Everyone knows Bill Cosby likes Jell-O, but some people love it enough to make a trek to Le Roy, New York to “watch the gelatin wiggle” as locals probably don’t say. The delicious dessert was invented by a carpenter in 1897 while he was trying to develop herbal teas. We don’t know how that could happen, but we are grateful! The Jell-O factory in Le Roy was shut down by General Foods in 1964, but the Jell-O Gallery remains as a testament to the toy-like candy. Over 10,000 people flock to the town each year to learn more about the jiggly, wiggly food. Le Roy is the town for Jello fans, and they are milking their legacy for every penny.

What’s a trip to Le Roy’s Jell-O paradise like?

Here in Le Roy, the experience begins when visitors step off East Main Street onto the Jell-O Brick Road, a pathway where each stone is inscribed with the name of a former employee of the factory or a town notable. On the second floor of the historic schoolhouse, the Jell-O Gallery contains a showcase of a preserved sturgeon bladder and a calf’s hoof, two of the less-appealing ingredients in gelatin. Around the corner is an impressive collection of molds, some made of tin and plastic, others that imprinted Jell-O with the logos of Canadian hockey teams. There are baseball cards that Jell-O issued in the 1960s and the Very Berry Barbie doll, which helped introduce a new flavor.

Apparently Mormons in Utah love Jell-O. They love it so much that the Utah Legislature declared Jell-O the official state snack with Bill Cosby in attendance, of course. It’s been a long trek for the flavorful powder, from it’s birth in a carpenter’s workshop to an American icon. Jell-O is spectacular.

[New York Times]

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