INCE MAN first began hunting and cooking, animals have more than likely been stuffed with foods. In a cookbook called 'Apicius de re Coquinaria' by Apicius, a Roman gourmet who lived around the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD, recipes for stuffed chicken, hare, and pig can be found with stuffing ingredients such as chopped liver, herbs, nuts, spelt, and vegetables.

In England, and prior to the sixteenth century, stuffing was called "farce," coming from the French word farcir, which was handed down from the Latin word farcire. The root of the word is 'forcemeat,' which makes sense somewhat, considering that stuffing is placed, or 'forced,' inside of a food vessel. In Victorian England, stuffing became known as dressing and remained so when it made its way to America.

Even though there is no evidence that proves stuffing was served at the first Thanksgiving feast, stuffing has been a long holiday tradition and is here to stay. One reason why stuffing became so popular for the Thanksgiving table is because of marketing

campaigns by the makers of Stove Top Stuffing. Before these campaigns, many families would not have prepared stuffing for the holidays.

Today, there are hundreds of stuffing variations used worldwide with a plethora of ingredients that can be mixed and matched for added flavors and tastes to whatever is being stuffed. Breads, herbs, oysters, rice, sausages, spices, and vegetables--each one of these stuffing ingredients complements a variety of foods. Besides being used to stuff the cavities of birds, fish, and mammals, stuffing is also used to stuff fruits, meats, and vegetables. Stuffed Bell Peppers, Stuffed Pork Chops, Stuffed Tomatoes, Stuffed Zucchini ... stuffing can go just about anywhere when it comes to foods. There are even animals that are stuffed with other animals. Turducken is a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken! In America, stuffing is used more on Thanksgiving than any other time, and the words stuffing and dressing are used interchangeably.