The Great Thanksgiving Debate: Stuffing vs. Dressing
Ah, Thanksgiving, a time for family, friends, and a table groaning under the weight of delicious food. But wait! A controversy bubbles beneath the surface of your gravy boat. It's the age-old debate: stuffing or dressing?
What's in a Name?
The dish in question is a savory holiday side dish made from diced, seasoned bread prepared with other ingredients, and typically served with a roasted turkey. Some folks call it dressing, others call it stuffing.
Logic would seem to suggest that if it's cooked inside the bird, it's stuffing, and otherwise, it's dressing. But alas, the reality doesn't fit into such neat categories. Instead, what people call it is more a function of where they live than how they prepare it or what ingredients they use.
A 2015 survey by Butterball found that the term "dressing" predominates in 11 states (Washington, Nevada, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida), with "stuffing" more common in the remaining 39. This roughly matches the consensus that residents of the Northeast and West Coast states say "stuffing," while "dressing" is preferred in the South and Midwest.
A Brief History of Stuffing and Dressing
The practice of stuffing a whole-animal roast with some sort of filling before roasting it has been around for a long time. The earliest cookbook, dating from the 5th century and written in Latin, includes recipes for stuffed chicken and rabbit, with the stuffing consisting of chopped vegetables, meats, and grains (but no bread).
In America, serving stuffing as a side dish is a Thanksgiving tradition, but there's no evidence that the feast held by the European pilgrims at Plymouth in 1621 featured stuffing. Wild rice (a form of grass seed) yes, but stuffing no.
The word "dressing" emerged as an alternative for "stuffing" at the behest of Victorians who found the word "stuffing" to be vulgar. If this objection seems quaint to modern-day Americans, it might help to consider that if someone from the UK invites you to "get stuffed," they don't mean it in a culinary sense.
The Great Unifier: Stove Top Stuffing
As diverse and far-flung as we are, when it comes to stuffing, nothing is quite so omnipresent as Stove Top Stuffing. Made by Kraft Foods, this stuffing might not be everyone's favorite, but it is sold everywhere, and people everywhere eat it.
The Verdict
So, is there a definitive answer to the stuffing vs. dressing debate? Not really. It seems to come down to regional preferences and personal taste. Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, one thing's for sure: it's delicious, and it's a staple of Thanksgiving tables across the country.
So, this Thanksgiving, let's put aside our differences and focus on what really matters: enjoying a fantastic meal with loved ones. And remember, no matter what you call it, just pass the stuffing...or dressing!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
