Orange Pineapple Cheddar Salad

This nameless recipe was written on the back of an old piece of While You Were Out stationery from a local printing company. The company appears to have vanished but I'd guess from the font and format that it is from the 70's. The logo letters look a lot like the font used in the … Continue reading Orange Pineapple Cheddar Salad

Lime Pineapple Salad

Here is another old recipe from my grandma's files. This one was difficult to date, but I am leaning toward 1940's or possibly 1950's. If it were up to me, which it kind of is, I would rename this Lime Pineapple Grapefruit Salad. Grapefruit turned out to be the dominant flavor here. Grapefruit was especially … Continue reading Lime Pineapple Salad

Emerald Salad Ring

This 1950's-era Emerald Salad recipe has been on my list for a while now, mostly because I have THREE of them. One of the recipe cards is handwritten by my grandmother and another was typed on a typewriter, probably by my great aunt Nell. My grandma's name is written at the top, meaning she was … Continue reading Emerald Salad Ring

Molded Chef’s Salad

Not too long ago I acquired yet another pile of family recipes to add to my ever growing collection. As I flipped through the index cards and magazine clippings, I came across this one and my heart skipped a beat. An absolutely horrifying retro recipe was calling my name: Molded Chef's Salad. My husband and … Continue reading Molded Chef’s Salad

Early Jell-O recipes, 1905

Gelatin has been around for centuries, but not in the powder form we use today. Making gelatin was a lengthy and labor-intensive process that didn't appeal much to the average housewife. Not many home cooks wanted to boil bones, hooves and tendons for hours on end. Unflavored pre-granulated gelatine came about in 1894 when Charles … Continue reading Early Jell-O recipes, 1905

Hallowe’en Salad, a Retro Gelatin Treat

A Dollop of History

To celebrate Halloween, I thought I’d do something a bit more modern. This recipe is most likely from the 1930’s or 1940’s, though the image source (chronicallyvintage.com) suggests the possibility of it being even later. There are a few clues that indicate 1940’s or earlier: the font, ingredients, and the spelling of the word Hallowe’en.

halloweensalad Fun fact: Spelling Halloween with the apostrophe is actually grammatically correct and was how children learned how to spell it in school. It is a shortened version of Hallows Eve. Over time, a grammatical error actually became the norm and now it is rare (and a little strange) to see it spelled with an apostrophe.