Saturday, May 19, 2012

Mosaic Jello

I decided to try this new jello recipe that I first saw on one of my favorite blogs, Food Librarian.  She called it broken glass jello. Probably because I was an English major at UCLA and tend to be particular about words, or I'm just neurotic, but I often take issue with recipe names that aren't attractive (See Soda Cracker Bark for my latest example of my neurosis).  So Broken Glass Jello won't fly with me... it sounds ouchy and painful and not tasty. Who wants to eat broken glass?

On the official jello website, they call this recipe "Mosaic Dessert Bars" which sounds much more edible. Not that I would want to eat a glass tile mosaic (which is made of bits of broken glass) but at least I am not imagining shards of glass in every bite.

Putting aside my crazy tendencies and bringing up my mother's, this is definitely a recipe for her. I have talked about her penchant for wiggly jigglys in my layered jello post.  So I decided to make her a jello, and see how I liked this one.


The verdict: I don't like how it isn't as attractive from the top as it is from the sides. The top is nearly all white, as the chunks of jello don't float in the milk mix. I guess it is the same as the layered jello, which is pretty boring as well until you cut into it. As far as taste goes, it tastes exactly like the layered jello (not surprising, it uses the same ingredients). Which I don't particularly care for, because jello is not my thing. Wow I am obviously selling this recipe >.< Okay, if you like jello, you will LOVE both these recipes. If you're like me, then make it and give it away as presents to people who love jello, and they will love you. Win win!

My boyfriend opened the fridge to find four tupperwares full of jello, and asked if I was doing a science experiment. He now calls the kitchen my test lab, which is, in a way, an accurate moniker.

Mosaic Jello

1 3 oz box of four different colored jellos (i.e. red, blue, green, orange like I did)
1 can of condensed milk
2 pouches of unflavored gelatin

Pour each box of jello into a separate tupperware container and pour one cup of boiling water into each container. Mix until dissolved, then place in the fridge until firm. Cut jello into approximately 1/2 inch chunks and place into a 9x13 baking pan. Mix gently to distribute the colors but do not break up the jello. Mix 1/2 cup cold water and the two pouches of unflavored gelatin and stir until the gelatin expands or "blooms." Mix in 1 1/2 cups boiling water and the condensed milk with the unflavored gelatin mixture. Wait until the milk mix is cool, then pour over the chopped colored jello bits. Place in fridge until firm. Cut into squares or desired shape and serve.

See Also:
Seven Layer Jello
Shoutout to Blogs I Love


3 comments:

  1. These are so pretty I think I will try it. Thanks for Sharing.

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  2. My cousin calls this stained glass jello. :) I think you can make it more attractive from the top by cutting the colored jello into 1" cubes. Then the colors distribute more evenly. If you do a Google image search for stained glass jello you can find examples.

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    Replies
    1. I absolutely agree. This is actually one of my first blog posts and I didn't have a camera yet, let alone any idea how to style the food to give it's attractiveness justice.

      Some day I will have to reshoot this recipe. My mom is Jello-obsessed, so I make this for a lot of family get-togethers. It's on my to-do list of recipes I want to re-do!

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