Thursday, September 29, 2016

Jell-O

On “free museum day” this year we visited the
Birthplace of Jell-0 in LeRoy, NY
{most images from newyorkupstate.com}


A tour guide gave us a quick rundown on the history of Jell-O, and then we walked through the rest of the quaint museum displays on our own.


We loved looking at the old Jell-O memorabilia, everything from old boxes to recipes to advertisements.


It was really a trip down memory lane for us. I am not sure if a younger visitor would enjoy it as much as we did.


We are now inspired to recreate some of our old favorite recipes from our childhood.


Jell-o Trivia

In 1845, Peter Cooper dabbled with and patented a product which was "set" with gelatine but it never did "jell" with the American public.


In 1897, Pearle Wait was putting up a cough remedy and laxative tea in his home. He experimented with gelatine and came up with a fruit flavored dessert which his wife, May, named Jell-O.


In 1899 he sold his formula to a fellow townsman, Orator Frank Woodward, for the sum of $450.  Sales were slow and disheartening for the new product


An advertising campaign in 1902 proved so successful that in 1902 Jell-O sales mounted to $250,000.


They began the distribution of recipes and samples in 1904. The first of the Jell-O "best seller" recipes rolled off the presses. In some years as many as 15 million booklets were distributed.


 In 1904, Jell-O introduced the Jell-O Girl, four year old Elizabeth King whose father, Franklin King, was an artist connected with the Jell-O's advertising agency.



In 1909, the Genesee Pure Food Company posted sales earnings of over a million dollars. Four years later, that number doubled. January 6, 1925, Jell-O is issued a patent for a sugarless gelatin dessert known as D-Zerta.

The first four Jell-O flavors were orange, lemon, strawberry, and raspberry. Lime was introduced
in 1930.


There are currently 18 flavors.


The little Jell-O package which was born in LeRoy in 1897 left its hometown to make its way in the wide wide world in 1964. Today Jell-O is manufactured by Kraft/General Foods in Dover Delaware.


There is a small gift shop to purchase souvenirs.


Do you have a favorite jell-o memory?


6 comments:

Betsy Brock said...

That looks like a fun place to visit! And I love all those gelatin molds...so pretty! My mom made a few jello things but I haven't had it in years!

Diana Ferguson said...

Fun facts! Thanks for sharing.

Christine said...

I love History, any History!
This reminds me of watching one of Mr Rodgers field trips (on TV). So fascinating!

Dayle ~ A Collection of Days said...

I'm always interested in how things came to be, and I love me some Jell-O for sure.

Anna of Mutton Style and Years said...

We have jelly in the UK and we have jam for what you call jelly. Our jelly comes in little cubes you tear apart and mix with hot and cold water. I guess that's how you make jell-o too. Fascinating tour.

Creations By Cindy said...

Wow...looks like such a fun place to visit. Love reading this post with all the facts. GREAT STUFF! Hugs and blessings, Cindy