In our column Fake It or Make It we test a homemade dish against its prepackaged counterpart to find out what's really worth cooking from scratch.
Simple Is Best Dressing (Credit: Christopher Testani)
I'm willing to bet that stuffing--tender, buttery, savory, carb-glorious stuffing--ranks as one of the most universally appealing food substances on the planet. It's not hard to fathom why Stove Top first engineered its just-add-water-and-margarine version of the Thanksgiving classic, providing Americans with easier access to food comas all year round. But is the instant version up to holiday snuff? As you begin planning your Thanksgiving menu, we put Stove Top up against a version we actually made on our stove top.
The Contenders
Stove Top Traditional Sage Stuffing vs. Bon Appetit's Herb and Onion Stuffing
The practice of stuffing birds and other small animals for cooking goes way back--at least to ancient Rome--and features in cuisines around the globe. Your standard turkey stuffing consists of cubed or crumbled bread, onion, celery, fresh or dried herbs, stock, and butter, and has been a part of the American Thanksgiving tradition at least since the 1930s. Stove Top first began marketing its instant mix 40 years ago, and now sells roughly 60 million boxes for Thanksgiving alone. For those vexed by the difference between stuffing and dressing: stuffing technically refers to anything cooked in the cavity of an animal, whereas dressing is cooked on the side.
Relative Costs
Store-bought is cheaper. I spent $3.10 to buy and prepare the Stove Top, versus about $10 in ingredients for a roughly equivalent volume of homemade.
Relative Healthfulness
Homemade is healthier. Stove Top packs a hefty sodium punch, in addition to containing high-fructose corn syrup, caramel coloring, disodium iosinate, and other synthetic additives not necessarily welcome at my Thanksgiving table.
Time Commitment
It took me 40 minutes to make stuffing from scratch, plus 50 minutes to cook it, versus 10 minutes of total time for the Stove Top.
Leftovers Potential
Either variety of stuffing makes for top-notch leftovers, and will keep for 4 to 7 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
What the Testers Said
First, let me introduce the panel.
