Jell-O

Jell-O is the brand name of a dessert mix of colored and flavored sugar and crystallized gelatin, made by Kraft Foods Inc. When mixed with water and chilled, it becomes a food that wobbles like rubber, looks like translucent plastic, and tastes like fruit. Although Jell-O sales peaked in the 1960s and some gourmets consider it déclassé, most hospitals, diners, school cafeterias, church potlucks, and holiday tables in America offer Jell-O, either alone or in one of thousands of recipe variations featuring fruit, nuts, miniature marshmallows, and any number of real and imitation dairy products.