Howdy, Jigglers! It's been forever since I've done a Jell-O recipe, but I've been looking forward to doing this one for a long time. Whipped Jell-O never should have gone out of style--it's so bubbly and fluffy, and the calorie count per unit of volume has to be way low. Pineapple Snow takes the fluff factor and cranks it up with the addition of an egg white for extra volume, so you know this is going to be fun.
For once, I actually followed the recipe's ingredients list as closely as possible. I don't think the orange-pineapple flavor of Jell-O exists anymore, but I found Island Pineapple. For the juice, I cheaped out and got Jumex pineapple nectar, which worked fine.
As a side note, I have always loved this Dog 'n' Suds mug, but it broke on me not three days after this photo was taken. Rest in peace.
The method in this recipe is very simple: mix your boiling water and Jell-O, then add the juice. Chill until very thick, then add egg white and whip until fluffy and chill until hardened. I suppose you could mold this recipe, but you would have to be very careful not to heat the mold up too much when unmolding, or else the exterior of the mold would lose its delicate texture.
The only hiccup I had while making Pineapple Snow is that I don't think I waited quite long enough to start whipping. It whipped up fine, but some solid Jell-O accumulated in the bottom of each dish, as seen in the photo below. This in itself is not bad, but if I had waited a bit longer, I bet it wouldn't have happened, so have patience.
The end result of this recipe is truly fluffy while maintaining its pineapple-y richness. I have been on a pineapple kick for a month now, but this is really good, even with the actual Jell-O. While I have not tried the pineapple Jell-O in regular jiggly Jell-O form, with this preparation, it's excellent. I think all the bubbles, and thus dilution of the gelatin, keep the flavors from becoming overpowering.
In addition to the taste, I like how simple and easy this recipe is, as well as that it's not instantly recognizeable as Jell-O. Pineapple Snow would be just as at home at a kid's summer party as it would be at a holiday table or a luncheon adult friends. I guess I would describe it as a fruity, mousse meringue.
Pineapple Snow is among my favorite recipes that I've made with Jell-O specifically, if not my very favorite. The only thing I might alter about it someday is to add some coconut milk or something coconutty (toasted coconut flakes on top?) to make Pina Colada Snow. That would be tiki bar heaven for me.
We have to commend General Foods heartily for their addition of the Pineapple Snow recipe to the Joys of Jell-O cookbook. Next time, we will dive into a recipe much less firmly planted in the "This has got to be good" camp and much more firmly planted in the "Why would anyone do this with Jell-O?" camp.
