LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - AUGUST 15, 2021 by Lynne Belluscio Every so often something interesting comes up on Ebay. It’s rare that I find something that is Jell-O related that we don’t already have in the collection, but often if I do, I can’t afford it or am outbid at the last minute. Last year I discovered a Mr. Wiggle box, which is rare enough, but it was the candy corn flavor. Mr. Wiggle was introduced in 1965. It was artificially sweetened and was introduced when General Foods discovered that competitor Pillsbury was about to go to market with a product called “Jiggly.” Advertisements in the Sunday comics told kids “Mr. Wiggle tastes like candy – but no sugar! So, you can eat all you want, anytime you want.” (Somehow, I don’t think today’s nutrition-conscious parents would be lining up to buy this product today.) There were several Mr. Wiggle flavors which included gumdrop grape, jellybean strawberry, lollypop lime, rockcandy raspberry, candyball cherry and candycorn orange. Promotional giveaways included two puppets, Mr. Wiggle and Sweet Toothed Sam (both are on exhibit in the Gallery). Pillsbury never produced Jiggly and General Foods lost $3.3 million before discontinuing Mr. Wiggle. When the candy corn Mr. Wiggle appeared in Ebay, I figured it would go for a couple hundred dollars. The Historical Society was short of money for acquisitions, so I was a little conservative with my bid. And for a while I was the high bidder, but then at the last minute everything went crazy and I think it went for more than $350. So, if you ever come across a box of candy corn Mr. Wiggle, let me know. Actually, any box of Mr. Wiggle would be of interest. Chocolate Jell-O gelatin (not pudding) was introduced in 1906, and joined the original four flavors, lemon, orange, raspberry and strawberry. As Ruth Harvie used to say, “Once I discovered that chocolate was one of the fruit flavors, I counted a Hershey chocolate bar as one of my daily fruit servings.” This box is not from 1906. At the bottom notice that Jell-O had won the highest awards in 1915 at the expositions in San Francisco and San Diego. Also on one end of the box it mentions that it was “guaranteed to comply with all pure food regulations encoled sealed package patented June 23, 1914. However, the real clue is “The Jell-O Company, LeRoy. N.Y.” This would date the box between 1923 and 1925. Between 1899 and 1923, Jell-O was manufactured under the name of the Genesee Pure Food Company. In an attempt to protect its trademark, The Genesee Pure Food Company changed its name in 1923 to the Jell-O Company. When Postum acquired Jell-O in 1925, the boxes were marked “Postum successor to Jell-O.” Interestingly, the box is in remarkable shape, and has a bag of Chocolate Jell-O inside. This will be carefully removed to protect the box from being attacked by insects. And no, we won’t use it. I think ninety-eight-year-old Jell-O has expired. Although I did notice on the back “Jell-O is packed in moisture proof bags which preserve the flavor and quality even if it hardens in the package.” The directions for the box says to “dissolve the contents of this package in one pint of boiling milk (and be sure it is boiling). Stir until entirely dissolved. There is only one way to measure a pint; use a pint measure. In preparing Chocolate Jell-O pour a small quantity of milk over the powder and stir until it makes a thick paste, add more milk and stir again. Continue until you have a thin even paste and then add the balance of the pint of milk and stir thoroughly. When fruit, nuts, etc. are added, let Jell-O cool before putting them in. Jell-O may be served plain or with whipped cream or any good pudding sauce.” Just in case you want to try making some chocolate Jell-O gelatin, Carolyn Wyman in her book, “Jell-O A Biography” includes this recipe. Chocolate Jell-O 2 envelopes of Knox unflavored gelatin (or 1 tablespoon) 2 cups chocolate milk Heat 1 ¾ cups chocolate milk in a saucepan but do not boil. Sprinkle unflavored gelatin over ¼ cup of cold chocolate milk. Let stand one minute. Add to saucepan of hot milk and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved – about 5 minutes. (This is important, otherwise it will have a hard layer and a watery layer on top.) Pour into dishes and refrigerate about 3 hours. Chocolate Jell-O