Have you ever wondered how and when stuffing or dressing began? Who came up with the idea of mixing up stale bread and other seasonings and stuffing it inside a dead turkey? Well, sometime between the 2nd and 1st centuries, a chef named Apicius created a cookbook called, “Apicius de re Coquinaria”. In its pages are recipes for stuffed chicken, rabbit, pig and even dormouse. The ingredients included vegetables, herbs, nuts, chopped liver and brain!
Did the Pilgrims and Indians have stuffing at the First Thanksgiving? We don’t really know, but they did have access to rice and wild game, so it is certainly possible. There are records as far back as 1836 that tell of stuffing or dressing becoming a regular staple of Thanksgiving Day.
Whether you call it stuffing or dressing isn’t important. What you put in it is! If you type in dressing or stuffing on your browser, you will be amazed at all the different recipes for dressing. It seems like dressing can be made with bread, cornbread, biscuits, rice and even saltine crackers. You can add bacon, oysters, apples, corn, jalapenos or grits!
There’s a good chance that your family has a treasured dressing recipe that has been passed down through the ages. I say recipe, however, I know that my grandmother and my mother didn’t have a recipe, but it always tasted the same, and it was always delicious.
Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, and what you put in it is all a matter of your family tradition or personal taste. If you need a good dressing recipe click here to begin your search!
Gobble! Gobble!
Happy Thanksgiving!
