Rainbow Jello « Do Better

Rainbow Jello

March 18, 2008 at 8:20 pm | In Dessert |
Tags: class party, jello, rainbow, spring

I was one of the last parents to arrive at school the day the sign-up sheet went up for the Easter Party. Never be the last mom to sign up..the only thing left…jello.

I brought jello last time and really wanted to do cupcakes or cookies or something fun. Reluctantly I signed up for jello, again.

But I didn’t make just jello. Oh no, not me. I made JELLO!

I picked up a 6oz box of blue, yellow and red jello plus a box of knox gelatin. To get these fabulous layers, mix the blue jello with an envelope of the knox gelatin. Pour in two cups of boiling water. Dissolve the gelatin. Add 1/2 cup of ice. Stir until thick. Remove any remaining ice cubes and any bubbles that may have formed. Pour into a 9×13 inch pan. Let set in the refrigerator.

Repeat with the yellow jello and pour it over the set blue. Repeat with the red jello and pour it over the yellow. And there you have it, Rainbow Jello.

I won’t go into the whole primary and secondary color thing, but these colors, when stacked upon each other, create other colors. There is not an orange or green layer. It just looks like it when the red and yellow layers touch and then yellow and blue layers touch. Pretty cool.

Oh, and these can be made and cut a day ahead.

This was a surprise! Thanks for the tip Gretchen!

53 Comments »

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That’s so pretty!

Comment by Romina — March 19, 2008 #
Lovely rainbow Jello squares! What a fun project to take. Good for you for making it funner than cupcakes.

Comment by Gretchen Noelle — March 19, 2008 #
Yes, so pretty, and yes that is not jello, that is JELLO!
Love your photos! This is something my son would love! You make it sound so easy, so I’ll try

Comment by Medena — March 19, 2008 #
awesome!!

Comment by papersalt — March 19, 2008 #
I can’t wait for my little guy to start school so I can make these for his class! I want to make them right now but I don’t think we’d eat them. They look so fun!

Comment by Amanda — March 19, 2008 #
LOL, I’m bringing napkins. I have had your jello before, and it’s great…even though it’s just jello, LOL!

Comment by Angela — March 19, 2008 #
WOW!!!!!!!!!!! I like it!

Comment by Kath — March 19, 2008 #
Only you could make Jello so fun. Just be thankful you get to bring homemade goodies. Public schools make you BUY everything!

Comment by emgray — March 19, 2008 #
That’s cool! I love the colors.

Comment by Dianne — March 19, 2008 #
I would have been bummed to get Jello, but you really made it the best of it!

Comment by Allison — March 19, 2008 #
I’m not a jello fan at all. However… that just looks like soo much fun! How could you not be happy to eat that?

Comment by Stef — March 19, 2008 #
Hmm… How can I adapt this for Jello shots?

I agree with a pp. Public schools have really taken the fun out of everything. You can’t bring baked goods but you can bring prepackaged BAKED potato chips - Like those are so much better for you. Weird huh? LOL

Comment by Katie — March 20, 2008 #
wow those look amazing!

Comment by Leng — March 20, 2008 #
This looks really neat! I’ll have to try this, my kids would love that!

I saw this post at http://www.tastespotting.com/page/222/

when I noticed one of my own was there too!

Comment by Rachelle ~ Ldylvbgr — March 20, 2008 #
OK…officially the COOLEST thing I’ve seen in quite some time…mesmerizing! I literally was staring at it in awe!

Comment by Julz — March 20, 2008 #
those are so cute! I love jello. thats cool that the color just blend like that.

Comment by freepersonaltrainer — March 20, 2008 #
My grandma used to make this, but it was with firmer stripes. I like your way.
You can add cream cheese and condensed milk to make a “creamy” color that mixes well into your stripes, too.

Comment by Amanda — March 20, 2008 #
I love, love, LOVE those photos! That jello is the coolest food ever! Did I mention I love it?

Comment by Madeline — March 20, 2008 #
This is…I mean…that’s just…I’m speechless! I’ve been made speechless by Jell-o! I have seen all sorts of jell-o silliness: jell-o aquariums filled with gummi fish, jell-o flags of many nations, and I even love toying with jell-o myself, although I never got farther than jell-o jelly beans for Easter.

Rainbow knox blox? Genius. Simple. Edible. Pretty. Bouncy. Jell-o.

I can’t WAIT to make this!

Comment by missbhavens — March 20, 2008 #
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Pingback by Do Better… « Writing Under a Pseudonym — March 20, 2008 #
this is fantastic! i’d be so proud if my mom brought this to school on my behalf. i’m thinking of other color combinations now–!

Comment by c(h)ristine — March 20, 2008 #
Awesome job! I love the rainbow effect.

Comment by Gigi — March 20, 2008 #
Super cute!

Comment by Joy — March 20, 2008 #
so fun! i bet the kids loved them…

Comment by Alejandra — March 20, 2008 #
Wow, if you have to bring jello, that’s the way to bring it!! It looks gorgeous and the pictures are amazing!

Comment by Colette — March 20, 2008 #
Wow,
It’s a perfect party dessert!

Comment by Cindy — March 20, 2008 #
I hate jello but that is totally awesome and now I want to make it!!!

Comment by roopa — March 20, 2008 #
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Pingback by Slice of Awesome » Rainbow Jell-O — March 21, 2008 #
This actually looks *good*, and is making me crave jello really badly - a pretty good sign I’m getting sick! But I’m keeping this in mind for when I need a light or just plain silly dessert!

Comment by Keeley — March 21, 2008 #
I bet the kids loved the jello the best!

That is so cool! Thanks for the idea, I have just bookmarked it for Ollie’s first birthday party! x

Comment by bevsedgehills — March 21, 2008 #
This is gorgeous! How did you cut it so nicely?

Comment by Amelia — March 25, 2008 #
Amelia- just a sharp knife!

Comment by Karen — March 25, 2008 #
The many uses and creative ways of Jell-O are truly amazing. This is so 60’s and 70’s looking … would be great for a retro party!

Comment by Cait Lynn — March 28, 2008 #
I was just wondering… why do u put the knox gelitan in as well… can u get the same effect without using it.. and just use the jello boxes?

Comment by Menaka — April 9, 2008 #
Menaka- the knox really helps the jello squares stay firm. Much more so than a jello jiggler. I haven’t tried this w/o the knox.

Comment by Karen — April 9, 2008 #
Here through Design Mom. This is awesome!

Comment by Isabel Kallman — April 13, 2008 #
Found your blog through Design Mom and I LOVE the rainbow jello idea. It’s very similar to knoxblox
but with a few more steps. I think you might love double decker knox blox too. I’ve made them for my kids for years and jello you can hold is always a big hit!! Hope it’s okay to put the link here for recipe & pictures and it works–I’m a still-learning newbie!

Comment by Sherra — April 13, 2008 #
This is FREAKING AWESOME.

Comment by maya — April 15, 2008 #
i used to make something similar - but it had three colors, plus alternating layers of a jello-yogurt combination that made them opaque. very yummy and pretty.

Comment by brooke — April 15, 2008 #
Funny, I did the same exact thing and took it to my in-laws for Easter and NO ONE touched it. Doesn’t matter what I bring, no one even humors me with a single bite.

Comment by Leeanthro — April 18, 2008 #
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Pingback by Gelatina de arco íris « Coruja @ Update or Die — April 19, 2008 #
How long did you let the jell-o layer sit before adding the next one?? I would hate to screw something up if i might bring it somewhere!!!

Comment by 422 — April 21, 2008 #
422- it will take about 45 minutes for each layer to set up. Once a layer is firm, you can pour the next layer directly over the top. It will take about 3 hours in total to complete, so plan accordingly. I hope this helps!

Comment by Karen — April 21, 2008 #
If you’ve got 8 hours, and are feeling even more ambitious, try this! Four colours of jello alternated with layers of jelled sweet cream… Yum!

Comment by Jessica — April 22, 2008 #
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Pingback by Rainbow Stuff » Rainbow Jello! — April 23, 2008 #
You add an envelope of knox gelatin to each layer, right? Not just the blue (first) one? Maybe a box of knox comes with 3 envelopes but I wasn’t sure by the directions. LOL, it’s been a VERY long time since I made jello. Thanks for the fun recipe!

Comment by Clueless — April 23, 2008 #
Clueless- yep, you add one envelope of knox gelatin to each layer/box of jello. A box of knox comes with 4 envelopes. I hope this helps! Enjoy your jello!

Comment by Karen — April 23, 2008 #
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Pingback by Gelatina de arco íris « Gourmet @ Update or Die — April 23, 2008 #
I make 7 layer jello sometimes, and i like to do it in rainbow order. but, the colors sometimes blend together too much. I love this recipe because it creates the illusion that there is a rainbow. plus, it will take much less time than 7 layers! I’ll try this one next time.

Comment by Emily — April 26, 2008 #
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Pingback by Rainbow Jello! « { L O V E L Y T I R E D } — May 5, 2008 #
This is fun. Thanks for sharing.

Comment by Dawn — May 6, 2008 #
Dear JELLO,
My name is Ana Carola Cardenas and I work for the Mexican magazine “Le Fourquet: Gourmet Lifestyle”, one of the publications of the Grupo Multimedios ( http://www.multimedios.com.mx ) in Monterrey, Mexico.
I take the liberty of writing to you to request some high-resolution photographs of JELLO’S Rainbow picture to include them in our magazine. We would love to mention it in our next issue, which will be focused on Colors.
Best regards,
–
Ana Carola Cardenas
“Le Fourquet”
http://www.lefourquet.com

Comment by Ana Carola — May 7, 2008 #
You people are nuts. Get back to work.

Comment by Joe Buck — May 16, 2008 #