Who Invented Jelly (Gelatin Dessert)?
The patent is in the name of Peter Coopers, an Englishman, and it dates back to 1845. However, there is evidence that a French scientist named Denis Papin studied ‘jellies’ long back in 1682. It was his experiments which resulted in a method to remove the glutinous material on the bones of the animal by boiling. The resulting substance, his research showed, is a pure protein. Speaking in terms of chemistry, gelatin is a hydrolyzed collagen. Denis Papin never cared to patent his invention.
Denis Papin’s product was colorless, didn’t taste good and wasn’t appealing to the common folks. Across the Atlantic, in the United States, the entrepreneurs were trying to develop gelatin as a food item. The first success came when Pearl B. Wait, a cough syrup manufacturer in New York, decided to venture into the jelly business. He did some research and added food syrup to gelatin. He named his product ‘jello’. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a commercial success. Wait sold the business to a neighbor, Orator Francis Woodward. The new owner used the name ‘Jell-O’ and for a long time it didn’t bring him much profits and reportedly, even he tried to sell the business but didn’t succeed. All this was about to change.
Around 1900s some cooking experts started using Jell-O and found it to be elegant as a meal. It wasn’t long before Jell-O was at fancy dinners and banquets. Fate had taken a turn for the good for Jell-O. Soon there were other manufactures around the world and numerous flavors to choose from.
Category: Food & Cooking