Both are words for the bready side dish most notably served at Thanksgiving, but is there a distinction?
Though my Great Aunt Carol passed years ago, Thanksgiving still reminds me of her.
Our Thanksgivings were conventionally Italian American, with deep pans of rigatoni and focaccia alongside theturkeyandcranberry sauce.
But hold up: Whether were talking stuffing or dressing, where do these names come from?
And why dont we just call them the same damn thing?
You knowthat old Southern Charm.
Dressing, as it was, became a symbol of heritage.
North vs. South: Cornbread or White Bread Cubes?
At their most basic levels, stuffing and dressing are savory bread puddings.
The differences are even more dramatic between both sides of the Mason-Dixon.
In the South, where corn is king,cornbread dressingreigns supreme, though its not exclusive.
Plenty of Southern dressings use French bread or whatever else.
Southern dressing is often augmented with ingredients likesausage, pecans and other regional harvests.
This might look like oysters in South Carolinas Lowcountry or andouille sausage in South Louisiana.
Despite their names, the regional differences between stuffing and dressing cant be pinned down on the technical level.
I guess that really depends on where youre from and what youre looking for exactly.
Thatll ensure that it absorbs all the moisture it needs to.
And no, that doesnt mean the most expensive ones.
Sometimes, it just means a little extra effort.
But its effort you might taste.
If you could bake the sourdough orcornbread, do that.
If you canpeel a fresh pomegranateand shuck a fresh oyster, why wouldnt you?
The gestalt of a good savory bread pudding is the careful selection of each of its ingredients.
Your tongue, your body, and your guests will all thank you.
Folger Shakespeare Library.Much ado about stuffing: recreating an early modern stuffing recipe.
