When I was young my grandparents had cook books from the 50s and 60s that gave 1001 ways to make a meal out of Jell-O. It always seemed so strange to me seeing the people in these books putting hot dogs and vegetables in the Jell-O. I was brought up eating Jell-O as a fruity desert, so the idea was quite foreign to me. This Jell-O comes from that same era. It is from the early 60s and is intended to be used in the aforementioned Jell-O recipes. It is still in remarkable condition and is still sealed with the Jell-O inside. I have so far resisted the temptation to whip some up.

What Allee has to say about this:
I always did and always will love Jell-O. I too used to get freaked out when I saw vegetables suspended inside of it as I considered it a desert and that was no place for the green stuff. I could deal with the fruit as it was usually canned and I’ve been a kitsch food aKitschionado since the day I was born. In my adult years I developed a much better relationship with the vegetable thing.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a box of Jell-O that specifically said “for salads”. Jell-O deserves a place in the Smithsonian so I am most certainly honoring this rare box here.