Everything about Stuffing totally explained
In cooking,
stuffing or
dressing (specifically for poultry) is a substance used to fill a cavity in another food item. Many foods are stuffed, including meats, vegetables, and fruits.
History
It isn't known when stuffings were first used. The earliest documentary evidence is the
Roman cookbook Apicius, which contains recipes for stuffed
chicken,
hare,
pig, and
dormouse. Most of the stuffings described consist of
vegetables,
herbs and
spices,
nuts, and
spelt (an old
cereal), and frequently contain chopped
liver,
brains, and other
organ meat.
In the
Middle Ages, stuffing was known as
farce (from the
French); the root of the word 'forcemeat'. The term 'stuffing' is first attested in
1538. After about
1880, the term
stuffing was replaced by
dressing in
Victorian English. Both terms are used today, occasionally to differentiate between varieties.
Foods that are stuffed
In addition to stuffing the body cavity of animals, including
mammals,
birds, and
fish, various cuts of meat may be stuffed after they've been deboned or a pouch has been cut into them. Popular recipes include stuffed
chicken legs and stuffed breast of
veal, as well as the traditional holiday stuffed
goose or
turkey.
Many types of vegetables are also suitable for stuffing after their
seeds or
marrow has been removed.
Tomatoes,
capsicums (sweet or hot peppers), and
vegetable marrows (zucchini) may be prepared in this way.
Cabbages and similar vegetables can also be stuffed or wrapped around a filling. They are usually
blanched first, in order to make their leaves more pliable. Then, the interior may be replaced by stuffing, or small amounts of stuffing may be inserted between the individual leaves.
The stuffing mixture may be cooked separately and served as a side dish, in which case it may still be called 'stuffing', or in some regions, such as the
Southern US, 'dressing'.
Types of stuffing
Almost anything can serve as a stuffing. Many popular Anglo-American stuffings contain
bread or
cereals, usually together with vegetables, herbs and spices, and
eggs. Middle Eastern vegetable stuffings may be based on seasoned rice, on minced meat, or a combination. Other stuffings may contain only vegetables and herbs. Some types of stuffing contain
sausage meat, or
forcemeat, while
vegetarian stuffings sometimes contain
tofu. Oysters are used in one traditional stuffing for Thanksgiving. These may also be combined with
mashed potatoes, for a heavy stuffing.
Animals stuffed with other animals
It is occasionally claimed that the ancient
Roman, as well as
medieval, cooks stuffed animals with other animals. An anonymous
Andalusian cookbook from the
13th century includes a recipe for a
ram stuffed with small
birds (
recipe
). A similar recipe for a
camel stuffed with
sheep stuffed with
bustards stuffed with
carp stuffed with eggs is mentioned in
T.C. Boyle's book
Water Music.
The
turducken, a
turkey stuffed with a
duck stuffed with a
chicken is a more recent creation.
British
celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has championed the ten-bird roast, calling it "one of the most spectacular and delicious roasts you can lay before your loved ones at Yuletide". A large turkey is stuffed with a
goose, duck,
mallard,
guinea fowl, chicken,
pheasant,
partridge,
pigeon and
woodcock. The roast feeds around 30 people and as well as the ten birds, also includes stuffing made from two pounds of
sausage meat and half a pound of streaky
bacon along with
sage,
port and red wine.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Stuffing'.
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