Desserts
Cranberry Gelatin Mold | Retro Recipe
Pay wobbly tribute to a retro dessert favorite this holiday season with this festive cranberry gelatin mold recipe.
By Aimee Tucker|Nov 21 2018|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanYield:
Ingredients
Instructions
What a fun post to read. Not sure how fun the test cook process was however. The end result is beautiful!
Thanks, Maureen! I had fun with this one. Just might have to tackle one of the savory ones next. 🙂
DEAR AIMEE
I WILL BE TRYING YOUR MOLD THIS YEAR. I HAVE A RECIPE CALLED “PORTOFINO MOLD.”
IT’S LOADED WITH SOUR CREAM, PORT WINE AND IT’S QUITE A CHORE. YOU ASKED IF GELATIN MOLDS WERE IN MY FAMILY. I STILL HAVE MY MOMS, THEY ARE COPPER; ONE IS A HEART, THE OTHER A ROUND MOLD. MOTHER ALWAYS MADE US A RED VALENTINE MOLD AND FOR MY FATHER, HE LIKED ORANGE JELLO WITH PINEAPPLE IN IT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ARTICLE. IT BROUGHT BACK MANY MEMORIES. I WILL SURPRISE HER WITH YOUR RECIPE THIS YEAR.
CATHERINE
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
There is a mold that my Mother made and now I make and it’s very similar but instead of pineapple, you add 1/2 cup of finely chopped celery and 2 peeled, finely chopped apples to the black cherry jello, whole berry cranberry sauce and walnuts. It sounds weird but it’s really good!
You know it’s all in the presentation. If a single serving were presented in a crème brulee dish with the sour cream in little puffs around the dish…well you get the picture. I think the funny part of these was the size of them…hence the quivering. But when you think of it, the ingredients for the most part were not weird. And Jello will outlive us all.
I you prepare the mold with oil or mayonaise your jello should just slide out.
I started making a cranberry-ish jello mold involving canned fruit (I know, hopelessly “Leave it to Beaver”) when it became clear that our very small children were not so crazy about earth-tone Thanksgiving vegetables. There had to be SOMETHING on the plate which looked lively and appealing! I’m still making it–the offspring are in their 40s now, but of course there are now grandchildren….
I have several different molds like a Christmas tree shape, And I also use odd shaped muffin tins. It allows me to segment the jello on to individual plates. If I use bunds pan it becomes too large to handle.
wow! i feel like im related to your co worker! The mysterious green mold, was a staple at all holiday parties in our house. you had to at least taste it! If my mom didnt make it, we were like “yay! no green mold”! but someone else ALWAYS made it. It was ALWAYS there! Over the years kids would eventually admit that it wasn’t horrible. We even tried other varieties. My aunt made a killer Cranberry one, then there was the raspberry , and the orange one. I will be making your Cranberry version, as it sounds like the one my Aunt made, but even though I have made peace with the dreaded green mold, ive never liked it enough to make it. thats okay though, because it appears regardless. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Happy thanksgiving1
Thanks so much for the interesting article. Had no idea Jello’s been around so long. Had a great laugh reading all the comments especially since I’d just been reminiscing with several gals about those ever-present globs not only at holidays but picnic, showers, etc. Keep all the memories coming.
I made a Bloody Mary Aspic (mold) for my catering business. I used the old fashioned unflavored Knox gelatin (NEVER Jello) and yes Vodka. I put homemade Basil Mayonaise in the center. People would take a small portion to see if gelled molds had improved or to humor the chef but they came back for more when they realized it was “loaded” If you try this at home at least double the gelatin. Booze is harder to gel. Make it as spicey as you like and garnish the plate with celery. Presentation is everything.
Lime Party Jello Mold
1 cup milk
16 large marshmallows
1 6 oz. pkg lime jello
2 3 oz. pkg cream cheese
1 No. 2 can crushed pineapple
1/2 pint heavy cream
2/3 cup mayonnaise
In top of double boiler put milk, lime jello and marshmallow, stir until
marshmallows are melted.
Stir into hot mixture 2 3 oz. pkges of cream cheese until completely melted.
Add undrained crushed pineapple…cool in refrigerator.
Whip heavy cream…When above mixture is cool, fold whip cream and mayonnaise into it (you don’t want above crushed pineapple/cream cheese mixture to solidify, so check it often till just cool…)
Pour into mold…cool at least 2 hours
This is a delightful, light summer desert or for a special dinner
party…pretty to look at too…nice for the holidays…
Every year I make a cranberry molded gelatin found in a Knox gelatin booklet from the 60’s. It uses fresh cranberries, unflavored gelatin, sugar (of course), mayonnaise and a choice of fresh or canned fruits; nuts may be added or not. Even my son-in-law admitted at Thanksgiving this year that he is a convert. Not too sweet, not too tart if fresh cranberries are used instead of the alternative canned whole berries.
My mom made every thanksgiving and it was my favorite. Mom has passed on but no one in family can remember recipe can you email me the exact recipe 🙂
I have made a cranberry mold with strawberry jello and cream cheese and walnuts made into little balls and placed in the jello ring with crushed pineapples. It was delicious!
Lime jello, ginger ale instead of water, fine-chopped celery, tart green apple, pecans. It’s sparkly and has a little fizz still, fresh and crunchy. Don’t bring out mayo or cool-whip; just eat it. Adorable in individual molds.
lime jello salad:
Lime jello, cottage cheese, celery, chopped walnuts, crushed pineapple, with a bit of pimento for festive color. So delicious!
Carrot jello is a must at our family’s Thanksgiving dinner and sometimes at our Christmas Eve smorgasbord. I always thought it was a Swedish tradition, coming from the 100% Swedish side of the family, but have never seen it at any other table, except my Mor Mor’s. When I mention it, I usually get a raised eyebrow and a smirk. We love it! A large package of Orange jello, one large can of crushed pineapple (well drained) and grated carrots (not shredded, should be a mushy consistency). Personally, I like a lot of carrots. You can add as much or as little as you like. Use standard jello directions and just mix in the pineapple and carrots, chill until firm/wobbly. My sister and I eat most of it. A mouthful of turkey with a bite of cranberry sauce, then a mouthful of turkey with carrot jello. Wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it! Also a Swedish tradition, there has to be sill (pickled herring) on Christmas Eve. Even though my mom has passed and was the last one that actually ate it, it’s not a proper Christmas Eve smorgasbord without it. Most of the non Swedes that have now become family, “What’s that smell?!?!” God Jul!
My late aunt Germaine had a “famous” cranberry relish she used to make every Thanksgiving. It’s delicious! You could make it as a mold, but we prefer to break it up and serve it in a decorative bowl. It’s made with 1 lg. box black cherry jello, crushed pineapple, 1 bag of washed raw cranberries (used to be ground by hand, but you can do this in a food processor), 1 c. chopped celery, ½ c. chopped walnuts, 1 small orange (washed and ground whole with skin or thrown in the processor with the cranberries). 1 c. pineapple juice replaces the cold water when making the jello. Chill jello slightly so it’s slightly thickened before adding the celery, cranberries, orange and nuts.
This is hilarious! I’m so glad I read this because my plan was to mix the sour cream into the jello and put it in a mold. I am so glad I didn’t try this and I will either stick to a bowl or leave out the sour cream! You are awesome!
yeah I would never have tried to gelatinize sour cream. Heavy cream, greek yogurt and condensed milk are my go to’s. I had a milk fail once it was horrible
Your first- and biggest- mistake was using a bunt pan and not an actual, proper, honest to the Gods gelatin mold… There’s a reason gelatin molds are made out of different metals (or materials) entirely than cake pans, and you found it, lol. Honestly, the daring who deign to try their hands at jell-o molds should actually bother to invest in at least one, even if just for a single blog post. They’d find their adventures go a lot more smoothly when they actually have the proper tools for the job. After all, you wouldn’t try eating a steak with a spoon (unless you were a masochist). And it’s not like a small one’s expensive, or anything, either; you don’t even have to go vintage for it.