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Hello ladies and gents this is the viking telling you that today we are talking about 

JELL-O

Jell-O is a variety of gelatin desserts (fruit-flavored gels), puddings, and no-bake cream pies. The original Jell-O gelatin dessert (genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. Jell-O is a registered trademark of Kraft Heinz and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

The original gelatin dessert began in Le Roy, New York, in 1897 after Pearle Bixby Wait and wife May trademarked the name for a product made from strawberry, raspberry, orange, or lemon flavoring added to sugar and granulated gelatin, which had just been patented in 1845 in its powdered form for the masses. The dessert was especially popular in the 1930s and 1950s.

Description

Jell-O is sold prepared (ready-to-eat), or in powder form, and is available in various colors and flavors. The powder contains powdered gelatin and flavorings, including sugar or artificial sweeteners. It is dissolved in hot water, then chilled and allowed to set. Fruit, vegetables, and whipped cream can be added to make elaborate snacks that can be molded into shapes. Jell-O is typically put in a refrigerator to set (become firm), after which it is eaten.

Some non-gelatin pudding and pie-filling products are sold under the Jell-O brand. Ordinary pudding is cooked on the stove top (with milk) then eaten warm or chilled until firmly set, whereas instant pudding is mixed with cold milk and chilled. To make pie fillings, the same products are prepared with less liquid.

History

Gelatin, a protein produced from collagen extracted from boiled bones, connective tissues, and other animal products, has been a component of food, particularly desserts, since the 15th century.

Gelatin was popularized in New York in the Victorian era with spectacular and complex jelly moulds. Gelatin was sold in sheets and had to be purified, which was time-consuming. Gelatin desserts were the province of royalty and the relatively well-to-do. In 1845, a patent for powdered gelatin was obtained by industrialist Peter Cooper, who built the first American steam-powered locomotive, the Tom Thumb. This powdered gelatin was easy to manufacture and easier to use in cooking.

In 1897, in LeRoy, New York, carpenter and cough syrup manufacturer Pearle Bixby Wait trademarked a gelatin dessert called Jell-O. His wife May and he added strawberry, raspberry, orange, and lemon flavoring to granulated gelatin and sugar. In 1899, Jell-O was sold to Orator Francis Woodward (1856–1906), whose Genesee Pure Food Company produced the successful Grain-O health drink. Part of the legal agreement between Woodward and Wait dealt with the similar Jell-O name.

Going mainstream

Various elements were key to Jell-O becoming a mainstream product: new technologies, such as refrigeration, powdered gelatin and machine packaging, home economics classes, and the company's marketing.

Initially Woodward struggled to sell the powdered product. Beginning in 1902, to raise awareness, Woodward's Genesee Pure Food Company placed advertisements in the Ladies' Home Journal proclaiming Jell-O to be "America's Most Famous Dessert." Jell-O was a minor success until 1904, when Genesee Pure Food Company sent armies of salesmen into the field to distribute free Jell-O cookbooks, a pioneering marketing tactic. 

Within a decade, three new flavors, chocolate (discontinued in 1927), cherry, and peach, were added, and the brand was launched in Canada. Celebrity testimonials and recipes appeared in advertisements featuring actress Ethel Barrymore and opera singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink. Some Jell-O illustrated advertisements were painted by Maxfield Parrish.

In 1923, the newly rechristened Jell-O Company launched D-Zerta, an artificially sweetened version of Jell-O. Two years later, Postum and Genesee merged, and in 1927 Postum acquired Clarence Birdseye's frozen foods company to form the General Foods Corporation.

By 1930, there appeared a vogue in American cuisine for congealed salads, and the company introduced lime-flavored Jell-O to complement the add-ins that cooks across the country were combining in these aspics and salads. Popular Jell-O recipes often included ingredients like cabbage, celery, green peppers, and even cooked pasta.

In 1934, sponsorship from Jell-O made comedian Jack Benny the dessert's spokesperson. At this time Post introduced a jingle  that was familiar over several decades, in which the spelling "J-E-L-L-O" was (or could be) sung over a rising five-note musical theme. The jingle was written by Don Bestor, who was the bandleader for Jack Benny on his radio program.

In 1936, chocolate returned to the Jell-O lineup, as an instant pudding made with milk. It proved enormously popular, and over time other pudding flavors were added such as vanilla, tapioca, coconut, pistachio, butterscotch, egg custard, flan, and rice pudding.

By the 1950s, salads became so popular that Jell-O responded with savory and vegetable flavors such as celery, Italian, mixed vegetable, and seasoned tomato. These flavors have since been discontinued.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking.