The Joys of Jell-O Recipe #116: Peach and Cheese Salad

Howdy, Jigglers! I was very excited about the Peach and Cheese Salad, that I chose to make next due to already needing some cottage cheese, mostly because it is a Two-Way Recipe and I have done very few of those to date. The concept of recipes that are versatile enough to be salad or dessert is interesting, though I know many of them may not succeed in that capacity.

At any rate, this recipe combines quite a few standard Jell-O techniques, like layered molding, mixing fruit in gelatin, and whipping gelatin, but it is still simple to make. It was also simple to swap out some ingredients to make the whole thing slightly healthier: I used unflavored gelatin instead of Jell-O (two tablespoons in total), and for the cherry flavoring I replaced half of the water with the syrup from a can of cherries, after which I threw the cherries themselves into the mix for good measure. I know the cherries basically don't show up in the photos, but just trust me. In addition, since there was no added sugar in the gelatin, I added two tablespoons of white sugar to the cottage cheese. Other than that, I followed the recipe as written.

 The first thing I noticed while making this recipe is that cottage cheese doesn't become smooth after mixing. Perhaps it would if you got your electric beaters in there, but that sounded like a kitchen disaster waiting to happen, so I just left it slightly chunky, which was fine. The other thing I didn't expect is that the cherry syrup turned a lavender color when whipped--I would have thought it would be a maroon or dusty rose color, but it turned really purple. That's not a bad thing, but it is just a bit disconcerting when you first see it. I imagine you could use maraschino cherry syrup to achieve a more red/pink look and a sweeter taste.

Tastewise, this "salad" is pretty good! The cottage cheese does add a nice creamy, savory taste, which goes nicely with the fruit. There is plenty of textural contrast as well, between the cheese, whipped gelatin--which is foamy but somehow slightly firm as well, regular gelatin, and fruit. Plus it makes a pleasant presentation, though with the whipped gelatin it is a bit difficult to cleanly serve a portion.

 If you wanted to serve this as a salad, I would highly recommend omitting the sugar that I added, filling the center of the mold with additional cottage cheese (as seen in the photo from the book), and serving each piece atop some mixed greens, perhaps with a light drizzle of vinaigrette. For a dessert, it is good as is, but a scoop of vanilla ice cream to one side would take the whole thing over the top.

So here is the second Two-Way Recipe (the first being Applesauce De Luxe) that can actually work as intended! I especially like that you can create a gelatin salad without a lot of added sugar to create a dish that is more substantial and filling than your typical gelatin affair. General Foods, color me impressed.