The Common Mid-Century Mint Dessert That Would Turn Heads Today

Food trends come and go, and for a time, aspics and Jell-O molds were all the rage. Vintage cookbooks are full of recipes featuring various fruits, vegetables, and even meat floating in gelatin. Often these were presented as centerpieces in the accompanying photos. Vintage recipes from the 1950s often relied on gelatin because it was considered innovative and a time saver. Fruit in gelatin is still a refreshing treat that shows up at potlucks and backyard barbecues from time to time. One version you may not have seen before is the pineapple mint salad.

A user on Reddit unearthed this old-school Jell-O recipe, showcasing what a pretty simple dish is, even if it's unusual by today's standards. The recipe calls for lime Jell-O prepared traditionally, except that half of the cold water is replaced with pineapple juice. Then, ¼ teaspoon of mint flavoring is mixed in before the dish is refrigerated to set. After the Jell-O has partially thickened but not fully set, a cup of diced canned pineapple, not fresh, is added. The mold is then returned to the refrigerator until it's firm. The dish is presented as a tall Jell-O mold, and it's suggested to serve it on salad greens as a side dish for lamb or baked ham.

Mint and lime don't cross paths often and are most famously the flavor base for a mojito. The pineapple offers a bright twist that makes it more tropical. You could consider it something like a hybrid pina colada and mojito minus the coconut. But in Jell-O form.

Lime Jell-O was a popular choice for many dishes like this pineapple one, and they were often called salads despite having almost no ingredients we would consider necessary for any kind of salad today. There's a frozen version that doesn't use mint flavor and instead calls for mini marshmallows, whipped cream, and crushed butter mints. Then the whole thing is frozen, sliced into squares, and served on lettuce.

Another version using lime Jell-O and pineapple eschews the mint in favor of cottage cheese and pecans. There's even a twist on that one that uses cream cheese and heavy cream instead of the cottage cheese, creating a denser and much creamier dessert. Or salad, since it's still called one.

Pineapple and mint had been paired in salads for decades, and published recipes from as far back as the 1930s called for pineapple, freshly chopped mint, and mint gelatin. The history of Jell-O salads in general dates back even further, to the early 1900s.

Mint seemed to fall out of favor later as dairy became more prominent, or the recipes just focused on the fruity aspects. Pineapple and lime Jell-O alone were fairly common in many vintage recipes. "My mom used to put pineapple in lime jello & it was always pretty good," one Redditor said. Many recipes you'll find online today associate the idea with vintage cooking and grandmothers. If you're curious, try the recipe for yourself. If you find it a little odd, imagine if it used some of these more unusual Jell-O flavors.