Jell O

LE ROY, N.Y. -- According to people in this upstate village, the museum that opened here this summer is one that America sorely needed: all about the science, history and sociology of Jell-O.Jell-O was first formulated in this village near Rochester in 1897 and was manufactured here until General Foods moved Jell-O away in 1964.But even in the decades since, Jell-O has received considerably more attention here than in most places. And the opening of the museum by the Le Roy Historical Society is, if anything, increasing Le Roy's Jell-O consciousness.

Janet Brunner from St. Augustine, Fla., was looking for a no-bake recipe for lemon Jell-O cheesecake. Mercedes Shideler from Sebastopol, Calif. shared her recipe for lemon cheesecake that she hopes is the one that Brunner is looking for. This likely is the cheesecake many of us grew up with. Unlike the real deal, even a novice cook can make this and expect good results. With this recipe, you get all the delicious lemon cheesecake flavor without all the extra effort. It's light and tangy — and best of all, it is no-bake.

Nearly everyone has in their past a towering cathedral of Jell-O, populated by millions of mini-marshmallows and canned fruit chunks. Or they can remember the bilious green lime and cottage cheese Jell-O mold that made an annual appearance at the church social, perhaps to be consumed as penance. At the very least, they recall the bowl of jiggly cherry Jell-O cubes -- prepared by mom to soothe a sore throat -- and their slippery descent to the tummy.Gelatin in general, and Jell-O in particular, is perhaps the nation's most popular and versatile novelty foodstuff.

The clerks at the Days Inn of Westminster know that every Friday night before a McDaniel College home football game, a bearish guy with a thick New York accent will appropriate their refrigerator and fill it with 150 cubes of yellow and green Jell-O — spiked with a little something extra. "Everyone knows that if you want a Jell-O shot, you come to the camouflage tent at the 50-yard line," says a beaming Joe Timpanaro, whose son plays wide receiver for the Green Terror (the team colors correspond with dad's Jell-O)

Pieces of column too short to use:So whaddaya want for 95 cents? . . . The sign at the counter of always-busy Jimmy's Restaurant, 801 S. Broadway, exclaims: "New Dessert Sensation! Strawberry Jell-O!" All due respect to the person who penned that advertisement, but Jell-O isn't exactly new. For the record, gelatin powder was patented in 1845, and by 1925 Jell-O was a $647 million business. The rest is history. Somebody tell the sign-maker at Jimmy's.Great moment of the month . . . I house-sit a friend's farm in Harford County.

Can anyone serve a Jell-O mold without becoming a laughingstock? This question congealed in my mind after a recent meeting of the Common Readers Book Club at my home, where I prepared, as a neon accompaniment to a truly lavish meal, a simple Jell-O mold. Let me explain first that the Common Readers Book Club is so named because our founding member, early on, forwarded an excellent quotation about the common reader's aim: simply to enjoy a book. We all identified with the quotation and derived our club name from it; but now, of course, not one of us can remember who said it. Come to think of it, none of us can remember the names of the main characters in the first two books we have read.

What's shaking in the home of the Winter Olympics? Jell-O. You know, that sugary, wiggly, Bill Cosby-giggly, eat-it-for-a-troubled-tummy dessert. It seems the folks of Utah eat more Jell-O per capita than anyone in the country. More than the residents of Iowa, the previous holder of the title. We know this because Cosby, the ambassador of Jell-O nation, went to the Utah Legislature last year and swore it to be true. The lawmakers were so taken with the honor that they set aside the second week of February each year to pay tribute.

Mary M. Young of Los Banos, Calif., requested a "side-dish recipe made with Jell-O that has ... been cut into small cubes and mixed with Cool Whip and other ingredients." Dana J. Shinholt of Columbia said: "I'm glad to respond with a favorite dish my grandmother served at our family gatherings. Nana would make a large Jell-O mold for the adults to share and individual cups for each of the grandchildren. She has been gone now for almost 15 years, and it took a little bit of searching to track down her recipe book.

Nine lunch products have been "honored" with wastemaker awards given yearly by several environmental groups -- U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Clean Water Action and Environmental Action -- to recognize what they call excessive and wasteful packaging:Kool-Aid Kool Bursts, Chef Boyardee Microwave Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Cambpell's Microwave Soup, Oscar Mayer's Lunchables, Jell-O Gelatin Snacks, Starkist Tuna Lunch Kit, McCain Junior Juice, Frito-Lay...

Item: Jell-O Dessert Delights What you get: 6 dessert bars Cost: About $3 Nutritional content: Lemon - 150 calories, 5 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat, 80 milligrams sodium; Chocolate Fudge - 150 calories, 6 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 80 milligrams sodium Preparation time: Unwrap and eat Review: Unlike some of the other dessert bars out there, these new offerings from Jell-O don't have to be refrigerated, which means they're easily toted...

Dawn Jemellaro from Baltimore was looking for a recipe for a fudge that was made using pudding mix. She said her mother made it many times, but she had lost the recipe. Maureen Rochelle from Ellicott City sent in a recipe for fudge that she found in a Jell-O cookbook from the 1970s. The recipe makes what I might call faux fudge, as it does not have the same texture or depth of flavor of more traditional fudge. However, it is so quick and easy that even a child could make it successfully.

I've never been to a bar quite like the Light Street Station. The Station - if that's really its name - sits near the corner of Light and Gittings streets in Federal Hill. Walk by, and you might wonder if it's even a bar at all. There is no sign on the Formstone exterior - just a martini glass in a small window on the front of the building. Stare through the window for a few seconds, and you think it could be someone's living room that just happens to have a bar, a pool table and an old upright piano.

Can anyone serve a Jell-O mold without becoming a laughingstock? This question congealed in my mind after a recent meeting of the Common Readers Book Club at my home, where I prepared, as a neon accompaniment to a truly lavish meal, a simple Jell-O mold. Let me explain first that the Common Readers Book Club is so named because our founding member, early on, forwarded an excellent quotation about the common reader's aim: simply to enjoy a book. We all identified with the quotation and derived our club name from it; but now, of course, not one of us can remember who said it. Come to think of it, none of us can remember the names of the main characters in the first two books we have read.

Susan Rose of Baltimore was looking for a recipe from the 1960s for a refrigerator cake made with fresh strawberries, angel food cake, Jell-O and other ingredients. Ele Piche of Fort Collins, Colo., sent in a recipe for Strawberry Angel Dessert that sounds similar to what Rose was looking for. The recipe was her mother-in-law's and is a family favorite. I tested this recipe using store-bought angel food cake and fresh local strawberries. I used an angel food cake pan with a removable bottom, which made it easier to unmold the cake once it had chilled overnight.

Mary M. Young of Los Banos, Calif., requested a "side-dish recipe made with Jell-O that has ... been cut into small cubes and mixed with Cool Whip and other ingredients." Dana J. Shinholt of Columbia said: "I'm glad to respond with a favorite dish my grandmother served at our family gatherings. Nana would make a large Jell-O mold for the adults to share and individual cups for each of the grandchildren. She has been gone now for almost 15 years, and it took a little bit of searching to track down her recipe book.

I SEE WHERE Carmen Russo, the CEO of Baltimore schools, is a finalist for that chancellor's job in Florida, and it would be a shame for the city to lose her - right in the middle of her contract here. (Didn't "contract" and "commitment" used to be synonymous?) In yesterday's edition of this newspaper, we had Pete Rawlings, the state delegate, blaming Baltimore's lack of sophistication for the potential loss of Russo, bemoaning the fact that a job could not be found here for her Florida boyfriend.

Susan Rose of Baltimore was looking for a recipe from the 1960s for a refrigerator cake made with fresh strawberries, angel food cake, Jell-O and other ingredients. Ele Piche of Fort Collins, Colo., sent in a recipe for Strawberry Angel Dessert that sounds similar to what Rose was looking for. The recipe was her mother-in-law's and is a family favorite. I tested this recipe using store-bought angel food cake and fresh local strawberries. I used an angel food cake pan with a removable bottom, which made it easier to unmold the cake once it had chilled overnight.

What's shaking in the home of the Winter Olympics? Jell-O. You know, that sugary, wiggly, Bill Cosby-giggly, eat-it-for-a-troubled-tummy dessert. It seems the folks of Utah eat more Jell-O per capita than anyone in the country. More than the residents of Iowa, the previous holder of the title. We know this because Cosby, the ambassador of Jell-O nation, went to the Utah Legislature last year and swore it to be true. The lawmakers were so taken with the honor that they set aside the second week of February each year to pay tribute.

Item: Jell-O Dessert Delights What you get: 6 dessert bars Cost: About $3 Nutritional content: Lemon - 150 calories, 5 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat, 80 milligrams sodium; Chocolate Fudge - 150 calories, 6 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 80 milligrams sodium Preparation time: Unwrap and eat Review: Unlike some of the other dessert bars out there, these new offerings from Jell-O don't have to be refrigerated, which means they're easily toted...