And what does all this have to do with food storage? I thought you’d never ask.
Historically, Jell-O (generically written as jello, so both spellings are correct) has been a rather inexpensive treat—especially if you purchase the store brands or in bulk. It’s quick to make—just add boiling water, stir, and refrigerate. It’s easy to dress up with fruit or nuts. As a mild, bland food, Jell-O has graced hospital food trays for decades. So that’s probably the most significant reason for keeping some Jell-O on hand—it’s something to feed recovering patients who need a clear liquid diet.
The second important reason to store jello is to provide variety in the diet and avoid food fatigue. Hugely popular throughout the US in the 1950s and 1960s, there are thousands of recipes all over the internet for various salads and desserts. Our family has our own Strawberry Supreme Jell-O Salad with bananas, pineapple, and sour cream that is a must for every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Fourth of July celebration. You’ve got your own family favorites, so there’s no need to include salad recipes here. But there are a few more unusual uses for Jell-O, and those do merit some mention. But first, let’s look at how to acquire jello a little more economically.
When I lived in Missouri, we visited an Amish grocery store about every six months. It was a terrific place to get bulk foods, including flavored gelatin, very reasonably priced, about $3 for 24 ounces. I haven’t ever seen it sold in these bulk packages anywhere else, but they can be purchased online. After finally plugging in the right terms, I found the same packages on Amazon, but $12.99 is a bit expensive. A bulk food company carries them for a much more reasonable price. Their address is at the end of this post.
When I lived in Reno, my local Grocery Outlet store often had jello on deep discount, sometimes down to 10 cents a box. Sometimes they had weird flavors, so I passed on those, but I scooped up lots of the strawberry and lime boxes. After coming across some interesting recipes, and doing the math, I wish I’d gotten several more boxes and flavors. At 10 cents for the 6-ounce boxes, that’s less than 30 cents per pound for sugar. Not a bad price.
If you do happen to purchase bulk jello, use 6 tablespoons (or a generous 1/3 cup) for the small (3 oz) packages, and 3/4 cup for the large (6 oz) packages.
And now for a couple of novel ways of using jello, just in case you happened to really stock up:
Jello Popcorn Balls
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1 package (3 oz) jello, any flavor
10 cups popped popcorn
Combine corn syrup, sugar, and jello in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar and jello are dissolved. Do not overcook.
Remove from heat and immediately pour syrup over popcorn. Stir in quickly and mix well. Use damp hands to quickly form popcorn balls. Wrap popcorn balls in waxed paper. Re-wet hands between forming balls.
Candied Jello Popcorn
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1 package (3 oz) jello, any flavor
9 cups popped popcorn
Combine everything but popcorn in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar and jello are dissolved. Do not overcook.
Remove from heat and immediately pour over popcorn. Stir to coat. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread coated popcorn on parchment paper. Bake at 250 for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool and break apart. Store in an airtight container.
Jello Pancake Syrup
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 package (3 oz) jello
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Pour into a syrup container and let cool slightly. Serve warm over fresh pancakes or ice cream.
Links to related posts:
Bulk jello source: http://wincrestbulkfoods.com/gelatins-starches/flavored-gelatin/ Please note that I have had absolutely no experience with this company, so I’m not offering any recommendation. This source is just one that I found online for the flavored gelatin that I used to buy.
12.5.20
Having read the Mormon church recommended 'stores' list I always thought it was high in jello and drink mixes and low in meats.
ReplyDeleteExile1981
I should be more clear, for our family we never use sugar drink powders, i understand the logic behibd it, just it doesnt fit our lifestyle. Now i do have a lot of electrolite powder stocked up because i do see a need for that.
DeleteFor jello we use it rarely except as a part of a jello drink when someone has been sick.
As for meats, i find many places recommend beans and lentils as the primary protein storage. Which is fine if you have that currently in your diet and are used to it, a rapid switch to lentils can do horrible things to you. As a teen in the early 80's my mom was constantly trying fad diets and even though i was a skinny kid and my dad had no extra fat on him, mom felt we all should follow the diet and suffer with her. She switched us to a meat free lentil diet and a couple days later my body decided to pretent it was a sea cucumber. It was horrible for a couple days till i learned to eat out till she switched to a new fad.
Exile1981
Yes, a rapid change in the diet, especially from a standard North American diet to one heavy in whole grains and beans is going to be disastrous.
DeleteI, too, think recommendations for the jell-o and sugar drinks were very high.
One thing Jell-O has going for it is that it is a source of protein, albeit one that comes with a lot of sugar. That's another reason it's a common item for hospital food.
For bulk packages of jello and pudding mixes try your local food wholesalers. Go where the restaurants and commercial kitchens buy. Some do not require a business license or minimum purchase. Watch your prices because some items are cheaper in other stores.
ReplyDeleteI buy cases of frozen meats, large containers of sauces that I use a lot, as well as items with a long shelf life.