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The Curious Bag
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Brightly colored, sweet and moldable, gelatin desserts are the staples of American potluck dinners, picnics and family holiday meals. The best-known brand name of the packaged dessert mix is Jell-o.
History of Gelatin
Gelatin has been used since ancient times to bind and preserve meat dishes. In 1890, reportedly after watching his wife engaging in the long, difficult process of extracting gelatin from hooves, Charles B. Knox invented a packaged, unflavored gelatin.
Gelatin patent
Inventor Peter Cooper was awarded the first American patent for the manufacture of a gelatin dessert. His initial recipe process never became successful, in part because it took most of the day to make it.
First Jell-O
In 1987, carpenter Pearle Wait created the fruit-flavored gelatin dessert that became today's Jell-O while preparing home remedies. His wife, May, named the new dessert Jell-O.
Commercial success
By 1902, the Genesee Pure Food Company, which now owned the name and the recipe, sold $250,000 worth of Jell-O. Sales had increased to $1 million by 1906.
Fun Fact
In 2001, the state of Utah declared lime Jell-O the "Official State Snack."
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