Jell-O

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Jell-O is a brand name manufacturer of gelatin desserts, selling their products in the USA.

Although gelatin has been used for many years, the preparation of dessert jellies from gelatin flakes is a laborious process, involving boiling the gelatin with egg whites. The first powdered gelatin for use in desserts was patented in 1845 by Peter Cooper. He did not market his product very effectively, though, and in 1897 sold the patent to cough syrup manufacturer Pearle B. Wait. Wait's wife named the product "Jell-O". The Waits sold Jell-O in strawberry, raspberry, orange and lemon flavors. In 1899 Wait sold the business to a neighbor, Orator Francis Woodward, for $450. From around 1900 Jell-O was sold by the Genesee Pure Foods Company (later the Jell-O company, which joined Postum to form the General Foods Corporation, now a brand of Kraft Foods inc.)

The brand's popularity has led to its becoming a generic term for gelatin desserts in many quarters.

[edit] Trivia

Jell-O is the official state snack food of Utah, which is reported to have the highest per capita sales of green gelatin dessert of any U.S. state. Over-fondness of Jell-O is often considered a cliché trait of Mormons even in other areas. See Jello Belt.
Bill Cosby is often associated with Jell-O because of the many commercials he made for Jell-O branded products.
Jello Biafra, a well known figure within the punk community, took the first part of his stage name after the Jell-O brandname, and even ran for mayor of San Francisco using the Jell-O ad campaign catchphrase, "There's always room for Jello", as his campaign slogan.[1]
Jell-O sponsored Jack Benny's radio comedy show in the 1930s and early 1940s; the program's official title during that period was The Jell-O Show. Benny's catchphrase during this period was "Jello again, this is Jack Benny talking."
Salt Lake City consumes more lime-flavored Jell-O than any other city in the US.
The name "Jell-O" actually came from people's reaction to it. They would say, "Oh, Gel." The creator merely switched the words and spelled it phonetically.