In some circles, it is a well-known and boast-worthy fact that Utah has
historically consumed more Jell-O per capita than any other state in the
nation. This jiggling, fruity dessert made from horse hooves and
artificial flavoring holds a special wobbling place in the heart of
every Utahan, native or adopted. The love of Jell-O resonates so deeply
that in 2001, when Utah narrowly beat out Iowa in annual Jell-O
consumption, state officials elected Jell-O the official state snack and
named Bill Cosby an honorary Utah citizen.
When my family relocated to Utah from New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the
summer of 1998, we were unaware of the local gelatin affinity. Shiny
yellow and blue Jell-O salads sat in our fridge vibrating their friendly
"welcome to the neighborhood." We discovered the strange, almost
otherworldly suspensions of savory items — shredded carrots, peas, and
cubed ham — in gifts of Jell-O molds. And I, just shy of my thirteenth
birthday, entered a new semester of junior high and a new culinary
terrain.
Home economics was my first class. My teacher, who had an incredible
ability to hide and forget multiple pencils in her stiff purple
bouffant, stood in front of the class, introduced herself, and with a
wide smile began the semester with this question: "Now, how many of your
mothers have more than five recipes for Jell-O?" Almost everyone in the
class raised their hands. "Now," she said, "tell me, how many of your
mothers have more than 10 recipes for Jell-O?" I could hear the soft
scrape of rising fabric behind me. Many of my classmates kept their
hands high. Her excitement increased. "How many of your mothers have
more than 15 recipes for Jell-O?" Her eyes gleamed and her smile widened
at the response. "Twenty?" I turned around, and at least six or seven
classmates with Jell-O-obsessed mothers beamed back.
Utah food culture, for the most part, can be dubbed Mormon cuisine. The
state was settled in 1847 by Brigham Young, the leader of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following the assassination of
founder Joseph Smith, and as the community fled religious persecution
it spread into southern Idaho, California, Wyoming, and Nevada,
popularly called the "Mormon Corridor" or the "Jell-O Belt." A mix of
convenience foods and Southwestern ingenuity, Mormon cuisine is built
around feeding dozens of mouths from pantry stores and prudent
seasoning. Notably, many iconic Mormon foods are enjoyed throughout the
Southwest by Mormons and non-Mormons alike.