Prefer Stove Top stuffing over homemade? Give thanks to Purdue alumna (2024)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.— The 1953 home economics Purdue graduate, the late Ruth Siems, is credited with inventingStove Top stuffing, a modern day staple in Thanksgiving and every-day meals alike.
Siems worked on developing Stove Top while working at General Foods during a time when there was a high demand in the U.S. for convenient, non-perishable food.
Stove Top stuffing hit the shelves in 1971 with its secret ingredient being its "dimensions of the bread crumbs," according to Purdue's release. General Foods patented this bread crumb recipe in 1975, causing Siems to be listed among the first inventors of Stove Top stuffing, along withAnthony Capossela Jr., John Halligan and C. Robert Wyss.
Siems grew up in Evansville, Ind., and studiedhome economics at Purdue. She worked for General Foods for about 35 years, working on multiple food inventions throughout the course of her career, many of which are cataloged at part of the Gertrude Sunderlin Papers, who was an early foods and nutrition professor at Purdue.
“It wasn’t her idea,” Michael Snyder, Siems’ brother-in-law, told the Los Angeles Times at the time of her death in 2005. “The marketing people came to her and said, ‘We’d like to invent instant stuffing for poultry,’ and she did it. It wasn’t easy, either. It took a long time to get it right before they marketed it.”
The product may have been a hit, but Siems didn't stop working for General Foods, Synder told the Times, focusing on "frozen pizzas and things of that sort and market testing.”
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — You can thank a late Purdue alumna for the idea behind a classic Thanksgiving side dish. The late Ruth Siems, a 1953 home economics graduate, is credited with the invention of Stove Top stuffing. The product hit shelves in 1971 as a dish appropriate for Thanksgiving but also for weeknight meals.
— The 1953 home economics Purdue graduate, the late Ruth Siems, is credited with inventing Stove Top stuffing, a modern day staple in Thanksgiving and every-day meals alike.
The stuffing mix may be a favorite side dish all year long, but it really shines around Thanksgiving. It has been reported that Kraft Foods sells about 60 million boxes of the product each year, with sales skyrocketing around the holiday.
Making stuffing with Kraft Stove Top Stuffing takes a mere five minutes. But the popular mix contains the preservatives BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), which have raised concerns due to suspicions of potential carcinogenic properties and their potential to hinder blood clotting.
In 1991, the recipe was tweaked slightly so that it can be made in the microwave rather than in a pan on the stovetop, and the prep time has been cut down from 15 to 5 minutes over the years.
Nope, Stove Top is a brand name. There could never have been a Stouffers stove top stuffing. So either you all ate Stove Top stuffing, or maybe a stouffers brand stuffing. But you never ate "Stouffer's Stove Top Stuffing."
Names for stuffing include "farce" (~1390), "stuffing" (1538), "forcemeat" (1688), and relatively more recently in the United States; "dressing" (1850).
They are placed over your stove top and do not require any additional setup. They are made out of wood primarily although we have seen some made out of metal as well. We do not recommend metal ones as they are quite heavy and hard to store in addition they can get too hot quickly.
Add stuffing mix, broth, and beans. Heat through and serve. Using 1 tablespoon of olive oil (instead of the butter called for in the package recipe), sauté mushrooms with celery and onions. Add stuffing mix and broth.
What's inside: Unsurprisingly, both Stove Top stuffing mixes had similar ingredient lists, though MSG (monosodium glutamate, on the ingredients list) is only present in this version.
Ingredients like seasoned bread, chicken broth, and sausage are all naturally salty. If you're too heavy-handed with them and you sprinkle more salt on top of that, you can count on your stuffing being salty. The best way around this is to use reduced or low-sodium broth, or simply cut back on the saltier mix-ins.
Use melted butter instead, or even better, brown butter. It'll give an even richer, nuttier flavor to your stuffing than just butter on its own. While we're on the topic, it wouldn't hurt to add some toasted nuts to the stuffing, either. You'll be surprised what a bit of crunch does for that mushy stovetop stuff.
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