Fruit with Jello

The picture is from Flickr, not from me. I wanted it as an illustration of how much JELLO you can see in this jello fruit salad. If we did this, it would be an example of not trying hard enough to squish more fruit in.

My husband likes the idea that you wouldn't be able to see the jello at all, only the fruit with some blobs lightly holding it together.

I grew up with Auntie Margarets Orange Jello with strategically placed pineapples and bananas, with a whip-cream/cheam cheese topping. YUM. Other than that, I remember fruit salads at home, and of course I always liked lots of whip cream. Auntie Margaret was the only one who could make me think cream cheese was a good idea.

So when I'm cooking now, we use a little box (only some are g-free, I have to check carefully) and then a LOT of fruit: fresh and canned and frozen...I just keep dumping it in.

Unanswered questions -

Why are grapes so slimy when canned? And why do cherries feel out of place?

Lessons learned:
Don't keep stirring to melt the ice. It's ok to take the big chunks out earlier.
Canned fruit always adds more juice, no matter how much I drain it.
Drained juice could be the cold liquid in the jello , or
Drained juice can be added to Frozen OJ concentrate as a water-substitute for more tasty flavor.
Plan to use use the big pan with the small box. Plan to use 2 big pans for a large box.
Chill in the fridge. Resist the temptation to use the freezer.