A little while ago, the Mrs. and I were sitting on our respective sides of the couch secured in fuzzy blankets. It got pretty cold in Florida for a few weeks there, so my wife was also wearing a completely horrendous fuzzy sweater that she pulls out of the closet on particularly chilly evenings. It’s horizontally striped in various shades of pink. Just hideous.
She held up the sleeve and said, “This looks like Jell-O 1-2-3. Do you remember Jell-O 1-2-3?” I laughed and said of course I did. I had it quite a few times in my youth. My mom was always good with the Jell-O and the Jell-O pudding.
Then the part of my brain that is forever holding onto my dream of being a full time vintage food blogger lit up. I took to the eBay, and sure enough, there was a box of unopened Jell-O 1-2-3 for sale. I got into a minor bidding war with some other lunatic somewhere that was also trying to buy old Jell-O for some reason, but eventually I prevailed. “Jell-O 1-2-3” is now a saved search term on my account, and I’ve since noticed that this stuff does not come up very often. I’ve only seen one other box since winning this one. So clearly the food blogging gods were smiling on me that evening. (That other box was older and Raspberry. I tried to snag that one as well but was sniped at the last second.)
Now sadly, my two previous attempts at capturing some of the magic of the days of food gone by didn’t end very well. But both of those were cereals. I had hopes that because Jell-O 1-2-3 was a powder, it would hold up better against the ravages of time. That’s just good science.
If you are unaware, Jell-O 1-2-3 was a product produced from 1969 to 1996. It came in Strawberry, Raspberry, Orange, Cherry, and Lime. It was a single bag of powder like regular Jell-O which you prepared with the aid of a blender. After blending, you’d pour the frothed concoction into glasses and in a few hours, and with the help of the immutable laws of physics, the Jell-O would separate out into three layers of brightly colored goodness. There’s a bottom gelatin layer, a middle layer that’s a little lighter, and then a very airy top layer. C’est magnifique!
The Jell-O 1-2-3 Wikipedia entry is frustratingly short, coming in at only 78 words. Sixteen of which are used to point out that Jell-O 1-2-3 was prepared in an episode of The Nanny.
There’s a petition online and sad little Facebook fan page advocating the unretiring of Jell-O 1-2-3, but nothing seems to be catching the attention of Jell-O. Though weirdly enough, Kraft does have an official recipe on their website if you would like to attempt to recreate the magic of Jell-O 1-2-3. I tried it and only got a layer of one. But I think I used the wrong kind of Cool Whip, so I can’t say for sure if it’s legit. Lite Cool Whip is a thing, apparently.
According to the eBayer I transacted with, this box dates to the late 80s. She mentioned a personal anecdote involving moving to a different house at that time as a point of reference. I’ll have to take her word for it, so I’ll place it conservatively at 1989. It could be later. Who knows.
The box is in excellent condition and is currently being preserved for future generations in the same box that houses my complete line of seaQuest DSV action figures. The inner bag was also intact. Upon opening it, there was a very powerful strawberry nosegrope consistent with regular strawberry Jell-O. Hope was starting to build! I boiled the water, blended, and poured. And in a few hours I was able to once again witness the layering majesty of Jell-O 1-2-3. The layers weren’t as thick or even as the box would have you believe, but who cares? Layers are layers, and they were beautiful!
Sadly snacklings, my vintage food blogging dreams are slipping away. This Jell-O 1-2-3 still retains its wonderful strawberry flavor but it has been tainted by whatever it is that is lurking menacingly in the inner bag packaging. It’s both cardboardy and plasticky. The chemical flavor is not quite as strong as it was in the Batman and Bill and Ted cereals, but it’s there and it ruins all three parties.
Sigh.
In a world of on-demand everything, there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to order new batches of food from our past. Ecto Cooler, Crystal Pepsi, Clearly Canadian. Like they wouldn’t sell. And I don’t know if you’ve been keeping track, but there are currently 19 varieties of Jell-O available and 24 varieties of Jell-O Pudding. If Kraft is selling enough boxes of Margarita Jell-O and Flan flavored Jell-O Pudding to keep them on shelves, then surely they can make some Jell-O 1-2-3. Come on Kraft. Flan? Seriously.
Sorry to dash our collective 1-2-3 dreams, everyone. But I haven’t given up hope yet! And neither should you. I just may have another powdered food up my sleeve. Soon.
Soon.
Food Junk 
I love this post! And the box!!! “Strawberry Artificial Flavour” – it’s hard to believe that that was a selling point over a generation ago. (And I was very much already alive back then 😉 I write about food industry topics for a living, so you’d think nothing would surprise me very much any more, but it does….!
It tastes so real! Haha
I think they can make strawberry flavour out of wood shavings, and are allowed to call it ‘natural’…
I read a book called The Dark History of Food Fraud that was filled with things like that. Very interesting read.
Ooooh, I love those kinds of books… got plenty on my shelf! What a sad couple of nerds we are ….
Haha, indeed!
This is amazing, and the fact that was on The Nanny makes it all the better! Just goes to show that some things don’t get better with age…
I love that someone, obviously with a love for Jell-O 1-2-3, added that Nanny info to Wikipedia.
Lol, so you are the guy I was bidding against! Well, not really because I don’t have the courage to eat something this old. I sort of remember this stuff, but I think we had jello an bananas a lot. Yes, I know, but my family is the stubborn sort.
I too have enjoyed the jello and banana combo. And for a second there, when I started to read your comment, I got really excited that you were actually the person I was bidding against! I want to meet that person.
You’re hilarious. Keep up the crazy experiments!
Thanks, will do!
Glad to know I’m not the only one with a complete set of seaQuest DSV action figures.
Haha, I was under the impression everyone had them.
What’s up, I check your blogs daily. Your writing style is witty, keep doing what you’re
doing!
Thanks
Actually Dr. Oetker brand desserts makes a 3-layered gelatin mix called Trio Treat. You can still get it. I think it’s very similar.
Wow I don’t know that brand. Excellent! Thanks.
This is amazing. I had bought my boyfriend a small bottle of strawberry shortcake vodka and when I took a whiff of it last night all I could think of is a strawberry parfait. After seeing this post, I now realize that this was the partfait I had been thinking of. I remember my mom making this when I was little. I wish they still made it so I could have my boyfriend try it since he loves strawberry things.
So many fond memories of this!
Jell-O 1-2-3 was also in an episode of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose!
I need to find that episode!
I remember when duddenly 1-2-3 wasn’t on the shelves any longer. It was a bummer, because my Mom and I made a lot of it. I too feel if there is a market for “flan” flavored pudding and Margarita jello, then there is room for Jell-O 1-2-3!
I’m happy to learn of Dr.Oetker’s Trio Treat. And a benefit is that, everything under the Dr.Oetker’s brand is more genuinely natural than anything from Kraft has ever been. Check it out!
There HAS TO BE a market for Jell-O 123. They still have layered Jell-O cups after all.
So if you compare the ingredients list in the old jello 123 to modern plain jello, is there anything different? Something maybe from molecular gastronomy like egg white powder or soy protein?. Theory would be to add a foaming agent to the jello and then you could turn plain jello into jello 123
Hmmm interesting. I’ll have to get the box out.
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i LOVED this stuff SO much. i’m going to have to try the kraft recipe.
i’m not sure if you’ve got all the flavors right though… from google image searching i am able to find strawberry, orange, mixed berry http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7233/7173988882_5b58f53a69.jpg , and triple fruit rainbow http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lbSzeWBjYWU/T6u4nf9HyEI/AAAAAAAAXUc/qDebHU74LV4/s400/jello+1+2+3.jpg .
i did not realize that ecto cooler no longer exists… i guess it’s been a long time since i’ve had hi-c!
I never saw the Rainbow kind!
Also, an old box of Ecto Cooler sold for over $500 on eBay this summer!
I talked to a woman who works at Kraft. She told me that the manufacture of one of the ingredients they need quit making it and that is why they no longer make it. She said they get asked about it all the time but there is nothing they can do about. Which leads one to wonder what was that ingredient I enriched uranium?
Haha, yea really. No one else in the world makes that ingredient?!
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Hilarious! Props to you for tasting it! You’re braver than I am! Am planning to attempt to make the Kraft recipe version, which is how I came across your blog.
What I really miss is peanut butter Boppers.
Thank you! And I do not know these Peanut Butter Boppers of which you speak.
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OMG! How to explain?? Pure crispy peanut buttery goodness! It was like a peanut butter (sort of Reese’s style) log, with rice krispies (and I think also something like the crunchy things in the middle of DQ ice cream cake) and maybe cookie crumbs… but somehow better than you can imagine any combination of that. Nature Valley made them… I guess before they decided to seem more like a health food company.
Google+ wouldn’t let me post! Had to switch to FB 🙂
I remembered this 3 layered jello but had forgot the name, 1 2 3 jello, all makes sense now!
Just checked Dr Oetker website. No Trio Treat carried at this time (12/28/13). Down to my very last box of original Strawberry Jell-o 1-2-3.
Yes, I looked a couple of weeks ago and couldn’t find the Dr. Oetker either. 😦
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I bet the ingredient that’s no longer made by Kraft is Lucky Whip, that dry whipped cream powder from the 50s and 60s. I wonder is Dream Whip would work when making Jello 1-2-3? That still exists. 🙂
I still have an unopened box of Orange flavoured Jello 1-2-3. My Mom had it in her cupboard. She’s been gone for over 10 years. Now it’s in my pantry on the shelf along with several Dr. Oetker triple layer dessert. Is it a collector’s item?
For weirdos like me yes. They’re collective. You can get a few bucks for them on eBay. I but them up because I’m fascinated with the Jello craze of the mid 20th century.
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I have 3 unopened boxes of Strawberry JELL-O 123 that have been in a closed Ziplok bag since…well….the last century (no joke!). I’d be willing to trade 2 of them for……a 15 inch Marathon Bar 😉
Three boxes! That’s gold!
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I actually saw that episode of ‘The Nanny’ today. Out of curiosity I did a search for Jello 123 and your page was one of the first results. So, you can thank The Nanny for bringing traffic here 🙂