The Great Gelatin Revival traces the history of aspics, jiggly desserts and jello shots. The author predicts that given the patterns of popularity since the Middle Ages, gelatin is about to come back into fashion. Not kitsch, nor artificially flavored and colored monstrosities of the mid 20th century, but seriously delicious concoctions that will thrill, delight and occasionally terrify. The book’s central thesis is that periods in which gelatin is fashionable align with those that favor scientific applications of food, bright colors and artificial flavors. These are punctuated by periods when natural, local, traditional and homemade food predominates, as in the past 20 years or so. These coincide with periods in art history and fashion as well. When hairstyles go up and bustles are tightened – gelatin is praised as in the Renaissance, Victorian era and 1950s. When everything goes down, so does jello. Gelatin is therefor a bellwether of larger patterns in food history.

Dr. Ken Albala Bio

Dr. Ken Albala is Tully Knoles Endowed Professor of History at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. He has published 27 books including academic monographs, food histories, cookbooks, encyclopedias and translations. These include Eating Right in the Renaissance, Food in Early Modern Europe, Beans: A History (Winner of the IACP Jane Grigson Award), Three World Cuisines (Winner of the Gourmand Awards Best Foreign Cuisine Book in the World.) and The Banquet: Dining in the Great Courts of Late Renaissance Europe. He has written several cookbooks – The Lost Art of Real Cooking, The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home and most recently, Noodle Soup. He also made several series for The Great Courses/Wondrium. The Great Gelatin Revival is his latest book. Next is Opulent Nosh. He is currently working on another book about Food, Clay, Wood.