i am a food blog

Do you guys like jello? I have super awesome memories of jello as a kid. All the parties had jello at the dessert table. And it wasn’t just any jello – it was rainbow jello! I used to peel apart the layers and eat them one by one, much to the dismay of my mom, who would always act like I was some sort of heathen child playing with her food. Which, okay, I was (playing with my food that is, not being a heathen).

out of the loaf pan and into the…onto the cutting board.

I don’t really know what happened to jello as a dessert. It could be because I grew up or maybe it’s because it’s not the eighties anymore, but jello doesn’t seem to have the same cachet now as it did back then. I still love it though. There’s no other dessert out there that’s as jiggly or artificially brightly colored as jello. Because it’s so moldable, you can do wondrous things with it, like make American flags!

To be honest, I set out to make Canadian flags (tomorrow is Canada Day), but the maple leaf proved too elusive. Maple leafs are kind of hard to free style with a knife. After the maple leaf fail I moved on to the American flag, since the Fourth is on Friday.

if you can’t be bothered to make flags, simple layers achieve the same effect.

The American flag was a totally breeze, with a bit of tweaking. At first I thought I could make all the flags in one pan (like this), but when I was trying to unmold, the whole thing feel apart. So I figured it would be best to make individual flags in mini loaf pans. They turned out awesome and were much easier to handle than a big sheet.

Sure, making layered jello takes some time (it’s all down time though – you can pretty much do whatever you like while the jello’s setting up), but I think it’s totally worth it. These guys are perfect for the 4th of July. Happy jello-ing and happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians and happy 4th to all my American friends!

made this gif because photos of loaf pans that aren’t see-through look like…loaf pans.

American Flag Jello Recipe
makes 2 mini loaf pans, 16 flag slices

• 1 3-ounce package blue jello
• 1 6-ounce package red jello
• 1 3-ounce package red jello
• 4 tablespoons unflavoured gelatin (4 envelopes)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk

In a liquid measuring cup, mix the blue jello with 1/2 tablespoon (1/2 envelope) of gelatin. Add a cup of boiling water and stir to dissolve.

You will need two mini loaf pans. (I used these ones.) Pour half a cup of blue jello into each mini loaf pan and set inside the fridge to set.

While the blue layer is setting, make your white and red jello – this will let it slowly cool down at room temperature and help the layers set more quickly.

In a bowl, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of gelatin (2 envelopes) over 1/2 cup of cold water and let bloom for a couple of minutes then add 1/2 cup of boiling water and stir to dissolve completely. Mix the can of sweetened condensed milk with 1 cup of boiling water. Stir well, add to the milk mixture and mix thoroughly.

Mix the red jello with 1 1/2 tablespoons gelatin (the remaining gelatin from the blue and 1 new envelope). Add 3 cups of boiling water and stir until completely dissolved. The red and white jello won’t set on your countertop (unless you leave it for an absurd amount of time), but give it a stir every once in a while.

Once the blue jello is set and firm to touch, cut it in half lengthwise and remove one half. Eat it! You want there to be a strip of blue along the long side of the pan. Pour in 2 tablespoons of red jello into the empty part of the loaf pan and let set. When firm, pour in 2 tablespoons of white jello on top of the red, being careful not to get any on the blue. Let set.

Now your jello should be one flat plane without any indents. Pour on 1/4 cup of red over everything and let set. When the red is firm to touch, pour on a 1/4 cup of white and let set. Pour on another 1/4 cup of red and let set. Pour on another layer of white and let set. Pour on your last layer and let set. You will have some white left over so go ahead and set that into whatever container you like.

It’s best to let the jello set overnight. The next day, unmold and slice each loaf pan into 8. Enjoy!

american flagfourth of julyhow-tojellored white and blue