Everything Thanksgiving: Get all our Thanksgiving recipes, how-to’s and more!
As a Georgia peach with roots in Huntsville, Alabama, I knew dressing to be a particular bundle of characteristics: day-old cornbread crumbled into a pile that looked as high as a mini-mountain in a mixing bowl, drippings from a turkey roasted in a Reynolds oven bag, with coarsely chopped green peppers, onions and celery showered into the mixture of bread and broth. And it was always perfectly browned and crispy at the edges once removed hot from the oven.
But ask someone else and you might hear about stuffing (as opposed to dressing), the different types of bread used to make it, or whether it’s cooked inside the cavity of the turkey. Through the years, the differences between versions of this side dish have become an annual source of contention in November.
Which is the ultimate version ― and whether it’s called stuffing or dressing ― is a subjective question at best, and limiting at worst. Differences seem to straddle geographic regions and, in some instances, racial lines.
Advertisem*nt
When thinking of Thanksgiving, most Americans rely on the fable of European pilgrims and indigenous people gathered in an amicable setting to break bread. Today, we know it was not like that. But we don’t know exactly what was served on that supposed first Thanksgiving.
What we can definitively conclude is that whether dressing or stuffing was involved, the dish’s bread base plays to the strengths and culinary traditions of the region where this side dish is being served.
Advertisem*nt
Dressing Is For Southerners
As a black woman from the South, dressing is the only name I’ve ever known for the hallowed Thanksgiving side dish. This is the solid truth for most Southerners, whether black or white.
Southern Living suggests that going to the map illustrates this point succinctly. A quick scan of Google Correlate using the term “dressing” as a query shows that this time of year, finding just the right recipe and technique for making it is on the minds of those residing in Southern states, including Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and Arkansas.
Advertisem*nt
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.
Just like today, cornbread was used in dressing because it was a staple in the typical Southern diet. Old, stale cornbread was repurposed instead of being thrown away, and was mixed with aromatic herbs, broth, salt and pepper. Then it was baked until it had the consistency of a casserole, and eaten alongside turkey, collard greens and sweet potatoes.
This is something that Kia Damon, sous chef of New York’s Lalito who’s originally from Orlando, Florida, knows to be true about the dressing she grew up eating. “Now, much older and wiser, I have so much love for dressing and watching my mother make it every time I’m home for Thanksgiving,” Damon told HuffPost.
Damon’s mother’s special dressing combines her own turkey broth with giblets and bits of the neck and boiled egg, and is served with a dish of cranberry sauce.
Stuffing Is For Northerners (And The Pacific Northwest)
Those outside the Deep South historically veered toward using breads for stuffing ― sourdough, challah, leftover crusty baguette, even regular white sandwich bread no longer soft enough for sandwiches. Depending on which region you live in, stuffing can include seafood ― mussels, oysters, clams ― especially in New England or the Pacific Northwest.
Advertisem*nt
![Stuffing vs. Dressing: What You Call It Can Reveal Where You're From (1) Stuffing vs. Dressing: What You Call It Can Reveal Where You're From (1)](https://i0.wp.com/img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5be478e21d00008500312ff2.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
The Washington Post via Getty Images
Naomi Tomky, a food and travel writer based in Seattle, grew up eating stuffing her mother made with assistance from store-bought Stove Top mix. “For me, Thanksgiving is all about the butter-soaked stale bread that is stuffing. That means preparing it exactly as the Stove Top directions say on the box ― I’m not fancy at all,” she said.
Tomky added that her mother made their family stuffing inside their turkey, but often there wasn’t enough of it, so they made an additional pan of it on the side.
Layla Schlack, senior editor of Wine Enthusiast, said bread choice is crucial for the flavor outcome. “I like to use a combo of rye, wheat and maybe sourdough, so there’s some tartness and nuttiness,” she said. “It’s a good foil for gravy.”
Dressing Is For Midwesterners
Prepare to have everything turned on its head. In the Midwest, things get a little muddled.
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.
Advertisem*nt
Depending on the family or cook, other ingredients can be tossed in ― sauerkraut in the northern Midwest, wild rice in Minnesota, even dried cranberries or cherries, Muszynski said.
A stuffing basic, however, cannot be missed. “In my family, the stuffing is the favorite item at Thanksgiving, and we use about a 50-50 mix of generic French bread and cornbread,” Muszynski said. “My mom started making stuffing that way before I came around, and she got the recipe from one of the local newspapers, probably in the ’70s or early ’80s. We still have the clipping somewhere.”
When Traditions Change
A few years ago, as I started to explore what Thanksgiving would look like as I created my own holiday traditions as an adult, I attempted to mimic the dressing I saw being prepared by my mother, maternal grandmother and aunts.
It did not go so well.
I added fresh sage and other herbs in addition to roasted mushrooms for something a little different. But the cornbread and broth mixture felt watery instead of thick and hom*ogenous like I’d always seen.
After many trials and fails, my mother told me what I’d been missing: a box of Stove Top mix. Guess there are still surprises to the dressing I’ve come to know, love and eagerly anticipate each year.
Advertisem*nt
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circ*mstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPost
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
Before You Go
![Stuffing vs. Dressing: What You Call It Can Reveal Where You're From (2) Stuffing vs. Dressing: What You Call It Can Reveal Where You're From (2)](https://i0.wp.com/img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/6536906d2300005200288632.png?ops=scalefit_960_noupscale)