Jell-O’s fortunes quickly changed under Genesee. In 1899, he sold the rights to Jell-O to Genesee for $450. Wait couldn’t get his new product off the ground. How she landed on the name has been lost to history, but some historians believe it was inspired by the product Grain-O, a substitute for coffee, that was also made in LeRoy by the Genesee Pure Food Company. Wait trademarked a name for his invention, Jell-O, based on an idea from his wife May. (It’s not known exactly how he added the colors.) The first flavors of his product, which were extracted from natural fruits, were orange, lemon, strawberry and raspberry. Wait came up with a sweet, flavored powder that could be added to boiled water, cooled, and was ready to serve. Wait, who dabbled with developing cough remedies and teas, added flavoring and coloring to granulated gelatin, a flavorless food ingredient. In 1897, Pearle Wait, a carpenter in LeRoy, a small town outside of Rochester, New York, found an answer to the problem. “If ever there was a food calling out for a convenience product solution, it was gelatin,” Wyman wrote. Gelatin desserts were for the elite who had cooks and servants to labor through the elaborate and time-consuming process of making gelatin, often extracted from the feet of calves or other animal parts. During the Victorian era in Europe, decorative gelatin molds were a symbol of high society and served to royalty. Desserts with gelatin, which is essentially purified glue, have a luxurious history.
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