Dressing vs. Filling vs. Stuffing (2024)

FAQs

Dressing vs. Filling vs. Stuffing? ›

Both stuffing and filling have the same results, as the bird cooks, juices impart a deep, rich flavor to the bread mixture inside. On the other hand, dressing is the same bread mixture, but it's cooked in a separate vessel outside of the bird.

"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.

In the 1800s, the word dressing gained popularity in some areas of the US as a word for the dish cooked inside a bird. The rise of this preference is theorized to be based in part on Victorian-era prudishness and a resulting movement away from more “graphic” terms for food preparation.

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.

While most New Englanders and the majority of West Coasters referred to the dish as “stuffing,” about half of Texans and the majority of Southerners call it “dressing.” Likewise, while most other parts of the country use a base of dried bread, many Texans instead opt for cornbread or dried biscuits.

In the South, it's called dressing. In the Northeast, it's called stuffing. MS: But I think you have to divide the country into thirds, because you're forgetting about filling, which is what they have in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, where the stuffing is supplemented by mashed potatoes.

Dressing is made with cornbread, and is baked in a pan instead of inside the bird. I view Stove Top stuffing as a totally distinct entity from this most beloved of holiday dishes. It is not the stuff of celebrations, but it is a perfectly suitable side dish the rest of the year.

Names for stuffing include "farce" (~1390), "stuffing" (1538), "forcemeat" (1688), and relatively more recently in the United States; "dressing" (1850).

The primary difference between stuffing and dressing is that stuffing is cooked inside a bird and dressing is made on the side. As with many food traditions in the U.S., regional loyalties to stuffing vs dressing abound.

Both dressing and stuffing are side dishes served at most Thanksgiving tables. It depends on the part of the country you are from as to what you call it. Those in the south use the term dressing interchangeably; whereas those in the northern states generally refer to the dish as stuffing.

Is cornbread dressing the same as stuffing? ›

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.

In the Northeast, it's almost always stuffing. In Pennsylvania Dutch Country, it's actually called filling and is mixed with mashed potatoes. In the rest of the country, it's mostly referred to as stuffing, but not always. There's one state north of the Mason Dixon line that prefers the term dressing, and that's Iowa.

However, confusion comes when we learn that some people say they "stuff" their birds with "dressing," while others bake their "stuffing" in a dish. In some homes, the words are used interchangeably. Some will argue that the difference isn't about technique, but that the distinction is dialectal.

The term dressing, per the History Channel, originated around the 1850s, when the Victorians deemed stuffing too crude for the dish to be named. This happened around the same time that the term “dark meat” began to refer to chicken legs and thighs.

Here in the PA Dutch and Coal Region area, we (especially us “Dutchies”) refer to “stuffing” as “filling”. There is no real debate about whether it's “stuffing” if it is made/baked one way versus “filling” another way in MY kitchen.

“Howdy” is typically muttered as a polite greeting as opposed to a garish welcome, and its use as a friendly salutation is one of many cultural traditions taught at Texas A&M University. As for “y'all,” it just makes sense—why refer to a group of people (women and children, in particular) as “you guys”?

It's stuffing when cooked in the bird and dressing when cooked separately. Technically, anyway. The fact is that the terms are used interchangeably. Growing up, we always had both because there was never enough room in the turkey to have enough for everyone.

Some dressing is basic: a combination of dried bread, aromatics, and dried herbs. Other loaded versions can contain oysters, mushrooms, and even dried fruit and nuts.

Dressing is made from cornbread, and stuffing is traditionally made from other breads — sourdoughs, biscuits, etc. Some dressing recipes incorporate a little white bread, but that does not exclude them from the Southern persuasion if cornbread is the cornerstone.

Why do Americans call a dish 'stuffing' if it is not stuffed? Stuffing was originally made, and often still is, by stuffing it into the cavity of the turkey, and letting it cook inside the turkey, absorbing its flavors while adding some of its own to the turkey.