Stuffing

In cooking, stuffing, also known as dressing, is usually a mixture of various ingredients used to fill a cavity in another food item. The term stuffing also refers to the process of filling this cavity with said mixture.

History

Stuffing may well be one of the oldest cooking techniques, since the body cavity of a game animal becomes suitable for stuffing as soon as its internal organs have been removed. The Roman cookbook De re coquinaria by Apicius contains recipes for stuffed chicken, hare, pig, and dormouse. Most of the stuffings described consist of vegetables, herbs and spice, nuts, spelt (an old cereal), and frequently contain chopped liver, brains, and other organ meat.

Related Topics:
Body cavity - Roman - Cookbook - De re coquinaria - Apicius - Chicken - Hare - Pig - Dormouse - Vegetable - Herb - Spice - Nut - Spelt - Cereal - Liver - Brain - Organ meat

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In the Middle Ages, stuffing was known as farce, from the Latin farcire (via the French farcir), which means to stuff. The term stuffing first appears in English print in 1538. After about 1880, the term stuffing was replaced by dressing in Victorian English. Today, both terms are used.

Related Topics:
Middle Ages - Farce - Latin - French - 1538 - 1880 - Victorian - English

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