Guwahati, March 2 -- Michelle Spear, University of Bristol

Shimmering, wobbling and painstakingly prepared, jelly was a staple of elite Victorian dining tables. But beneath its elegant presentation lay a deeper significance - one that reveals much about the era's understanding of bone, health and scientific progress.

By examining what jelly meant to the Victorians, we gain a fascinating insight into how food, science, and social status were entwined, and why our modern fascination with bone broth and collagen supplements is nothing new.

To the Victorians, food was not merely sustenance but spectacle, and few dishes displayed culinary prowess as effectively as jelly.

The ability to produce a flawless, quivering mould showed not only a ...