Good morning. Friday has arrived. Yeehaw! (I actually had to Google that to make sure I spelled it right).
I’m not sure when I fell out of love with JELL-O. Or maybe I never really LOVED the wiggly, colorful, fruit-flavored dessert. But there was a time in my life when I certainly appreciated it far more than I do now.
We weren’t big JELL-O eaters in my house growing up. Remember, Mom didn’t allow a lot of refined sugar in my diet – and JELL-O is almost entirely sugar, with a dollop of gelatin thrown in for good measure, which is why it’s not vegan – so it wasn’t something I fully experienced until I reached grade school.
But when I did get to school and purchased the occasional lunch there, I recall enjoying – and even looking forward to – those small dessert cups that held a square of red (hopefully) or green (less good) JELL-O, topped with a dollop of whipped cream.
These days, I pretty much don’t eat it at all, and in fact came to unfortunately associate it with colonoscopy prep, which is, as my fellow readers of a certain age know, decidedly unpleasant. And I think JELL-O sadly has become more synonymous with hospital stays and sickbed meals – or easily consumable vehicles for booze – than anything else.
But there are people out there – quite a lot, as it turns out – who are enjoying JELL-O on the regular. According to one statistic, 150.09 million Americans consumed flavored gelatin desserts in 2020 – a figure that is projected to increase to 153.12 million this year.
If you really want to go down the rabbit hole on JELL-O’s back story, click here.
For those who have a lot of home state pride, you’ll be happy to know the short version starts with this: The name originated in upstate New York, in a town called LeRoy, which was once home to a General Foods JELL-O factory. But that long since has disappeared. Now, the local historical society maintains a JELLO-Gallery, which apparently draws several thousand visitors annually.
New Jersey also had a hand in JELL-O’s history. Industrialist Peter Cooper, who built the first American steam-powered locomotive, obtained a patent for the first edible powdered gelatin in 1845.
It wasn’t until 1897 that a carpenter and cough syrup manufacturer named Pearle Bixby Wait and his wife, May, came up with the name JELL-O, which they trademarked, and started producing the dessert in fruit flavors – strawberry, orange, lemon, and raspberry.
But really, the practice of using gelatin to make elaborate desserts dates back many years – at least as far back as the 15th century, if not earlier. While the dessert is considered pretty basic – even lowbrow – today, it was once the height of haute cuisine.
And, of course, there’s also aspic, which is jellied but not JELL-O, as it is savory and made boiling the skin, bones and cartilage of animals. In the 1950s and 60s, there was a craze for adding all sorts of things – savory and sweet, sometimes both at once – to JELL-O and calling these “salads.”
Some of these recipes, I’m sorry, look downright vile to me, though apparently there are still popular to this day in certain parts of the country.
At some point, JELL-O branched into pudding mix and products (pops, cups, etc.), which then became associated with the disgraced comedian and actor Bill Cosby, who, apparently, was at least once ironically served off-brand chocolate pudding while behind bars.
In case you hadn’t figured it out by now, it’s National JELL-O Week. (We’re actually coming down to the tail end, since it runs from Feb. 12-18). I just didn’t feel like I could pass this one up.
It’s not exactly JELL-O weather, unless you enjoy feeling chilly on the inside AND on the outside. We saw some freak snow last night, which has since largely passed, though a few flurries might remain. It will be blustery, with cloudy to partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid 30s.
In the headlines…
An FBI informant has been indicted by a Justice Department special counsel for allegedly lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings.
The informant’s story was part of a series of explosive and unsubstantiated claims by Republicans that the Bidens engaged in potentially criminal activity.
It was one of the most striking developments yet in the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and his allies: The two lead prosecutors took the witness stand in a daylong hearing, with defense attorneys grilling them about their personal lives.
In a day of drama that featured Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis running to the courtroom and declaring that witnesses were lying, the fireworks included talk of a rented cabin, trips to Aruba and a Norwegian cruise.
Meanwhile, in another state, Trump ranted that the whole show was rigged, even as a New York judge set a trial for a different criminal case for March.
A New York judge ensured that the scandal related to the ex-president’s hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels will loom over Trump’s latest run for president, scheduling for March 25 a trial that could jeopardize his campaign — and his freedom.
Trump faces a possible nine-figure calamity today when a judge is expected to release his decision in the former president’s contentious New York civil fraud trial.
That might seem steep in a case with no victim calling for redress and no star witness pointing the finger at Trump. But a little-known 70-year-old law made the punishment possible.
Gaza’s health ministry said that electric generators cut out and all power was lost at a major Gaza hospital raided by Israeli forces a day earlier, leading to the deaths of four patients dependent on oxygen.
Israel’s military claims it has captured “dozens” of terror suspects during a raid on southern Gaza’s main hospital, as staff and patients were forced to flee under gunfire.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet members that “Israel rejects international diktats” regarding a Palestinian state.
President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu about the “ongoing hostage negotiations” and the “situation in Rafah,” according to a White House readout released yesterday.
The authorities in Kansas City, Mo., said they were keeping two teens in custody after a shooting that tore through the city’s Super Bowl celebration, killing one person and wounding nearly two dozen others in what appeared to be the result of an argument.
Kansas City police officer Alayna Gonzalez said officers detained three juveniles but released one who they determined wasn’t involved. Officers are working with juvenile prosecutors to “review investigative findings and determine applicable charges.”
The woman killed has been identified as Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a local DJ and a mom of two kids, according to her family and police.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says New York’s finances have stabilized after the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, and along with the state Division of the Budget, is forecasting reduced budget gaps while pointing out that fiscal risks and challenges remain.
The Empire State is not expected to recover all the jobs lost from the COVID pandemic until at least late 2026, according to DiNapoli’s analysis.
The New York Independent Redistricting Commission voted 9-1 to submit new congressional maps to lawmakers that would make substantial changes to some upstate House districts while leaving most current lines in other parts of the state largely in place.
The Democrat-led Legislature can approve the new congressional district lines proposed by a bipartisan commission, or risk a lawsuit by adopting its own.
Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing legislation that would criminalize some deceptive and abusive uses of AI and require disclosure of AI in election campaign materials.
New York could become the 21st state to permanently allow bars and restaurants to sell to-go cocktails if Hochul has her way. She will propose a permanent extension of the state’s current to-go alcohol law — which is scheduled to expire next year.
Hochul is finally weighing in on the state’s troubled cannabis market rollout — and she’s not happy.
A top New York state cannabis regulator recently predicted that marijuana will one day be sold at Madison Square Garden.
The governor announced that the Public Service Commission adopted a $200 million New York State energy bill credit.
Hochul’s administration delivered an update on her proposed $233 billion state budget. It’s the last chance for her to make changes to her financial plan before bargaining with state lawmakers before the April 1 deadline.
Lawyers for New York State concluded their case against the National Rifle Association, bringing an end to a closely watched civil showdown that accused leaders of the nation’s most prominent gun rights group of financial misconduct and corruption.
New York City’s budget surplus in the current fiscal year is $2.8 billion higher than Mayor Eric Adams’ forecast, reducing pressure on officials to cut services, the city’s budget watchdog said.
According to a report released by the IBO, the City should see $900 million more tax revenue than the Adams administration has forecast. It will also spend $2.4 billion less on asylum seekers than the mayor said it would.
The IBO also stated the City should have a $3.3 billion surplus in the coming fiscal year 2025, compared with a fully balanced budget the administration is predicting.
Senior officials in Adams’ administration, including NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and International Affairs czar Edward Mermelstein, traveled to the UAE for a global summit — and City Hall won’t say how their trip was paid for or who they met with.
New York City’s chief fire marshal sounded the alarm on Capitol Hill yesterday, urging lawmakers to pass legislation mandating the roll out of safety standards for lithium-ion batteries.
F.B.I. agents early yesterday searched the homes of two senior New York Fire Department chiefs responsible for overseeing safety inspections on building projects, people with knowledge of the matter said.
FDNY Assistant Chief Anthony Saccavino and Deputy Assistant Chief Brian Cordasco were reportedly sidelined after the FBI raided both their homes as well as the Fire Prevention Bureau offices in FDNY Headquarters in downtown Brooklyn.
City Council members debated a bill that explicitly requires cruise terminal operators to use shore power, rather than their onboard diesel engines, while ships are docking in city waters.
A proposed “trans” and “queer” issues Brooklyn charter school — which promises to let kids as young as nine “explore their gender” identity — is causing outrage from critics who are blasting it for “indoctrinating” children.
Residents who frequent Mount Prospect Park are frustrated by a proposal to put a massive skate facility in the space – telling the Post that the so-called “skate garden,” which is partly backed by skate legend Tony Hawk, would “amputate” the outdoor hub.
Police arrested a Bronx teenager yesterday morning and charged him with murder in a subway shooting in the borough that killed a man and injured five other people on Monday, according to NYPD officials.
The teenager, Langel Jones, 16, was apprehended as he was leaving an apartment in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx where he lives with his mother, said Joseph Kenny, the chief of detectives. He will be charged with murder, Chief Kenny said.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral was the site of protests over the church’s position on homosexuality and AIDS. Yesterday, it hosted a jubilant funeral for Cecilia Gentili, a former sex worker and actress.
A 48-year-old alleged fraudster has been charged with repeatedly filing false property records claiming ownership of the New Yorker Hotel, in which he lived rent-free for five years using a housing law loophole.
Highlighting what she sees as major gaps in city services, former Albany Common Council president and current Albany County Legislator Carolyn McLaughlin announced her second run for mayor of Albany in the 2025 election.
A new air carrier will begin local nonstop flights to Raleigh-Durham International Airport in May. Fares will start at $62 one-way.
Latham fuel cell and “green” hydrogen manufacturer Plug Power plans to start laying off workers in an effort to reduce its expenses by $75 million a year as it tries to conserve cash amid mounting losses.
A Saratoga judicial candidate told Republican Committee members that the judge he works for would issue a decision in their favor in a pending absentee ballot case.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
