it makes me nostaglic. There is a nice recipe in the charming hilarious book "Being Dead is No Excuse - The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral." That came out years ago but it is so good it is still in print. https://www.amazon.com/Being-Dead-No...6716396&sr=1-4.
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