ORLANDO, Fla. – As the annual debate of stuffing vs. dressing resumes, you may be wondering, “What’s the difference?”
The feud over which term is correct when referring to the holiday side dish can get families more heated than football talk and political discussions, so we're here to help settle it once and for all, in hopes of allowing you and your family to enjoy lighter conversations at the table this year.
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According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, there isn't too much of a difference between the two Thanksgiving dishes. But if you want to get technical, let's talk definitions.
The dictionary defines "stuffing" as the following:
"A seasoned mixture (as of bread crumbs, vegetables, and butter) that is typically placed inside the cavity of a turkey, pepper, etc. and cooked."
The dictionary gives the following definition for the word "dressing:"
"A seasoned mixture usually used as a stuffing (as for poultry)."
The word "stuffing" is used in the definition for dressing, which makes the whole polemic that much more confusing.
Some online search results also show that many people don't seem to think there's much of a difference between the two either and if they do believe there are differences, they're pretty minor.
Here's some of what we found:
According to FoodNetwork.com, the dishes tend to have the same ingredients: a combination of vegetables, bread and herbs. So it really comes down to how the dish is cooked. Typically, stuffing is cooked just how it sounds -- while stuffed inside a turkey. Dressing is often prepared and roasted separately, but it still meant to be served alongside the bird.
Food Network said what your family calls the side dish can also vary by what part of the country you’re from. Dressing is popular in the South, whereas northerners are all about their stuffing.
FoodandWine.com also agreed that the term you use can depend heavily on location. The author of the Food and Wine article, who is from Georgia, said it wasn't until she went to college in Atlanta that she realized people called the iconic dish anything other than dressing. She did mention, though, that word "stuffing" dates back to the Roman Empire days. She said it wasn't until the 1850s that the word "dressing" was introduced.
The author agreed that, aside from the difference in how the two are cooked, the terms could pretty much be used interchangeably.
And according to "The Food Lover's Companion," a book referenced on MarthaStewart.com, they can be. The National Turkey Federation agrees.
With that being said, someone may prepare their dish outside the bird and still refer to it as stuffing because that's what their family has always called it. Does that make it dressing? That's for you to decide.
An author for MarthaStewart.com mentioned that TheJoyKitchen.com says, by definition, stuffing is cooked inside the bird and dressing is not. She said in her personal experience, she knows many people who cook their dish outside the bird and refer to it as stuffing. Again, she said it's a geography thing.
In other words, the experts are still trying to figure it out themselves, which means it's up to you to decide what you'll be calling your dish this year.
If you're anything like my family, you stuff the bird with as much of the delicious mixture as you can, and still make some on the side because you can never have enough stuffing -- or dressing -- on the table for Thanksgiving dinner.
Which does your family call it? Let us know by voting in the poll below.