[Jester]

That actually looks really good. I'll have to try making it.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

Originally Posted by littl3chocobo

i cannot say how ubiquitous it was but from 1900-1970 or so there were soooo many cookbooks that relied on tinned and boxed foods to make fancy dinners/desserts and i totally get why. it was quite easy for many foods to spoil in shipping and this was a viable way to have foods that came from all over the world so one was not stuck with whatever was being grown/hunted/harvested within the 50-100 mile scope of local agriculture. places like greenland could have pineapple and places like alaska could have milk

That span also covers a couple of Wold Wars, and while the impact was far greater in Europe than in North America, it did affect availability of certain things. There's a depression in there, too, and that affected things.

The selling point of all this Jello stuff, and specifically Jello stuff, was convenience, not skill, I'm pretty sure. And I'm also pretty sure Jello was marketing it that way. Use Jello and present great looking meals that look fantastic without all the effort! Even if they taste crummy.

It also may not have been matters of personal preference, but of societal expectation. What kind of housewife are you if you can't make a Jello mold? There's a whole lot of social commentary to go along with this era.

[Jester]

It being for convenience makes sense. Lots of products have changed for that. It's Asher to microwave something over starting from scratch.