Whatever Happened To Jell-O 1-2-3?
Facebook By Chase Shustack/Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 2:47 pm EST
No matter if you’re topping it with your favorite whipped cream brand or baking a cake with it, there’s no denying that Jell-O has been a staple of American kitchens for many years. With a history dating back to 1897 as a home-brewed experiment with gelatin (via JELL-O Gallery), the fruit-flavored powder’s use has expanded into everything from pudding cups to pie filling, making it a pretty versatile and delicious treat, as the Kraft Heinz Foodservice website attests.
Considering how long this jiggly dessert has been around, there are a few products that you may or may not remember ever digging into. Jell-O once released “Pudding Bites” back in 2004, which were fruit snack-like chews that tasted like its popular pudding — although these were met with poor reviews, such as this one via The Spokesman-Review. There were even a few more wild and wacky flavors of Jell-O — Italian salad-flavored Jell-O, anyone? — that are no longer in production (via 11 Points). One of the brand’s most famous discontinued products is Jell-O 1-2-3, a dessert that could supposedly “split” into three distinct layers using only one packet of powder, according to Food52. Jell-O 1-2-3 doesn’t seem to be anywhere these days except in the advertisements of days gone by. Just what exactly was this unique dessert, and where did it go?
Jell-O 1-2-3 was a ‘high-class Jell-O dessert’
HandmadePictures/Shutterstock
A cup of Jell-O that splits itself into three layers? What exactly does that mean? Well, according to a commercial for the bygone product, a young boy stares in amazement as his cup of Jell-O splits into a “creamy layer” on top, a “fluffy layer” in the middle, and a layer of “fruity gelatin” on the bottom. The instructions, per Food52, involved using a blender to combine the powder with both boiling and cold water at different intervals and speeds — a complex task just for Jell-O. The layers form during a three-hour fridge break before the “dressed-up” Jell-O is finally ready.
But why did a Jell-O that could separate itself into layers with cream and fluff fade away? Let’s answer that question with another question: Would you want Jell-O that requires multiple precise steps and a three-hour wait? While traditional Jell-O requires a four-hour wait, it only needs one simple step to cook it (via Kraft Heinz Foodservice). Thus, Kraft “overestimated Jell-O’s appeal,” Food52 writes, and began to withdraw Jell-O 1-2-3 from shelves in the mid-1980s before discontinuing the product in January 1996. If you are wondering how Jell-O 1-2-3 tasted, FoodJunk taste-tested a 24-year-old box of the strawberry-flavored dessert and described its taste as “both cardboardy and plasticky.” In case you want to try an updated version of Jell-O 1-2-3 that’s not 24 years old, Kraft offers a recipe for the long-discontinued three-layered parfait that only takes 25 minutes.
Whatever Happened To Jell-O 1-2-3?
By Chase Shustack/Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 2:47 pm EST
No matter if you’re topping it with your favorite whipped cream brand or baking a cake with it, there’s no denying that Jell-O has been a staple of American kitchens for many years. With a history dating back to 1897 as a home-brewed experiment with gelatin (via JELL-O Gallery), the fruit-flavored powder’s use has expanded into everything from pudding cups to pie filling, making it a pretty versatile and delicious treat, as the Kraft Heinz Foodservice website attests.
Considering how long this jiggly dessert has been around, there are a few products that you may or may not remember ever digging into. Jell-O once released “Pudding Bites” back in 2004, which were fruit snack-like chews that tasted like its popular pudding — although these were met with poor reviews, such as this one via The Spokesman-Review. There were even a few more wild and wacky flavors of Jell-O — Italian salad-flavored Jell-O, anyone? — that are no longer in production (via 11 Points). One of the brand’s most famous discontinued products is Jell-O 1-2-3, a dessert that could supposedly “split” into three distinct layers using only one packet of powder, according to Food52. Jell-O 1-2-3 doesn’t seem to be anywhere these days except in the advertisements of days gone by. Just what exactly was this unique dessert, and where did it go?
Considering how long this jiggly dessert has been around, there are a few products that you may or may not remember ever digging into. Jell-O once released “Pudding Bites” back in 2004, which were fruit snack-like chews that tasted like its popular pudding — although these were met with poor reviews, such as this one via The Spokesman-Review. There were even a few more wild and wacky flavors of Jell-O — Italian salad-flavored Jell-O, anyone? — that are no longer in production (via 11 Points).
One of the brand’s most famous discontinued products is Jell-O 1-2-3, a dessert that could supposedly “split” into three distinct layers using only one packet of powder, according to Food52. Jell-O 1-2-3 doesn’t seem to be anywhere these days except in the advertisements of days gone by. Just what exactly was this unique dessert, and where did it go?
Jell-O 1-2-3 was a ‘high-class Jell-O dessert’
HandmadePictures/Shutterstock
A cup of Jell-O that splits itself into three layers? What exactly does that mean? Well, according to a commercial for the bygone product, a young boy stares in amazement as his cup of Jell-O splits into a “creamy layer” on top, a “fluffy layer” in the middle, and a layer of “fruity gelatin” on the bottom. The instructions, per Food52, involved using a blender to combine the powder with both boiling and cold water at different intervals and speeds — a complex task just for Jell-O. The layers form during a three-hour fridge break before the “dressed-up” Jell-O is finally ready.
But why did a Jell-O that could separate itself into layers with cream and fluff fade away? Let’s answer that question with another question: Would you want Jell-O that requires multiple precise steps and a three-hour wait? While traditional Jell-O requires a four-hour wait, it only needs one simple step to cook it (via Kraft Heinz Foodservice). Thus, Kraft “overestimated Jell-O’s appeal,” Food52 writes, and began to withdraw Jell-O 1-2-3 from shelves in the mid-1980s before discontinuing the product in January 1996. If you are wondering how Jell-O 1-2-3 tasted, FoodJunk taste-tested a 24-year-old box of the strawberry-flavored dessert and described its taste as “both cardboardy and plasticky.” In case you want to try an updated version of Jell-O 1-2-3 that’s not 24 years old, Kraft offers a recipe for the long-discontinued three-layered parfait that only takes 25 minutes.
But why did a Jell-O that could separate itself into layers with cream and fluff fade away? Let’s answer that question with another question: Would you want Jell-O that requires multiple precise steps and a three-hour wait? While traditional Jell-O requires a four-hour wait, it only needs one simple step to cook it (via Kraft Heinz Foodservice). Thus, Kraft “overestimated Jell-O’s appeal,” Food52 writes, and began to withdraw Jell-O 1-2-3 from shelves in the mid-1980s before discontinuing the product in January 1996.
If you are wondering how Jell-O 1-2-3 tasted, FoodJunk taste-tested a 24-year-old box of the strawberry-flavored dessert and described its taste as “both cardboardy and plasticky.” In case you want to try an updated version of Jell-O 1-2-3 that’s not 24 years old, Kraft offers a recipe for the long-discontinued three-layered parfait that only takes 25 minutes.
