Kentucky-Ohio Salad

The Kentucky portion of this salad originated at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill in Kentucky.

The Ohio portion of this salad was a twist I added to it here in my Ohio kitchen....

According to Wikipedia,

Gelatin, a protein produced from collagen extracted from the boiled bones, connective tissues, and intestines of animals, has been well-known and used for many years.

It was popularized in the Victorian era with spectacular and complex "jelly moulds". Gelatin was sold in sheets and had to be purified, which was very time-consuming. It also made gelatin desserts the province of the relatively well-to-do. In 1845, industrialist Peter Cooper (who built the first American steam-powered locomotive, the Tom Thumb), obtained a patent (US Patent 4084) for powdered gelatin.^[1][2]

Forty years later the patent was sold to a LeRoy, New York-based carpenter and cough syrup manufacturer, Pearle B. Wait. He and his wife May added strawberry, raspberry, orange and lemon flavoring to the powder and gave the product its present name in 1897. Unable to successfully market their concoction, in 1899 the Waits sold the business to a neighbor, Orator Francis Woodward, for $450.

Beginning in 1902, Woodward's Genesee Pure Food Company placed advertisements in the Ladies' Home Journal proclaiming Jell-O to be "America's Most Famous Dessert." Jell-O remained a minor success until 1904, when Genesee Pure Food Company sent enormous numbers of salesmen out into the field to distribute free Jell-O cookbooks, a pioneering marketing tactic at the time.^[3] Within a decade, three new flavors, chocolate (discontinued in 1927), cherry and peach, were added, and the brand was launched in Canada.

As of 2008^[update], there are more than 158 products sold under the Jell-O brand name and about 300 million boxes of Jell-O gelatin sold in the United States each year.

So, one could say...its an old fashioned dessert that continues to be used and new recipes created from it.

For me, I just have to have jello in one form or another throughout the year. This recipe sounded unique, a bit unusual and I just had to try it. It will end up being a 'keeper' because it was refreshing as well as unique.

2 packages (3 oz) lime gelatin dessert

2 cups crushed pineapple (drain juice, but save)

Pineapple juice and hot water to make 2 cups (very hot)

1 cup cold water

1-1/2 cups grated cucumber (Scoop seeds from middle before grating)

1/2 miracle whip

4 oz cream cheese

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Drain pineapple and cucumber well.

Make gelatin dessert according to package recipe. Cool to consistency of egg white.

Fold in pineapple, cucumber and lemon juice, miracle whip and softened cream cheese.

Pour into mold or glass casserole to cut in squares and refrigerate. Unmold and serve on crisp lettuce .