Judging from the number of recipes in Martha Washington's handwritten family cookbook, jellies were a frequent dessert in the Washington household. Clear or colored, they were typically served in individual glasses and presented along with a tempting variety of syllabubs (a frothy mixture of cream and wine or cider), confections, fruits, and nuts. This piece was probably one of the "3 dozn Jellys" recorded on the inventory taken after Martha Washington's death in 1802.