Jell-O, Are You There?

Every Alaska community cookbook has a “salad” section. I use quotes because these sections do not contain any recipes that involve lettuce or croutons. They are, instead, almost totally devoted to Jell-O. If you grew up in Anchorage like I did, there’s likely such a salad in your childhood memories. Mine is orange and studded with canned mandarin moons. There may be a dollop of Cool Whip or a splash of cream right on top.

A person could get snobby about Jell-O salad. They could ask: is it really cooking if you are just opening boxes and freezer bags and cans? Is it really salad? But that person would misunderstand Alaska, especially mid-century Alaska in places off the road system, where everything in the wintertime, including fruits and vegetables, had to come from the pantry or the freezer. Alaskans are innovators in the kitchen and otherwise. Our sacred Jell-O salad canon should not be written off, because some of these salads are actually pretty good. Especially the ones that feature local berries, paired with savory meats like lamb or turkey.

Anyway, the anti-Jell-O crowd can just flip on by but those of you who understand might want to make this highly delicious and most nostalgic salad that comes from my O’Malley side a generation ago. It was given to me by my Aunt Molly and it was given to her by a woman named Mrs. Volper, whose name is on the recipe. It’s called “Mrs. Volper’s PTA salad.” It uses frozen Alaska berries and features a tart ribbon of sour cream running through the center. It calls for jellied whole cranberry sauce, but you can also use frozen cranberries. I’d go with about 1 cup. You can make it in a Jell-O mold, a Bundt pan or, if you don’t want to deal with unmolding it, a lasagna pan. It goes great with roast chicken or pork or can be a dessert all unto itself.