This concept is one of several introduced in the book that make me think "Well, you could do this, but I don't know why that would make you think that you should." While, yes, tin cans are easy to find and will mold your Jell-O into a shape, it will be immediately obvious to the casual observer that the mold is can-shaped, which is about the cheapest-looking presentation I can possibly imagine. In addition, it will be fiddly to cut neatly due to having a rounded bottom, and furthermore most of these recipes do not fit in a can, so you have to make a can mold plus an individual mold or something along those lines, which is a little awkward.
In any case, the recipe had to be made, and I had some canned pineapple on hand, so here is Minted Pineapple. The recipe makes it out to be a relish-type side salad to be served alongside "hearty meats."
To make this recipe the best it could be, I subsistuted the juice of half a lime, one drop of green food coloring, and unflavored gelatin for the Jell-O. I also used the juice from the pineapple can in place of some of the water. Other than that, I followed the recipe to the letter, though you will notice that the pineapple I had on hand was in chunk form and not crushed form, so the texture was slightly different but otherwise the dish was the same. I also chose to make this in a serving bowl for aforementioned reasons. There will come a time when I will mold a Jell-O recipe in a can just to see how it works, but I was too lazy to do so this time. But for those of you who are just dying to see Minted Pineapple molded in a can, here is this photo from the book:
I feel as though, when the General Foods photographers were setting up this shot, they asked "What exactly would be an appropriate garnish for this recipe?" After a few minutes of racking their brains, they came to the conclusion of "We have to pick something just to get this shoot over with--somebody go grab some parsley!" Anyhow, this recipe was very simple to make, and it turned out fairly attractive, and it wound up smelling just slighly of mint. Thankfully, no trace of vinegar could be distinguished.
The taste of this odd combination of ingredients was surprisingly harmonious. The vinegar gets lost in the general tanginess of the pineapple and lime, which is offset by the pineapple's sweetness and the sweet overtone of mint. Despite the inclusion of salt and vinegar, this recipe easily falls into the growing category of savory Jell-O that isn't. If you blindfolded a hundred people that you found walking down the street, had them taste this dish, and asked them what kind of a dish it was, all of them would tell you that it's a fruity dessert. It isn't overpoweringly sweet, but it is a sweet dish.
...Which brings me to my next question I wish I could ask of the General Foods gremlins: what sort of meat was intended to be accompanied by this? If it were just pineapple and lime, I would say Hawaiian-style ham, and if it were just lime and mint I would say pork or lamb roast, but it's all of that. At the end of the day I guess this would work best alongside chicken or potentially white fish, but only because their flavors are so mild. Ironically, these are about the least "hearty" meats I know, but this would definitely not go well with any red meats.
Despite Minted Pineapple's failure as a salad or a relish, I liked it quite a bit on its own. I did not expect mint and pineapple to go well together, but I was wrong. The overall flavor of the recipe was well balanced, too, and it exceeded at one of the nicest abilities of gelatin, which is to make you feel like you are eating something substantial that is, in all reality, very light. It would certainly be nice as a light, fruity dessert at a summer barbeque or any similarly warm occasion.
Though misguided and miscategorized, Minted Pineapple is a tasty and unique variation on the Jell-O theme that I would certainly make again, just not in a can.
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