Edwin Perkins first created the popular kids drink known as Kool-Aid in Hastings Nebraska in 1921. Perkins was captivated with the study of chemistry and enjoyed devising innovative and fantastic things. As a youngster Perkins would experiment endlessly with various home made brews which he concocted within his mother's kitchen. These youthful adventures prepared him for his future role in the area of drink mixes. Since he experimented with various flavoring extracts you could say he was the first kitchen chemist.
Prior to the name of Kool-Aid becoming popular it was plainly known as Fruit Smack; however Fruit Smack was sold strictly by mail order in 1920. Edwin at some later date re-named his drink to Kool-Ade and ultimately to its gift form as Kool-Aid in 1927.
Edwin's father started a store in the town where he became well-known with new and distinct foods such as Jell-O. At the age of eleven he order by mail a mixer's guide which he saw advertised within a magazine. After he completed his high school he published a newspaper, completed various printing assignments, served as a postmaster and ultimately created a mail order firm known as Perkins Products. This firm marketed the many products which he invented.
He married a school friend in 1918 named Kitty and continued his firm by mail order. One of his most flourishing products was his drink mix called Fruit Smack. This concentrated mix came in six distinct flavors. It was shipped in a 4 ounce size bottle however it made enough juice for a perfect family to enjoy. Although he sold them at a cheap price the shipping involved in the product was high-priced as well as the bottles breaking during shipment presented a problem. With these continual problems in 1927 he created a way to take off the liquid from his Fruit Smack drinks so that he could package the powder in envelopes. Perkins then decided to build and create envelopes for his new creation - Kool Ade.
Due to the fact that he could truly ship many envelopes as opposed to the drink mix bottles he experienced a drastic drop in shipping costs. The cost of Perkins Kool-Aid packet was one dime. It was produced in cherry, strawberry, grape, lemon-lime, raspberry and orange. It was in 1929 that Kool-Aid started being distributed nation-wide.
In 1931 Kool Ade was so popular that Perkins decided to drop the build of all his other products and merge only upon Kool-Aid. He fast relocated his firm to Chicago to make for a good distribution system. during the America Depression, Perkins reduced the price of his product in half.
Perkins did well during the war and extensive his output where he hired an added 300 workers. He sadly announced in 1953 that he was selling Kool-Ade to normal Foods. That year normal Foods introduced a thoroughly new campaign for selling Kool-Ade and launched the Smiling Face Pitcher which remains their trademark to this day.
Although Perkins died in 1961 Kool-Aid will remain a critical part of our childhood. I would now like to supply you with a method for Kool-Ade Jelly. I hope you enjoy it.
1 package of any flavor sugar free Kool-Aid
1 package of Sure-Jell
3 cups of granulated sugar
3 cups of water
Begin by mixing the water, the package of Sure-Jell and the Kool-Aid together. Bring this mixture to a boil being sure to stir it constantly. Add the sugar and stir again. Continue stirring and bring the mixture to a perfect rolling boil. Boil for an added little and continue to stir constantly. At this time take off it from the heat. fast skim any foam off the mixture with a metal spoon. Pour determined into small jelly jars and seal them.
Copyright @2008 Joseph Parish
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