Chestnut stuffing is a type of

stuffing Stuffing, filling, or dressing is an edible mixture, often composed of herbs and a starch such as bread, used to fill a cavity in the preparation of another food item. Many foods may be stuffed, including poultry, seafood, and vegetables. A ...

for roast goose and turkey dishes. Chestnut stuffing was more common in early American cuisine than it is in modern times. It could be prepared as a side for the typical meals of turkey or duck that were served at taverns. The

American chestnut The American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. As is true of all species in genus Castanea, the American chestnut produces burred fruit with edible nuts. ...

(''Castanea dentata'') used for stuffing Thanksgiving turkeys used to be very common in the Eastern United States. Most of the trees were destroyed by the

chestnut blight The pathogenic fungus ''Cryphonectria parasitica'' (formerly ''Endothia parasitica'') is a member of the Ascomycota (sac fungi). This necrotrophic fungus is native to East Asia and South East Asia and was introduced into Europe and North America ...

during the 20th century. Chestnut stuffing has been associated with

Thanksgiving dinner The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States and in Canada is Thanksgiving dinner (informally called turkey dinner), a large meal generally centered on a large roasted turkey. Thanksgiving could be considered the largest ...

in the United States since at least the 19th century. One of the most popular recipes for chestnut stuffing made with boiled chestnuts was published in ''Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book'' in 1884. Chestnut stuffing was the first stuffing recipe published in the United States in 1772. The recipe from ''The Frugal Housewife'' by

Susannah Carter Susannah Carter ( fl. 1765?) was the author of an early household management and cookery book, ''The Frugal Housewife, or, Complete woman cook''. Little more is known than that Carter was from Clerkenwell in London as stated in the title page of th ...

was a reprint from the earlier English edition.

References

Thanksgiving food Chestnut dishes {{Food-stub