Dive into the weird and surprisingly delicious world of old-fashioned jello salad recipes. Look at some of the stranger ones and get recipes for the still popular jello salad recipes.
Jello salads weren’t really a thing in my family as my grandma could never get jello to set. She was a great baker but for whatever reason jello wasn’t something she could make. I wish I had asked her to make it in front of me so I could figure out why.
While I’m not one to eat a lot of jello just on its own, in making vintage recipes I have made a lot of delicious vintage jello recipes.
A Brief History of Jello Salad Recipes
Commercially available granulated gelatin was first produced in 1894 by the Knox Company. Jell-O followed a few years later.
While aspics and other similar gelatin dishes had been around for a long time one of the first jello salads, in the way we think of them, was the Perfection Salad, developed by Mrs. John E. Cook in 1904.
It contained things like chopped cabbage, celery, and red peppers in a plain aspic flavored with lemon juice and vinegar. It even won third prize in a Better Homes and Gardens recipe contest.
And when Jell-O came along it helped make gelatin dishes easier and cheap so when lime-flavored Jell-O was released during the Great Depression it helped fuel the popularity of savory jello salads.
And in the 1950s they became a status symbol because it meant the family had a refrigerator and jello salad molds continued to become popular.
Overtime they become less and less popular and while you will rarely see a savory jello salad now the sweet jello salad still lives on especially in the mid-west and parts of the south.
While I will try a lot of vintage recipes, the savory jello salads are likely a thing you will need to find somewhere else. I did ask other bloggers to share their favorite old-fashioned jello salad recipes and they all agreed with my feelings and shared sweet jello salad recipes.
If you really want to try some savory jello recipes you can check out a few on my friend’s Youtube channel Making it Modern. Sadly she is no longer making episodes but there are some great old ones to binge.
Now for some sweet jello salad recipes that are a bit more to the modern palate’s liking.
Old-Fashioned Jello Salad Recipes
These sweet jello salad recipes are delicious and deserve to make a comeback. Try one at your next event or gathering.
This classic strawberry pretzel salad is a sweet-salty dessert with a crunchy pretzel crust, creamy cheesecake-style filling, and a delicious jello topping filled with strawberries!
This is one of the vintage recipes I've recreated. It uses strawberry jello and is delicious! It's perfect for a holiday party.
This vintage orange jello said is a classic at church potlucks, family reunions and holidays.
Raspberry jello pretzel salad is made with a cream cheese and Cool Whip mixture on a pretzel crust layered with raspberry Jello. It’s a sweet and salty classic dessert salad!
5-Minute watergate salad made with pistachio pudding, crushed pineapple, whipped topping, chopped pecans, and mini marshmallows.
This is a fun twist on the vintage pretzel jello salad with refreshing lemon!
Cranberry Jello Salad is made with cherry Jello, cranberries, pecans & pineapple. It's a holiday favorite!
This lime jello salad is a creamy chilled dish made with lime gelatin, cream cheese, pineapple and cream. It works as a side dish or dessert.
More Vintage Dessert Recipes to Try
If you liked these vintage dessert recipes, you should also try some of the other vintage recipes here on Retro Housewife Goes Green.
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