There’s a poignancy to the ingenuity and effort that Mexicans use to create magic with the humble ingredient of gelatin powder. Lastly, gelatina artistica are mind-blowing 3-D flowers created by using needles and syringes to inject opaque, milk gelatin into translucent, water gelatin domes. They depict whimsical figures, such as animals, cartoon characters, cars, aliens, and even books. Gelatina figura are especially popular with children. ![]() ![]() Mosaico (mosaic) gelatinas are created by cutting cubes of congealed gelatin, mixing them into a cool, but not yet firm, different-colored gelatin, and then refrigerating the mixture in a mold until it alchemizes into a solid whole. Often they feature layers of contrasting colors and flavors. Large, cake-like gelatinas are also made with molds. Even though the base ingredients are the same, the variety of gelatinas in Mexico is astonishing. Individual portions are poured into plastic cups or small decorative molds. Raisins, nuts, and fruit are added for texture and style (plus additional nutrition) and, sometimes, colorful candy gets thrown into the mix for good measure. Sometimes cooks use pre-flavored and pre-colored packets of powder, but it’s also common to start with a clear base, blending in yogurt, cream cheese, wine, spirits, or commercial flavorings, along with vegetable dyes, for the desired favor and effect. Gelatina recipes call for first mixing gelatin powder with hot water or milk to dissolve it. Gelatin is considered vaguely healthy as it contains collagen protein that is derived from the process of boiling animal bones. It often accompanies cake rather than ice cream. Birthday parties, baby showers, patron saint fiestas, you name it-pretty much any occasion where friends and family gather calls for gelatina. These days, gelatinas can be found at bakeries and corner stores, on traditional Mexican restaurant dessert trays, and, of course, in home kitchens. Their glass-fronted push carts shelter the delicate, jewel-toned treats. Since the 1940s, Mexico City street vendors have sold gelatina snacks outside of schools, hospitals, and churches, as well as in traditional markets. We ate single-flavored Jell-O (strawberry, pineapple, watermelon) prepared with water, maybe a few grapes or sliced bananas thrown into the mix when she felt fancy. She considered it a healthy low-fat, light dessert. My feminist working mother favored Jell-O for its ease of preparation. I grew up after the Golden Age of Jell-O in the United States (1930s–1960s), when both savory and sweet “Jell-O salads” graced dinner tables across the country-bonkers recipes like lemon gelatin layered with pimiento-stuffed olives, sweet pickles, and walnuts. ![]() Mexican gelatina has little to do with the ho-hum Jell-O of my 1970’s Florida childhood. These gelatin desserts are sold by street vendors and in markets and bakeries across the city. It’s become a popular art form that expresses the essence of our traditions.”Īs a foreigner living in Mexico, I’m dazzled by the shimmering spectacle and diversity of gelatina. ![]() Gelatina carries within it a sense of cultural identity. “It’s uniquely Mexican-overflowing with creativity, imagination, color, flavor, and fantastical details. “It’s hard to convey the joy that gelatina brings to our daily meals and celebrations,” says Chef Graciela Montaño of Aura Cocina Mexicana, who loves gelatina so much, she’s writing a book about it. She remembers looking forward to it and wondering what color the Virgin treat would be. When she was a toddler, she attended a pre-school in Mexico where the teachers served the kids a gelatina snack each day that was shaped like the Virgin of Guadalupe. As it happens, one of my daughter’s earliest memories is about gelatina.
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