Raspberry Dessert Soup

“Soup” is definitely a stretch.

You wouldn’t know it if you were born after a certain time, but a Jell-O mold was once the fanciest dish you could bring to a dinner party. Its opulent associations date back to pre-industrial Europe, when making gelatin was a labor-intensive process rarely done outside of fully-staffed kitchens. Only the wealthiest homes enjoyed aspics molded into elaborate structures that were arguably more impressive to look at than they were to eat.

Even after Jello-O made flavored, powdered gelatin available to the masses at the turn of the 20th century, the ingredient maintained its high-class reputation for decades. Gelatin molds were no longer expensive or particularly difficult to make, but they still made for a dramatic presentation. Why serve tuna salad in a boring bowl when you could serve it suspended in a jiggly, jewel-green Jell-O ring? The ingredients you could add to gelatin were only limited by the imagination—which might explain the eventual backlash.

Today, when people think of Jell-O molds they may think of perfection salad, sea foam salad, or other dishes that stretch the definition of salad. But it would be wrong to write off an entire culinary category based on its most eccentric offerings. There’s still plenty to love about gelatin, and if you’re interested in experimenting with tamer, sweeter recipes, this raspberry dessert soup is a great place to start.

When flipping through McCall’s Great American Recipe Card Collection (released in 1973), the name of this recipe immediately grabbed me. Dessert soup? I had questions. But the name turned out to be misleading; though the ingredients may be liquid when they go into the fridge, they’ve set into a wobbly solid by the time they’re ready to consume. The title would make a little more sense if it was served in a bowl—you know, like soup—but the instructions call for it to be served in tall glasses. At least they didn’t name it “raspberry dessert salad.”

Semantics aside, the final results—raspberries incased in a glass of red JELL-O topped with a dollop of sour cream—look appetizing. Raspberries are my favorite fruit, and I love that this recipe showcases them front and center. The card came from the “Low-Calorie Dishes” section of the catalogue, and the only change I’d make would be opting for the full-calorie and full-fat versions of the gelatin and sour cream, respectively, over the diet versions they suggest. I can imagine this being a refreshing end to an al fresco meal once the weather warms up and I don’t feel like turning on my oven. If you make it and it turns out to be a hit, it may even embolden you to start adding more exotic ingredients to your Jell-O.

Raspberry Dessert Soup

Makes 4 servings; 99 calories each

1 envelope (from 5/8-oz pkg) low-calorie raspberry-flavored gelatin

1 cup boiling water

1 pkg (10 oz) frozen raspberries or strawberries, thawed

1/4 cup lemon juice

1. In medium bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water, stirring. Add raspberries, lemon juice, and 2 cups water; mix well.

2. Refrigerate until slightly set—about 4 hours. Serve in tall glass, accompanied by diet sour cream, if desired.

McCall’s Great American Recipe Card Collection (1973)