Chestnut stuffing is a type of stuffing for roast goose and turkey dishes.[1] 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.[2] The American chestnut (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 during the 20th century.[3]
Chestnut stuffing has been associated with Thanksgiving dinner 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.[4] Chestnut stuffing was the first stuffing recipe published in the United States in 1772. The recipe from The Frugal HousewifebySusannah Carter was a reprint from the earlier English edition.[5]
For most Europeans and Americans, chestnut is a food that is eaten only a few times a year, perhaps as stuffing for roast turkey
Meat was plentiful in early America, and typical tavern meals were based around pork, turkey, duck or venison...Corn bread, chestnut stuffing, and sweet potatoes might accompany the meal
Its nuts were also widely used and marketed for a human food, being widely used for chestnut stuffing...In 1904 the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica, was introduced from Asia to the Bronx New York causing the chestnut blight. The blight spread rapidly throughout the range of the American chestnut, killing 50 to 99 percent of American chestnut trees by 1940. Today, the American chestnut has been virtually extirpated throughout its range as a canopy tree."
Perhaps the most popular chestnut recipes of the period were found in the widely read Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book, first published in 1884. These included chestnut stuffing and chestnut gravy, two dishes already associated with Thanksgiving dinner.
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