Hello, Jell-O!: 50+ Inventive Recipes for Gelatin Treats and Jiggly Sweets [Hardcover]

Victoria Belanger (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 28, 2012

Food blogger Victoria Belanger shares the secrets to creating inspired, modern gelatin desserts—with fresh fruits and flavors, new twists on trendy treats, and easy but artistic presentations.

A classic, nostalgic treat is getting a makeover, thanks to innovative culinary bloggers like Victoria Belanger—aka the Jello Mold Mistress of Brooklyn—whose jiggly creations have caught the eye of food journalists, trendspotters, and a new generation of food crafters.

In Hello, Jell-O!, Belanger shares her secrets for turning humble gelatin into impressive yet economical desserts that will steal the show at your next party or potluck. Featuring holiday crowd-pleasers such as Pumpkin Pie and Eggnog Rum, kid-friendly favorites like Root Beer Float Squares, grownup boozy bites like Sparkling Champagne and Strawberries, and vegan delights like Watermelon Basil Agar, the Jello Mold Mistress serves up recipes for every occasion. The deliciously wiggly versions of Key Lime Pie, Chai Tea Panna Cotta, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups will charm the inner child in every sophisticated home cook.
 
Readers can create these whimsical recipes using their favorite gelatin products, from unflavored gelatin powders to preflavored gelatins from popular brands like Knox and Jell-O (both brands are registered trademarks, and their owners are not sponsors of Hello, Jell-O! or otherwise affiliated with the book).

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Say Hello, Jell-O! if you are wobbly on your gelatin basics or want to firm up more ambitious recipes. Victoria Belanger is mistress and matriarch to the league of extraordinary gelatin.”
—My Jello Americans
 
“Victoria elevates Jell-O to an edible art form. Colorful, creative, and full of taste, her recipes are an inspiration for every occasion.”
—Peter F. Pracilio, grand prize winner, Jell-O Mold Competition

About the Author

Victoria Belanger was born and raised in Roanoke, Virginia. After studying photography at Virginia Commonwealth University, she moved to New York City and began experimenting with creative Jell-O molding and photographing her colorful creations for her website, The Jello Mold Mistress of Brooklyn (jellomoldmistress.com). Victoria and her jiggly masterpieces have been featured in the New York Times, Globe & Mail, Food & Wine, The Splendid Table, and Cute Overload. In addition to Jell-O molding, she works as a photographer and enjoys exploring the five boroughs of New York City by bicycle.
 
Raquel D’Apice is a freelance writer and comic who lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (February 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1607741113
• ISBN-13: 978-1607741114
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.6 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #98 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Desserts

More About the Author

VICTORIA BELANGER is a blogger and photographer who has become the voice of the Jell-O mold revolution. For her blog, The Jello Mold Mistress of Brooklyn (jellomoldmistress.com), she creates craft jello molds in unexpected flavors and artistic presentations. The site has received press attention from the New York Times, Food & Wine magazine, The Splendid Table radio show, The Chew talk show, Globe and Mail, Elle Brazil, and more. Additionally, she has created recipes and written articles for the Cooking Channel, Kitchen Daily, and Apartment Therapy's: The Kitchn as well as a how-to video spot for the Etsy Blog.

In addition to Jell-O molding, Victoria works as a photographer and enjoys exploring the five boroughs of New York City by bicycle.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is so creative March 13, 2012

By Laura Schmidtberg

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love how creative the recipies in this book are, and they make me want to spend the time perfecting my jello making techniques. The recipies are informative and there is a whole section devoted to viscosity and setting times for the type of jello mold you want to achieve.

There are so many recipies in this book that I never would have imagined could be translated to jello, but they look delicious. My only complaint is I wish there were more images of the finished product, not all of the recipies have a picture to accompany them.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it! March 10, 2012

By Elle

Format:Hardcover

This book is darling, funny and so creative. It's a joy to read, the photography is great and the recipes take Jello to a whole new level, very classy. The explanation of the different stages is really helpful and clear.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars J-E-L-L-O!! March 10, 2012

By wogan TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Jell-O is such a fascinating thing for little kids and when I visit my family in the mid-west, no dinner would be complete without some form of Jell-O salad. When I was stationed in England, every child's birthday party had to have jelly (Jell-O), so it has never lost it's popularity in with some groups. Victoria Belanger attempts to spread its status. She wrote an excellent introduction that will make you want to create Jell-O.
There are about 50 recipes in the book. It contains some excellent tips, tools and techniques for making Jell-O. Recipes include; suspended fruit, creamy, boozy, fruit and cream layered, seasonal holiday, Americana and other favorites and vegan. There are some pictures. More could have been included, especially in a recipe like Brains that is done for Halloween. There are conversion charts and an index

Many recipes use unflavored gelatin with added flavors such as pomegranate juice or green ice tea. There is a little bit told about each recipe. Many of the recipes will require patience, even she says the classic rainbow mold "would cause Tibetan monks to tear out their hair", there are others that come close to that exasperation.
We have liked two of the boozy varieties; sparkling champagne and strawberries and raspberry cosmo. Guests are most impressed and pleasantly surprised at such a different and nice looking desserts.
This is a book for those that are not necessarily experienced cooks, but ones who can follow directions and have some patience to be successful with these recipes.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Just as good as it looks! August 19, 2012

By Wendy

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you often have gatherings and home entertainment, this book is handy. All recipes in the book are user friendly. Love it!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book!!!!! Fun and easy recipes for relatively low-fat desserts July 20, 2012

By D. Belon

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book after spending much time looking at the Jello Mistress of Brooklyn blog, and I was not disappointed. So far, I have tried the mudslides, orange spice, cheery cheery salad, and pomegranate salad which were all pretty fantastic. I absolutely adore the author's jellos molds and think this is one of the more creative cookbooks I have come across. I switched over from baking to jello in order to lsoe some weight and the book has plenty of recipes to keep me busy. I do agree with Laura's feedback- I wish the book had more pictures. The website has plenty of photos and also many recipes that are NOT in the book. I hope Victoria comes our with a Hello-Jello 2 so I can get the recipes in one easy book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVE THIS BOOK! June 15, 2012

By Sarah

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

To say I love Jell-o is an understatement but my concoctions usually involved nothing more than layering a few different colours. This book has opened a whole new world of possibilities to me. You can make peanut butter jello? Yes you can!! I'm going to make everything in this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gift idea for the Jell-O mom &/or party fan June 5, 2012

By Harold Wolf TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

A Joy-O Jell-O recipe book for the cook who considers presentation. A Jell-O Wonder-LOOK book. Jell-O itself takes care of the flavor. Adding toppings or floating additives is child's play. this author is a serious proponent of making the visual aspect of Jell-O even BETTER than the taste.

the cover is an example. Delightful individual serving jell-O "favors" appearing as mini watermelon slices. Jell-O's a FUN FOOD - Now it can look e3ven better than FUN. And you don't have to spend a fortune on copper molds--unless you want to.

You get colorfully illustrated recipes, tips & tricks, suspending & creaming, alcohol to holidays, even vegan. My favs: coconut raspberry agar; root beer float; tiramisu; gingerbread men jigglers, creamsicle, key lime pie, & carrot cake. All Jell-O Good-O.

There is a hardcover which costs less than the newer softcover. Why? Check them both before purchasing.

Now you have an opinion from a man. Your guys will like these creations too. Puts the fun back into a fruity dessert. And more healthy than most!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great gift idea April 3, 2012

By Bytejet

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Bought this book as present for my girlfriend. She's into cook books and loves it! Made a bunch of the boozy jellos and they came out great and from what she said they are easy to make too. She's already prepping to make a bunch of other jellos for our BBQ party. She loves to concoct in the kitchen and I love to chow down on food that also gives a nice buzz. So it's really a win-win all around.