Jello - Rainbow Jiggle

Jello - Rainbow Jiggle

When I was a child growing up in the 70's - it seemed like this Rainbow Jello was a staple.  It didn't matter where you were going or what you were doing - a family function or a church potluck or a summer picnic - somebody always brought "Rainbow Jello."  It's one of those recipes that everyone copied by hand (remember, this was before every household had  personal computers, digital cameras, printers and scanners) and nobody knows the origin of the recipe.  Maybe it was from my Auntie Judy.....or maybe from Erika or Katie.............the list goes on and on.

My 7 year old twin nieces have given this dish a new name - it is now known as "Rainbow Jiggle."

One other important item before I share this recipe - if you want a lesson in patience, then this recipe is for you.  The instructions must be followed to the letter, you must wait the appropriate time or else the final product will not set up properly. 

It is a fun recipe but you must have patience.

Printable Recipe

4 different flavored packages of Jello (I used raspberry, peach, grape & strawberry-kiwi)

2 packages of Knox Gelatine (the box shown above had many packages inside - I am talking about the small paper packages - NOT 2 boxes).

2 cups of milk

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 small container of sour cream (2 cups)

water

15x10x2 Pyrex dish (sprayed with nonstick spray or lightly oiled with peanut oil)

Step 1: Open both packages of Gelatine and soak in 1/2 cup water (room temperature) and put aside for later.
Step 2: Open all 4 packages of Jello and place them in 4 separate bowls (1 bowl per flavor) (as seen in the top right picture).
Step 3: In a medium saucepan, bring the milk & sugar to boil (stirring all the time).  Remove from heat and stir in the gelatine mixture from the first step (stir until completely combined).
Now add the sour cream and vanilla and stir until combined and set aside (see middle left picture above). 
Step 4: Start with the Jello color that you want on the bottom (I used the raspberry for my bottom layer).  Take the bowl that has this Jello flavor from Step 2 and add 3/4 cup boiling water - stirring all the time until totally disolved. (Important - the water must be boiling - I used water that I thought was hot enough for the last layer - it never disolved and the Jello never solidified.  You will notice some green spots in the top layer - it should have been lime but I made this mistake - learn from my mistakes).  Then, once disolved, add 3/4 cup cold water and stir. (this step will be repeated for all colored layers).
Step 5:  Colored layers - Pour this first layer into the pyrex dish (for all of the remaining layers you will need to gently spoon on instead of pouring - see the 2 bottom above).  Place the pyrex dish (with that layer of jello poured in) in the freezer making sure that it is on a level surface - so that your jello layers are straight.  Keep in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Step 6:  White layers - Remove the pyrex dish from the freezer.  Take 1 2/3 cup of the white gelatine mixture and gently spoon/ladle the white layer on top of the colored layer.  Place the pyrex dish back into the freezer for 15 mintues. (there will be 3 white layers each portion measuring 1 2/3 cups).

I know it gets a little confusing right now - maybe a list will help - this list is the flavor order that I used - any flavor combination will work:

Complete steps 1 to 3

Raspberry layer - step 4 & 5

White layer - step 6

Peach layer - step 4 & 5

White layer - step 6

Grape layer - step 4 & 5

White layer - step 6

Strawberry-Kiwi layer - step 4 & 5

So that's a total freezer time of 2 hours and 5 minutes ......PATIENCE.

NOTE:  After the first layer has been in the freezer for 20 minutes - lightly touch with your finger to make sure that it is solid enough for the next layer (20 minutes was perfect for my freezer but every freezer could be a little different in temperature - so time may vary a little)

Once all of the layers are finished - take the pyrex dish out of the freezer, cover with plastic wrap (making sure that the plastic does NOT touch the top jello layer) and place in the fridge for 1 hour or more).  

Now the Rainbow Jiggle is ready to be cut - use a sharp knife and a metal spatula to remove each piece (see picture above). 

Place on a serving platter and ENJOY!

Linked to:

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