About

Welcome to Molded Memories!

I am a mom, historian and freelance writer. I love to educate and inspire others to learn about the past through food!

This site is a companion to my history blog, A Dollop of History, where I dive into ancient manuscripts and texts and recreate historic recipes.

But why dedicate an entire blog to congealed food, you ask?

Well, I inherited an enormous collection of mid-century Jell-O “salad” recipes and it would be a real shame to lock them away in the dusty dark to fade away into oblivion. Some of these molded salads are clearly desserts and others are…not. First impressions range from Could-be-Good to Simply-Horrifying. Morbid curiosity and a passion for food history left me with only one option: Stock up on Jell-O!

Rather than overwhelm my history blog with unsettling mid-century jello salads, I decided to create a fun and informal space on the internet where we can admire – and gag – at a unique piece of American culinary history. The majority of the recipes on this blog will be from the 1950’s to the 1970’s, but on occasion I will post some that are even as old as the Victorian era. If the food is set in molds and calls for gelatin, it’s fair game!

If you have a gelatin recipe you’d like to share with the world, contact me in the comments or e-mail sanniebhistorian@gmail.com

Thank you for joining me. Let’s get molding!