When my mother hosted family Christmas gatherings when I was a child, she always made two bowls of “Fluffy Jello;” one made using red gelatin and the other green. She said that “the kids like Fluffy Jello.” She made it by using electric beaters to add lots of air and foam to cooled gelatin that was almost ready to set. I hadn’t had Fluffy Jello in years and had forgotten all about it until I saw directions for making whipped gelatin in a hundred-year-old cookbook.
I decided to whip some gelatin. It was airy and light – and brought back lots of warm memories of day and people from long ago. It’s not just kids who like “Fluffy Jello.”
The 1924 directions called for using a Dover mixer, which is a hand-turned rotary mixer, to whip the gelatin but otherwise it is very similar to how I remember my mother doing it. The old directions also called for using a metal mixing bowl and setting it in ice water to keep everything very cold. This worked well and the gelatin whipped very nicely. I used a box of gelatin that called for using 2 cups water, and said that it made 4 servings. The gelatin did double in volume, and in my opinion it would make 6 to 8 servings, not the 12 mentioned in the directions. This suggests that the author of the directions used a larger package of gelatin than what I used.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Whipped Gelatin
1 3-ounce box of flavored gelatin
Prepare gelatin in a mixing bowl according to package instructions. Put the mixing bowl with the gelatin in the refrigerator. Refrigerate until the gelatin just begins to thicken, then set in a pan of ice, and beat with electric beaters until the gelatin is very foamy. Pour into serving dish (a 1-quart bowl works well) and refrigerate until set (at least 2 hours).
Hmm. I supect this is something you have to be brought up to like. It doesn’t sound appealing.
My mother made something similar but she whipped evaporated milk and then added jelly. So when it set you had a layer of jelly on the bottom and frothy set whipped evaporated milk on the top…
I remember my mom doing this too!
Memories, Dorothy…its what drives us to cook xx
It sounds like fun. I need to try it with my grandbabies.
I prepared whipped jello a number of times. The children were young at that time, but everybody enjoyed the fluffy gelatin.
Fluffily gelatin like fluffy kittens, fluffy quilts all sound great.
My mama would whip it for a bit pour it into glasses and whip it a bit more and pour it over the other layer and whip it one more time to top it off. 3 layers of color and texture!!!
And we thought it was a great treat to get our own full clear glass of desert!
Whipped gelatin and cream were like a mousse and quite festive and fun during the holidays–much better than plain, although my grandmother’s Cherry Coke Salad was not plain, and we loved it.
This one I never heard of. I just might give it a try.
What does it taste like – so very intriguing?
It is similar to the texture of a mousse, and it will taste like whatever flavor of gelatin was used, or if plain gelatin, the flavors added to it. When I make panna cotta I use unflavored gelatin and add Grand Marnier and orange juice, whipped with cream.
It will taste like whatever flavor the gelatin is, or if using unflavored gelatin, any flavorings that you might add. When I make panna cotta, I use unflavored gelatin and add Grand Marnier and a little orange juice, whipped with additional whipping cream. It is light in taste, but with the gelatin, it firms up, like a mousse.
Thanks, great suggestions!
According to the Guardian jelly is becoming popular again. “Top chefs and celebrities are embracing the humble jelly, with supermarkets reporting sharp rise in sales”. Perhaps revival of the whipped gelatin as well?
I think it is fun to learn the different terms used for food, depending on the origins of the cook!