It Isn't Thanksgiving Without Ree's Favorite Dressing (2024)

FAQs

Why does the South call it dressing? ›

But for the Thanksgiving side dish in the South, the term dressing was adopted in place of stuffing, which was viewed as a crude term, during the Victorian era. Although dressing and stuffing are interchangeable terms, the signature ingredient of this Thanksgiving side dish in the South is cornbread.

Dressing Is For Midwesterners

Lacey Muszynski, a food and drink writer based in Milwaukee, said she's always called the Thanksgiving side dish stuffing, as do other Midwesterners. Generally, in the Midwestern states, it's called stuffing regardless of the ingredients or whether it's cooked inside a turkey.

"Stuffing is cooked in the cavity of the turkey, so the juices soak into the ingredients, making it more flavorful. Dressing gets cooked on its own and needs extra liquid to make it flavorful." So stuffing is cooked inside the bird. Dressing is cooked outside the bird, usually in a casserole dish.

As far as stuffing/dressing becoming a regular staple of the Thanksgiving Day meal, there are written records as far back as 1836.

One funny thing about “stuffing” is that, in Texas, some people say “stuffing” and some people say “dressing.” Traditionally, it was called stuffing, because you stuffed the turkey with it. Other families don't like to stuff the turkey at all – and prepare it in a pan, calling it dressing.

Stuffing and dressing are commonly used as different names for the same thing—a dish consisting of bits of bread (or other starchy things) and various seasonings. The dish can be made by stuffing it (hence the name) inside a turkey or other bird that will be roasted, or by baking or cooking it separately.

(idiomatic, simile) Engorged from overeating.

It was traditionally stuffed inside a bird to cook. These days, many Americans do not do that anymore at it can often absorb salmonella. It's called “stuffing” by many (not all) Americans, because it's traditionally stuffed into the turkey, and cooked inside it to absorb the flavor of the meat.

The stuffing mixture may be cooked separately and served as a side dish, in which case it may still be called 'stuffing', or in some regions, such as the Southern US, 'dressing'. This is from Wiki. Basically, everyone except a tiny percentage of Black people with family in Alabama calls it stuffing.

What Wasn't Served at the First Thanksgiving. It is also worth noting what was not present at the first Thanksgiving feast. There were no cloudlike heaps of mashed potatoes, since white potatoes had not yet crossed over from South America.

Why do we only eat stuffing on Thanksgiving? ›

The stuffing that most of us associate with Thanksgiving, with sage and onions and celery, comes from New England, where Thanksgiving was celebrated long before it became a national holiday, and where those flavors were in season in November.

The United States Department of Agriculture ( USDA ) recommends cooking the stuffing out side of the bird. Bacteria can survive in stuffing that has not reached 165 F, possibly resulting in foodborne illness. Some people feel that stuffing has a better taste and is moister when prepared in the turkey.

Americans model their holiday on a 1621 harvest feast shared between the Wampanoag people and the English colonists known as Pilgrims. Canadians trace their earliest thanksgiving celebration to 1578, when an expedition led by Martin Frobisher gave thanks for its safe passage.

So, to the question “What did the Pilgrims eat for Thanksgiving,” the answer is both surprising and expected. Turkey (probably), venison, seafood, and all of the vegetables that they had planted and harvested that year—onions, carrots, beans, spinach, lettuce, and other greens.

Starting with dried sourdough bread, celery, onion, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, chicken broth and eggs. A whole stick of butter goes in the pan adding onions, herbs and garlic (sausage is optional). Eggs combine everything together before going in the oven on a baking dish.

The term salad dressing comes from a definition of dressing that dates from about 1500: "sauce used in preparing a dish for the table." When you want to serve a well-prepared and delicious salad, you need add salad dressing.

If you're from the North, it's called stuffing. But to you Southerners, it's dressing.

dressing noun (FOOD)

a liquid mixture, often containing oil, vinegar, and herbs, added to food, especially salads: Drizzle the dressing over the salad leaves and toss to coat. They serve the dressing on the side for those who are counting calories.