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Retroessence Recipes and Style

The Molded Gelatin Salad

The molded gelatin salad was a culinary statement that best described the culture of the '50's - a decade with a fascination for color and appearance. Following directions carefully, it was possible to create an edible form of art in one's own home - in the '50's, glamorous "gourmet" cuisine was accessible to all.  Recipes for the molded gelatin salad went much further than the flavored-gelatin-with-fruit-cocktail mold we know so well. Among them were aspics; meat, fish or vegetable stocks thickened with gelatin. Often aspics contained cooked chicken, salmon or shrimp and a supporting cast of vegetables. One of the most astonishing gelatin mold recipes, the Perfection Salad, calls for adding canned sauerkraut, finely snipped with kitchen shears! The old saying, "the more the better", was apparent throughout the '50's culture, whether referring to tail-finned cars, or to layered gelatin molds.  In fact, design concepts of this decade, such as "two - toned", appeared in Buick Skylarks, appliances and gelatin molds. In a molded gelatin salad, the delicate pastel shade was created by mixing the original color of gelatin with creamed cheese or whipped cream, and adding the resulting pastel to its previously set counterpart. Recipes such as Two-Toned Gelatin Mold and Cranberry Ring Mold are nothing less than retro masterpieces - and they taste good, too. Why not introduce a new generation to the art of the gelatin mold!

Tomato Aspic
  • 2 cups tomato juice
  • 1 small bay leaf
  • 3 or 4 whole cloves
  • 2 slices onion
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 t lemon juice
  • 1 package lemon flavored gelatin
  • 1 cup finely cut celery

Simmer tomato juice, bay leaf, cloves and onion for  15 minutes. Strain. Add salt and pepper and lemon juice. Measure liquid to make 2 cups. Pour over lemon gelatin, stir until dissolved. Chill until partially set. Add celery and turn into ring mold. Chill until firm, then turn on serving plate. Fill center of ring with your favorite cole slaw, chicken or tuna salad. Garnish mold with sliced olives.

Cranberry Salad Ring
  • 2 cups cranberries
  • 1 1/2 cups cold water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 T unflavored gelatin
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts
  • 3/4 cup diced celery
  • Lettuce
  • Shrimp

Wash cranberries, add 1 cup cold water. Cook until tender. Add sugar and cook for 5 minutes. Soften gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water, dissolve in hot cranberries. Add salt.  Chill until mixture begins to thicken. Add nuts and celery. Mix thoroughly, pour into oiled ring mold, and chill until firm. Unmold and place on large salad plate. Arrange shrimp in the middle of the ring. Place lettuce around ring on salad plate. Pass mayonnaise.  

Two -Toned Gelatin Mold
Dissolve 1 package lime flavored gelatin in 1 1/2 cups hot water. When cool, add 1 small can crushed pineapple - well drained.  Put in ring mold and when set, add 1 package lemon flavored gelatin dissolved in 1 1/2 cups hot water, 1 package cream cheese, and 1 cup whipped cream.