Fluff salads are typically made with a flavored gelatin, instant pudding mix, whipped topping, and either fruit or nuts. The resulting dish is a light and fluffy concoction that straddles the line between dessert and fruit salad.

Fluff salads were first shared in the 1930s, when Jell-O salads helped dollar-stretched home cooks get creative with inexpensive ingredients. It was in the 1950s, however, that the dish we think of as midcentury retro really came into its own. Party hosts and restaurant cooks alike considered Jell-O salads like the fluff salad sophisticated and elegant.

This orange fluff calls for just six ingredients, and one of them is water. Here's what you'll need for this classic side dish:

Any leftover fluff salad can be put into an airtight container and stored in the fridge. The salad will start to "deflate" as it sits, with the whipped topping turning thinner and less airy. Ideally, you'll make and eat fluff salad within a day.

You can get ahead by making orange fluff salad about a day ahead of when you plan to serve it, but not much more. If you are planning to make ahead, wait to fold in the mandarin oranges until just before serving so you can prevent any extra moisture from seeping out of the fruit and watering down the fluff. Freezing is not a good idea for a fluff salad; it will not old up during thawing.