A gelled or jellied dish, known today as gelatin, was a work intensive and high status food in the pre-industrial era. Collagen was extracted from boiled animal bones, flavored, and molded. Unflavored, dried gelatin became available for purchase in England in the 1840s and in the late 1890s, Charles Knox developed and marketed Knox Gelatin to American home cooks. Today, gelatin is sold under several brand names including Jell-O.
The brand featured in this 1891 ad was available in several flavors including calfsfoot, an original source of gelatin.
Advertisement for Imperial Table Jelly or Prepared Gelantine, The Universal Cookbook by the Ladies’ Aid Society of the First Universalist Church of Englewood, Illinois (Chicago: C. H. Morgan Co, 1891), 17. (Courtesy of Library of Congress and Internet Archive)
Image featured in Investigating Family, Food, and Housing Themes in Social Studies by Cynthia Resor
This image can illustrate to students the history of conveniences we have today and the industrialization of the production of food. This could also be used in a science or nutrition class in lessons related to modern food ingredients and the pros and cons of processed foods.