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?