J-E-L-L-O

When my mom was five years old, her family left Sweden for Canada. She once described that trip for me. She had never been on a plane and didn’t yet speak English. She was accustomed to picking wild mushrooms in the forest with her grandmother and eating wholesome, real foods.

On the plane they served Jell-o and soda pop. I can only imagine how surreal that would have been.

When was the last time you were surprised by food’s flavour or texture? The most recent winner of Top Chef, Michael Voltaggio, made a practice of surprising the judges with a trompe l’oeil. Some thought it was gimmicky; I found to be it mostly very charming.

In an effort that we might collectively recall an early childhood experience with food, here is an entertaining video of monkeys at the Bronx Zoo eating Jell-o (via Malene Arpe at the Toronto Star.)