We Tried The TikTok Grandma’s Viral Jell-O Salad So You Do not Have To

Delish editors spend numerous time scrolling by means of TikTok for the most recent meals traits. Generally we uncover a recipe and add it to our rotation till the tip of time (howdy, baked feta pasta). Different meals methods are enjoyable, however don’t have the longevity to develop into a family identify.

And within the final class are recipes so ridiculous or vile that they most likely ought to have by no means been invented within the first place. A current video posted to TikTok clearly belongs on this class.

TikTok person @eczemmma and her grandma Sheila stroll us by means of a step-by-step recipe for her notorious Jell-O salad. And each ingredient is worse than the final. Lime Jell-O. Mayo. Cottage Cheese. Pineapple. Olives. It’s not typically {that a} recipe video leaves me feeling fully repulsed.

I wasn’t the one one grossed out by Sheila’s recipe. Within the feedback, one person wrote, “Y’all ought to see the face I’m making.” One other added, “My abdomen simply turned bitter.”

A number of different customers famous that this resembles most of the retro Jell-O salads that dominated mid-century cookbooks. Grandma Sheila clarified in one other video that she first found the recipe at a tea celebration in 1956, and she or he’s modified and tailored it over a number of a long time.

The video racked up over 5 million views, which prompted @eczemmma to add one other video of her attempting her grandma’s salad.

She described it as “not as unhealthy because it appears.” Within the unique video, Grandma Sheila guarantees that we’re “going to like it.” However is that this true? I made a decision to strive her recipe to search out out.

First I began by making the bottom of the salad. I made one batch of lime Jell-O, however adopted Sheila’s directions somewhat than those listed on the bundle. I added two tablespoons of mayonnaise and one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar earlier than including sufficient water to achieve one and a half cups.

As soon as it started to “gel somewhat bit,” as grandma Sheila says, it was time so as to add the unusual mix-ins. I first scooped in a complete tub of cottage cheese and stirred it completely. This addition added a wierd creamy opacity to the Jell-O and resembled slime from the Nickelodeon Children’ Alternative Awards.

To that chunky, slimy combination I stirred in grated carrot, crushed pineapple, chopped celery (@eczemmma clarifies that celery is the precise ingredient, not cucumber), and sliced black olives. The carrot and pineapple add a contrasting heat hue to the inexperienced salad base. You’d assume that this may make it look extra appetizing, nevertheless it simply appeared nearer to child vomit than anything. Lastly, I poured the salad right into a greased bundt pan and popped it into the fridge to set.

Reduce to some hours later, and it was time to unveil the completed dish. I wanted to rigorously loosen the perimeters with a butter knife earlier than the combination unceremoniously flopped and squelched out of the pan. And, identical to within the TikTok, it appeared simply as heinous as you’d anticipate.

So naturally, I made a decision to pressure all of my coworkers to strive it. A couple of reactions have been flat out unfavourable. “The feel is repulsive,” says our assistant social media editor Izabela Campos. “I’m probably not okay,” senior culinary producer Natalie Lobel mentioned after taking a chunk. I used to be additionally staunchly in opposition to the recipe—however I feel my in-depth information of how the sausage will get made successfully ruined any probabilities of me having fun with it.

What was most stunning, nonetheless, was that the general reception was not as vital as I assumed it will be. In reality, a number of folks went again in for extra (together with one Delish staffer, who will stay nameless, who had fifths!).

“It’s really fairly good,” says options director Ryan Grim. “It’s like coleslaw from the long run…or the distant previous?” The first flaw, he claims, is that the heterogenous texture of the salad makes every chunk inconsistent.

However the most typical response general was: “It’s not that unhealthy.”

Would we search it out at a household potluck? No. Would we eat an enormous bowl of it? Definitely not. However in the event you’re an adventurous eater and occur to have this unusual melange of elements laying round your kitchen, it’s price making Grandma Sheila’s recipe a minimum of as soon as.