Stuffing or dressing: Which one is it?

LOS ANGELES - We’re all supposed to come together over Thanksgiving dinner-- so why is the “Stuffing vs. Dressing” debate tearing us apart?

Some say that the side dish is “stuffing” if it’s been cooked inside (and therefore “stuffed” inside) the turkey, and it’s dressing if it’s baked in a dish, but lines get blurred depending on where you’re from in the U.S.

People in the Northeast almost always call it “stuffing,” but for those who grew up south of the Mason Dixie Line, it’s “dressing” all the way. And Pennsylvanians? They have their own term: “Filling.” 

But if we have to have a winner, it’s “stuffing.” It wasn’t until the 1850s when people in the Victorian Era decided that the term “dressing” was much more polite. 

So if you’re #TeamStuffing, yes, “dressing” is just a euphemism. 

But we say, why not just use the terms interchangeably? Then we can get back to debating what really matters: do marshmallows belong anywhere near sweet potatoes?