Who is ready for a history lesson? OK, here’s a brief history of … you ready? Kool-Aid. It was developed by a chemist named Edwin Perkins who liked to make homemade concoctions in his mother’s kitchen as a child. Don’t you know she was about ready to pull her hair out some days! Don’t you know she was equally glad she let him do it later on!

Anyway, Edwin later invented a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack. It was a big hit; however, shipping was a problem. So in 1927 Edwin developed a way to make it into a powder that today we know as Kool-Aid. There’s more to it, but that’s the general idea.

The reason I wanted to share that tidbit of information with you was because I had a friend share with me the idea of making jelly from Kool-Aid. I had no idea you could do that! I haven’t tried it yet, but I can’t wait. I just had to share the idea and the recipe with you. So thank you PC for the idea! Here’s the recipe:

1 package Kool-Aid, any flavor (no sugar added)

1 package Sure-Jell

3 cups granulated sugar

3 cups water

Mix water, Sure-Jell and Kool-Aid together. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Stir and bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Quickly skim off foam with a large metal spoon. Pour into jelly glasses and seal.

After this recipe, I became curious. Yeah, I know. It killed the cat. Nevertheless, I became curious as to how many other recipes for Kool-Aid there were. There’s a bunch! No kidding! I found them at the website Cooks.com. There’s the Kool-Aid punch, Kool-Gelatin popsicles, cookies, ice cream, pie, sherbet, Play Dough, and that’s just to name a few.

I can’t possibly share all of them with you, but I wanted to share the jelly and the Popsicles.

1 small box gelatin

1 envelope unsweetened Kool-Aid

1 cup granulated sugar

2 cups boiling water

2 cups cold water

Mix first three ingredients. Dissolve in boiling water. Add cold water and pour into Popsicle molds. Freeze.

Makes 16 to 18 average size popsicles. If you don’t have popsicle molds, which I don’t, you can use small bathroom cups. I’ve found the three-ounce cups to be a great size. I’ve also found that small plastic spoons work well for the “stick.”

I usually set the cups in a cake pan to keep them from spilling until they have frozen then I can just store them in on the door of the freezer for easy access.

Apparently Kool-Aid also has a multitude of other uses like tie-dyeing clothes and according to one of my daughter’s friends. . .dying her hair. Ummm, I’m not recommending that one by the way.