windsor
Registered: Nov 03, 2006
Posts: 40
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| | March 26, 2008 at 05:02 PM | Reply with quote | #1 |
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OK Fritz, This a new one on me but I bet you know the origin of this. Up here in the Canadian Maritimes there is an amazing tea sandwich made of a combination of green Jello, canned tuna, Miracle Whip, grated carrot, finely chopped onion and whipped cream served on white 'store bought' bread. It sounds peculiar at first blush, but I'm wondering if this may have appeared in an early Jello cookbook. I know this recipe goes back as early as 1938. Any observations? This was part of one of my columns and received a lot of comments, and it seems that it was almost a whole Maritime phenomenon. All the best, Jay
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I love good food and am especially good at washing up after a delicious meal requiring every pot and pan in the kitchen.
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Chef
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Registered: June 13, 2006
Posts: 169
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| | March 29, 2008 at 10:54 AM | Reply with quote | #2 |
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Jay:
Unfortunately early 20th and 19th Century Canadian give-away recipe and food product pamphlets are VERY hard to find. Jell-O pamphlets of course were most abundant in the USA but to my knowledge no such tuna/green gelatin canapes were ever described, albeit I never made a specific search for that recipe.
As a footnote the Knox Gelatin company preceded Jello as the inventor of fruit flavored "instant" dessert products. Coincidentally some years ago, I was privileged at the invitation of the Knox family to have been given access (for a long weekend) to examine the remains of the archival files and old Knox advertising proofs, but do not recall anything even vaguely resembling the Tuna recipe you mentioned.
Also I must mention that did not read every supermarket give-away booklet/pamphlet in my own collection of pamphlets and promotional hand-out recipe publications. As you know my entire Culinary Library and Archive was donated just before I retired in June of 2007 to The Annenberg Rare Book and Manuscript Library of The University of Pennsylvania.
I estimate that there were about 17,000 cookery books, in addition to uncounted menus, and other ephemera which will hopefully serve as research material for future Food Historians. The Penn Library staff are still busy accessioning and cataloging my collections. |
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windsor
Registered: Nov 03, 2006
Posts: 40
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| | March 29, 2008 at 05:14 PM | Reply with quote | #3 |
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I actually have the recipe, which I will post later once I can get the real root history. I have it traced back as far as 1938 so far. The current recipe I have is found in one of the Eastern Star cookbooks. They are a masonic group who put out untold regional/local cookbooks of 'favorite' recipes. Stay tuned.
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I love good food and am especially good at washing up after a delicious meal requiring every pot and pan in the kitchen. |
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Chef
Moderator
Registered: June 13, 2006
Posts: 169
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| | March 30, 2008 at 07:34 AM | Reply with quote | #4 |
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Jay: Off hand, the idea of Green (lime) Jello and Tuna-fish sounds revolting. Furthermore, the canned tuna here in Thailand is mostly water packed and of bad (overcooked) quality. Also there is NO green Jello - or Jello of any-sort in any of the "Western" Super-markets here (Big C, Lotus/Tesco, or Carre-Four) and although one can find all sorts of REALLY bizarre "jungle foods" including live and/or fried edible insects here in the local street markets Jello is nowhere to be fond.
My point is that I CANNOT make your new-found old recipe, but I shall file it along with other (in my mind) wacko-o food combinations. An entire study can be made of US and North American failed recipes which were put forth by commercial companies so to entice customers to buy their products.
I grew up in rural southern New Jersey, and our family always enjoyed growing and eating just-picked dead ripe tomatoes. We especially liked them thickly sliced, seasoned with a pinch of sugar and then coated with flour and pan-fried in lard or Crisco or Mazola Corn-oil. We never seemed to tire of them. Almost every home-cook in South Jersey including my Mom usually also made a milk-deglazed pan "gravy" by scrambling a few of the softer fried slices in the (cast iron) skillet along with the drippings and residual browned crumbs, and a jolt of milk and finally adding a good shot of freshly ground black pepper. The entire assembly was then served over toasted store-bought bread.
(This was also particularly good for Sunday breakfasts with a poached egg or two on top!!!)
ANYWAY, one unfortunate day my mother found a recipe in some free newspaper magazine for Fried Tomatoes served with a Peanut-Butter Sauce.
My Mom (in a moment uncouth) made it one day for supper, and my father, along with my younger brother and I took one forkful and almost gagged... especially my father who promptly threw his peanut butter fried tomatoes right out the back door into our backyard compost pile... PLATE AND ALL!
We all (my Mom included) laughed about how awful that recipe was for years to come.
I shall be happy to learn the results of a St Andrews-By-The-Sea community taste-off of the Green Jello Tuna recipe.
(To be a statistically valid recipe tasting survey, be sure you include at least 30 volunteer tasters of all ages.) |
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Chasmo
Registered: July 02, 2006
Posts: 4
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| | May 01, 2008 at 12:48 PM | Reply with quote | #5 |
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Did anyone actually try one of these yet?
At the hospital waiting.
Chasmo
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carolin
Registered: July 02, 2009
Posts: 2
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| | July 02, 2009 at 06:23 PM | Reply with quote | #6 |
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Hi Windsor, I used to have a recipe for these tuna and lime jello sandwiches, and agree it must be a Maritime thing, since I am from Saint John originally. I actually made the recipe more than once and they are surprisingly good. Now I cannot find that recipe anywhere in my collection and my Mum would like to have it for a little party she is having this summer. Would you happen to have the proportions of the ingredients you mentioned? |
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windsor
Registered: Nov 03, 2006
Posts: 40
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| | July 03, 2009 at 09:46 AM | Reply with quote | #7 |
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1 package green jello and 1/2C boiling water. Combine and set aside. 1 tin of drained tuna, 1 finely grated carrot, white part of three green onions - finely chopped. 1/2C Miracle Whip, 1/2C whipping cream. Mix all of this together in some fashion and allow to rest peacefully overnight in fridge. This is enought for two loaves of store boughten white bread. Sounds tricky, tastes yummy and actually looks nice too. If you were to upgrade to Hellman's and use the finest white albacore packed in water, I don't think the end result would be same. I think the sweetness in the MW is key. Anyway, enjoy!
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I love good food and am especially good at washing up after a delicious meal requiring every pot and pan in the kitchen. |
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carolin
Registered: July 02, 2009
Posts: 2
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| | July 03, 2009 at 05:49 PM | Reply with quote | #8 |
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Thanks, Windsor. I am giving this to my Mum right away. It really is the way I remember it, MW and all. I will let you know how my mother's tea party guests like them. |
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Chef
Moderator
Registered: June 13, 2006
Posts: 169
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| | July 03, 2009 at 07:29 PM | Reply with quote | #9 |
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My experience with Tuna Salads has been that tuna in water is at best rank and lacks the texture and slippery adhesiveness that oil-packed tuna fish provides. Mouth feel is an important component of flavor ("flavour" for those of you Brit-trained spell checkers).
Some other notes for those adventuresome cooks looking for "new and different" kitchen creations to try:
The sweetness of mayonnaise or salad dressings can be added to store-bought mayonnaise just by adding (by titration) some sugar. I, on the other hand prefer to make my own mayonnaise and to season by titration it from scratch depending on what I plan to do with it. For example, there are various species of vinegars [rice wine, malt, barley, balsamic ... plus a wide range of berry vinegars (raspberry, strawberry, cherry, cranberry, blueberry...etc)
Also fresh citrus fruit juices such as lemon, lime, grapefruit or pineapple (which I realize is not a member of the citrus family) can provide an interesting fillip to old-hat Mayonnaise based meat and seafood salads, including chicken, turkey, and shell fish. Likewise, the sweetness component of "Mayo-based dishes" can be customized by using honey, or palm sugar, or even maple sugar.
Furthermore, additions of other on-the-shelf products such as tomato catchup, sweet pickle relishes, and even fruit chutneys can also yield surprisingly yummy ('new' - if not different) - recipe renditions to set upon your table.
Well that's enough of my "rant-of-the-day" except to note that when you enter your kitchen do so with a good attitude, and explore new avenues with love and understanding.
As my mother used to frequently warble:
"When you at first don't succeed, try, try again."
PS: Although 'Instant gelled Fruit Desserts' via Jello® are unavailable here, I brought with me two boxes of pure granulated UN-flavored Knox gelatin to be used as required for gelatinized desserts, such as Bavarians and Bombes ...
... and/or in the Charcuterie Department to make such meaty-delights as Galantines, Ballottines, and so called liver and meat Patés |
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