The advent of powdered gelatin and refrigeration led us into a dark period of cuisine in which anything and everything was suspended in gelatin because it looked as if you'd put a lot of work into it. But suspending weird things in gelatin was big even before that, back when it really was a lot of work. And that's where we first encounter coffee jelly.
Coffee jelly might seem like nouvelle cuisine of the highest order, seeing as most of us are used to having our coffee as a liquid rather than a solid. But it’s actually the opposite. Early recipes for coffee jelly are at least as old as Durgin-Park. One recipe, from an 1836 issue of New York’s Lady’s Book magazine, told readers to mix coffee with the gelatin produced by boiling a calf’s foot. With cream and sugar, it became an elegant dessert. Gelatin, for much of the 19th century, was a luxury, requiring boiled animal parts and a cool enough spot to allow it to set. A platter of shimmering coffee jelly, turned out of a decorated mold and served with a cream sauce, would have elicited oohs and ahs at a tea or dinner party.
In the 21st century, we aren't all that impressed with gelatin dishes, so coffee jelly pretty much died out in America. However, in the past hundred years, it has traveled around the world and back again. Learn where you can find coffee jelly, plus a recipe for making your own at Atlas Obscura.