It wasn’t until I moved to Texas that I learned that the stuffing I was served each Thanksgiving growing up in Iowa is referred to as “Yankee Stuffing”. I just thought it was “stuffing”. Well, it turns out that there is a large assortment of regional stuffing recipes from all over the country. Not only that, but depending upon where you live, “stuffing” may be referred to as “dressing”.
Yankee Stuffing is a bread stuffing with celery, onion and parsley, and jokingly referred to by a friend of mine as “Stove Top”. But most regional stuffing recipes developed out of what they had available to them. Many coastal regions enjoy oyster stuffing. Cornbread stuffing is popular in the South, and Northern California loves their sourdough stuffing. Last year, Carrie Madormo, RN, a freelance health and food writer wrote an article entitled, “We Know Where You’re From Based On How You Make Your Thanksgiving Stuffing”. She then shares 11 tasty recipes from local regions across the U.S. https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/where-youre-from-based-on-how-you-make-your-thanksgiving-stuffing/
Now, should the dish be called Stuffing or Dressing? An easy answer would be to say that it’s stuffing if it’s cooked within the cavity of the bird, or dressing if it’s cooked separate from the bird. But again, this tends to be a regional thing. Most of the country will call it stuffing with the exception of many Southern States where it’s referred to as dressing. Why dressing? No one’s exactly sure, but apparently, it’s a result of politeness. Stuffing just sounded to crass, and Southerners didn’t want to use it.
Regardless of the content of your stuffing, or whether you even call it that – I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Share below what type of stuffing you grew up with, or if you called it that or something else.