Jello

I love Jello, very much! I know that sounds strange from a woman of many years, but I really do. Maybe because I never was forced to eat it when I was sick. Maybe because for a long time I couldn't eat it. It's not kosher, the brand that is. It is made from pork gelatin, not horses hooves, but either way, not kosher. It was a sad, sad, sad day when my family discovered that most gelatin is made from pig. No marshmallows, no frosted mini wheats, no poptarts, and gasp, no gummy worms. Yes a sad day indeed. It was the same day we learned about kosher seals on products and that a plain K doesn't mean much.

Then we discovered beef gelatin. We were given a small amount by a dear friend and we made marshmallows. We tried a few different recipes, mostly from Martha, and killed one mixer, but we had yummy gooey marshmallows. But alas not enough gelatin to try homemade jello. Then the quest to find more began. It is not as easy as it would seem to find it in small affordable quantities. But we did and ordered it from a friend who was ordering from a site that had it. Then disaster struck! That friend's family got sick....for a month! Now I feel really bad that this dear woman who has small children and is super expecting had to go through the agony of sick kids. Being a mom of many too, I totally feel for her, but man, no jello.

Then a miracle happened! We were helping another dear friend pack and move and she had a large container of ...beef gelatin....!!!!! that she was just going to throw away! We rescued it and commenced doing the happy dance right there! I know she thinks we are nuts, but sometimes, it is the small things in life. It was a week or so before Thanksgiving and I was so excited. I searched the internet again and found a recipe for homemade jello and then started making all my favorite holiday jello salads. My kids were excited too. Some had never had jello before having only been in a kosher home. They eyed the jiggly mass of yummy goodness with joyful expectation. It is was a blessing to see their eyes go wide with happiness after that first mouthful of smooth sweetness. I was happy to see that now I could pass on the family traditional jello salads at Thanksgiving.

So why do I like jello so much? It tastes good. It is sweet and cool and fruity. I like that you chew it but all you really do is make it smaller jello. My favorite memory of jello is from being a child with a missing tooth and swooshing the jello in and out of that empty place. I remember jello jigglers that my own mother would never make but the neighbor did and always shared. I remember making those tilty jello layered cups with cool whip. I still think it is fun to watch the canned fruit suspended in jello like an astronaut floating in space. Jello makes me happy when I eat it, that is why I love jello.