11 Fun Facts You Should Know About Jell-O (2024)

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What is a fun fact about Jell-O? ›

JELL-O TRIVIA

The first four JELL-O flavors were orange, lemon, strawberry, and raspberry. Lime was introduced in 1930. During an airshow at the Woodward Airport, one of the contests involved having the pilot land the plane, run up to a table and eat a bowl of JELL-O and then run back to the plane and take off.

The gelatinous product was also made to look more appealing by using decorative copper molds to set the product into various shapes and forms. In 1895, Peter Cooper's estate sold the patent to Pearl Wait, a cough syrup manufacturer. Mr. Wait's wife eventually changed the name of the product to “Jell-O.”

Utah eats more Jell-O than any other state

The people in Utah love their Jell-O! The state has an entire holiday week dedicated to the jiggly treat, and it's even Utah's official state food.

The original gelatin dessert began in Le Roy, New York, in 1897, when Pearle Bixby Wait trademarked the name Jell-O. He and his wife May had made the product by adding strawberry, raspberry, orange, and lemon flavoring to sugar and granulated gelatin (which had been patented in 1845).

There are a few reasons: Jell-O is easy to swallow and digest, making it suitable for patients who have difficulty eating solid foods or have digestive issues. It's smooth texture and mild flavor make it more tolerable for those with sensitive stomachs or who are recovering from surgery.

With Jell-O salads becoming less popular, the brand looked for its next hit. But it had a problem: With the increase in women entering the workforce, families weren't sitting down for as many meals and eating dessert like they once did. And new, ready-to-eat foods were hitting the market that were more convenient.

The gelatin used to make Jell-O can be made from pig skin. Gelatin is sourced from the skin, bones and other connective tissues of pigs, cows and other farmed animals. Gelatin production can get smelly for people who live near gelatin processing plants.

A popular dessert in Britain is a bowl of “jelly.” However, in America, “jelly” is something you put on bread — or what the British call “jam.” The American-English name for the dessert is “jello.”

Jello is not the healthiest food option, but eating it in moderation likely won't hurt you. Even though it contains artificial ingredients and has very little nutritional value, many people still eat jello because they enjoy its flavor, consistency, and convenience.

If you like making gelatin for dessert, the box often recommends not adding certain kinds of fruit, including pineapple, kiwi, mango, ginger root, papaya, figs or guava. People have a hard time getting the gelatin to solidify when they add these fruits.

Did people put meat in Jell-O? ›

Gelatin salads were a testament to their time. These towering, jiggly creations were studded with fruits, vegetables, meats or any concoction the home cook could think up.

Today Jell-O is owned and manufactured by Kraft/General Foods. Photo courtesy of Kraft/General Foods.

The cost of inputs used to produce Gelatin, such as sugar and corn, has been rising in recent months. This has caused prices to go up.

The rumors are true. Marshmallows, Jell-O, gummy bears… although they seemingly bear no resemblance to animals (well, other than the gummy bears), these foods often aren't vegetarian. That's because they contain gelatin, a substance used to create the “fun,” gooey, chewy textures we expect from these foods.

As a constituent of foods, gelatin is highly nutritious and easily digested and absorbed. It is obtained by boiling animal bones and connective tissue containing collagen in water or dilute acid. It is colorless, transparent, brittle, odorless, and tasteless in a purified form.

So, while jelly and jello both contain gelatin as an ingredient, they are not the same thing. Jelly is a fruit spread that is thickened with pectin, while jello is a brand of gelatin dessert mix that contains gelatin as its primary thickening agent.