Once it's set you can dip the pan in hot water most of the way up to the rim, put a plate over it, flip upside down, and it should slither out just fine.

I'm with you on the cooking spray...oily film on jello...ick.

I made many batches of jello when my nieces and nephews were younger...they still request on holidays. I used any interesting containers that were small and cute. Even tea cups or small glass juice glasses for single servings. Holidays i do have a few small ring molds but a bunt pan would work fine. To release, i just set down into a bowl that fits of warm tap water for just a quick 3-5 seconds and it releases fine. A little heat will melt just enough to release.

I've always made mine with fresh juice of choice and plain gelatin. Less sugar but i do understand the love of sweet. I've used coconut milk as a layer as well, for a red, white and blue festive cup. (cranberry juice for red and pureed blueberries for the blue). Chopped celery for crunch in the white and minced carrot in the red. All sorts of veg goodies can be used.

Experiment and have fun. What a nice thing to do for him! Should be a nice treat.

I had to laugh last weekend when we had dinner at a friends' house and dad scarfed down one of those lime jello/cottage cheese/coleslaw molds. You would think with him being such a picky eater that would not be something he would have liked.

With all that sugar and orange dye, who will be able to tell if there is a little bit of an oil film, lol! I thought about making it in muffin cups, I have a lot of those, but that would take up a lot of space in the fridge. But then so will a jello mold. Sigh. This is actually one reason I hardly ever make jello, with just me eating it, it takes way too long to use up. Even with both my folks helping, none of us had enough appetite to make much of a dent. I guess that's why jello salad used to be the star of many a potluck. And why my mom never made it as well after we kids moved away. I'm just thinking I could make the mold which would be fun for initial presentation, and then package it up into smaller fridge containers for storage. I just got some today at the store. Dad does OK with individual serving size cups, he buys those little fruit cups at the store now. Or maybe I should just pour the jello into those. Boy I sure would need a lot of them, considering how much jello one of those little packets makes.

My Mom used to make a lime Jello and pineapple mold for holidays. Yummy. She also used to make one with orange Jello and carrots. I'll stick with the green one!

Our family makes the The Famous Green Jello which is a packet of each lemon and lime jello, crushed pineapple, and Dream Whip. Scary isn't it?! Now my granddaughter and her friend request it when we have a get together. Frankly I didn't even know they still made DreamWhip until my daughter requested this jell

o for our granddaughter. Some things never fade away
?!

If you want to do small servings, you can divide the jell-o packet. Just make sure that you seal the remainder well (if you're using sandwich Ziplocks, try two bags) so it doesn't get damp. The problem with a lot of plastics is pouring the hot liquid in. Maybe better to make it in the muffin tin or custard cups and transfer once it's set.

You could even divide it up into single portion amounts, maybe in little canning jars or something, and every time you make an interesting salad (being careful of acids like in tomatoes and onions), you could put a little in a custard cup and pour a serving Jell-o over it, so you'd have a nice variety to take over to your dad.

We always used to have a coleslaw mold for outdoor holidays. It doesn't go gross the way a bowl of cole slaw does, and tastes good. It's just regular cole slaw held together by jell-o, though. Not any sweeter than the cole slaws that have pineapple or honey in them, probably less, and no cottage cheese. So I made it once a few years ago for Sukkot for the family and they loved it. But when I served it later in the holiday to my friends they pushed it around their plates oh, so politely (they ate well of everything else). :) I think it has to be something you grew up with. :) I was never a big fan of Jell-o, but some of the salads are really good. :)

Maybe your dad remembers the flavors of these Jell-o salads and they in turn bring up memories, or just a feeling of being younger. Also, the flavors, while artificial, are quite strong, so they may taste better to him. One of the deals with aging is that one becomes hard of tasting (i.e., it gets harder to perceive subtle flavors).

I don't think my Mom's recipe included Dream Whip and if I had to guess she probably used sour cream. At least when we were younger, she wasn't one to use those "artificial" products. But I could be wrong... ;-)

I'll have to ask...

Don't apologize.

Sure, many of us have moved beyond Jell-o, but it's still fun, and kids love it, too. And there are even some decent recipes (and some really awful ones). Bright colors, strong flavors.

It's a wonderful demonstration of kitchen chemistry. My kids have wonderful memories of making jello with my mother. It's magic!

There's also nothing "wrong" with placing a gelatin salad in a bowl or individual serving dishes. A mold isn't necessary - it tastes the same. I use unflavored gelatin and 100% fruit juice instead of boxed gelatin, but here are a few recipes from a Jell-O pamphlet (1985).

COOL AS A CUCUMBER SALAD
1 PKG. (4-serving size) Sugar Free or regular Jell-O, lime flavor
1/4 t. salt
3/4 c. boiling water
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 c. cold water
ice cubes
1/2 c. sour cream
1 c. chopped seeded, peeled, cucumbers
1 T. minced onion
1 t. (dried) dillweed or 1 T. chopped fresh dill

Dissolve gelatin and salt in boiling water. Add lemon juice. Combine cold water and ice cubes to make 1-1/4 cups. Add to gelatin, stirring until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Blend in sour cream; add remaining ingredients. Pour into individual dishes and chill, soft set in 30-minutes. 6 servings.
50 calories per serving if using Sugar Free gelatin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MUNCH CUPS
1 pkg. (4-serving size) Sugar Free gelatin, orange or lime flavor
3/4 c. boiling water
1/2 c. cold water
ice cubes
1 t. lemon juice (optional)
1-1/2 c. sliced or diced vegetables or fruit

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Combine cold water and ice cubes to make 1-1/4 cups. Add to gelatin with lemon juice, stirring until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Add vegetables and spoon into individual dishes. Chill, soft set in 30-minutes. 6 servings. 15 calories per serving.
Suggested Variations: sliced celery, chopped cabbage, shredded carrot; chopped cabbage, chopped apple.

WALDORF TOSS
1 pkg. (4-serving size) Sugar Free Jell-O gelatin, any RED flavor
dash of salt
3/4 c. boiling water
1/2 c. cold water
ice cubes
1/2 c. diced apple or pear
1 small banana, sliced
1/4 c. sliced celery (or chopped nuts, optional)

Dissolve gelatin and salt in boiling water. Combine cold water and ice cubes to make 1-1/4 cups. Add to gelatin, stirring until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Fold in fruits and celery. Spoon into individual dishes. Chill, soft set in 30-minutes. 5 servings.

-Grainlady

Well, dad is a no onion, no celery, no green pepper person, so there goes a lot of the "crunch" of jello salad. I figured out yesterday that I could just make half a packet and even throw out the rest, since you wait for it to firm up a bit before adding the carrots and fruit. I mean what am I throwing out, some colored sugar water basically. Yes I know I could make "healthier" jello with fruit juice, but I am too lazy to do that and my dad wouldn't like it anyway. He's one of those people who prefers the junk food flavors of food coloring, sugar, hydrogenated fats, refined flour and salt. He has very little appetite and gets depressed around dinner time, even if he has good food in the fridge to heat up or if I make dinner for him and even if I make one of mom's recipes. He was married to mom for 55 years and it was always her "job" to cook, so dinner time just reminds him of her absence. Like I said, they hardly ever had jello so I guess that is part of the appeal, it takes him back MANY years! I'm sure he would like some of the fruitier versions, but I don't have any trouble getting him to eat fruit, it is the vegetables that are a struggle. He's never eaten more than a few bites of any vegetable, even ones he purportedly likes.

In addition to the personal reasons you mentioned, your dad might get depressed around dinnertime from the "sundown effect". Part of it is the waning of the daylight and its psychological effect, but a lot is related to the body's systems. As it was explained to me, the body creates steroids during the night's sleep which help one feel rested and perky, and have an anti-inflammatory effect, which is pretty much depleted by the end of the day. That's supposed to be why a fever will come back at dinnertime, etc. He might be starting to feel achy and worn down by dinnertime.

Thank you, Grainlady, I have never met a gelatin salad mold that I didn't like; however, we mostly have them for holiday meals so not often. My children always request the lime one with cream cheese, pineapple, marshmallows, etc.--a family tradition.

That lime one is very similar to our Famous Green Jello

We have a lime gelatin salad that I remember being an "Easter" side. Then, about 10 yrs. ago someone at Thanksgiving noted it was missing and swore we always had it then, too (trust me, we didn't..) So now it's served on both holidays. The "Green Mold" is the object of much derision. Everyone jokes about how déclassé it is.....but almost everyone likes it. And while it often gets passed over during the meal, people vie for leftovers to take home. It's made with lime Jello, cream cheese, Dream (or Cool) Whip, crushed pineapple and walnuts.

Edited to add that I actually like it - but only at Easter ;)

Often the taste buds and digestion are not what they once were. Sugar does not upset the elder tummy. And if this is a vehicle for vegetables and/or cottage cheese, hurray! Use it while it lasts!

Will your dad drink V-8 or the fruity V-8 mixtures? Both can be made into gelatin.