The Jell-O Meltdown

Ok, so Evan is running a little fever today - possibly teething (canines are coming in) or possibly an ear infection or possibly something else. So, he's been crabby. But he absolutely perked up (started hopping up and down in his high chair) when I offered Jell-O. He set to work happily using his spoon and digging it out of the glass it was in (reused baby food jar). Eventually he got frustrated and started using his fingers. Then he put his whole hand in. I started laughing and Evan completely melted down. Unconsolable. I thought he had his hand stuck but it came right out. Evan sobbed and sobbed and only calmed down when I picked him up in his sticky state and held him for a bit. Either this a part of normal emotional development or Evan has some trauma in his past involving something like Jell-O. Any ideas?