Most of us have fond memories of a certain food item or brand growing up, only to go and look for it in a grocery store, never to be able to find it!
One such item for many is Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing. If you have tried to find it in a store, or online, and come up with nothing, you aren’t alone.
The truth is that nothing happened to Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing because it never existed in the first place. You read that right, the tasty product you remember eating throughout your childhood, or walking past in the grocery store, never existed.
You are not completely wrong though – there is definitely a brand called Stouffer’s, but they do not, and have never, sold stuffing. If this is confusing you, read on to find out more about why you remember an imaginary product, and the product you probably did have growing up.
What Is Stouffer’s?
Stouffer’s is a real brand, and they do sell products that you have likely come across in the store, or that you have eaten throughout your childhood.
However, they do not sell stove top stuffing. Instead, Stouffer’s is a brand of frozen prepared food and is owned by Nestle. Some popular Stouffer’s meals include macaroni, meatloaf, Salisbury steak, lasagna, and ravioli.
The family-favorite brand has been around since 1924 and is a staple brand in many households, so there is no doubt that you would have across the brand either at home or in the grocery store.
What Happened to Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing?
Nothing happened to Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing, but this is because Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing never existed as a product.
The brand Stouffer’s is very much real, but the brand sells ready-made frozen meals, not stuffing that can be made in a few minutes on the stovetop.
This might throw you for quite a loop, because you, like many, many other people, swear that they remember the Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing box, purchasing it from the grocery store, and the flavor and texture of the stuffing.
This is quite a discussion on online forums, as there are a surprising amount of people who swear that they remember Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing, to the point where it has almost become a conspiracy theory.
Many people put this phenomenon down to the Mandela Effect.
What Is the Mandela Effect?
The Mandela Effect is a popular phenomenon that many people very much believe in. It is where a group of people, usually a fairly large group, believes in the same incorrect information or shares the same incorrect memory.
A good example of this is many people remembering eating and buying Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing, even though it is a product that has never, ever existed.
We are all aware that memories are not always the most reliable source of information, but it does become strange when so many people share the same incorrect memory and are very adamant about it happening.
The name of the Mandela Effect comes from a shared memory that many people had that Nelson Mandela died while in prison in the 1980s. This is obviously a false memory, as he went on to become president of South Africa after 27 years in prison and then died in 2013.
There were so many people who were so sure that Mandela had died in prison, that the phenomenon was named after him, and this is now what these false shared memories are known as.
What Stove Top Stuffing Product Is There?
For many people, the Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing product they are thinking of is actually Kraft Stove Top Stuffing. When people who share the false memory of Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing see the Kraft Stove Top Stuffing box, they swear that was the same one sold by Stouffer’s.
To make it more confusing, there isn’t very clear Kraft branding on the box, so somehow, everyone thought it was Stouffer’s, not Kraft’s.
However, it is still really strange that so many people assumed that Kraft Stove Top Stuffing was in fact made by Stouffer’s, as there isn’t any solid reason to think so. This only cements the fact for many that there is something strange going on.
One explanation is that the brand colors are similar and that the stove top Stuffing was made by Stouffer’s because they made similar products, and were likely a household name for many when growing up.
Does Stove Top Stuffing Exist?
Before you really start doubting yourself and your reality, rest assured that stove top stuffing does exist, and you can easily pop down to the store right now and buy it.
The only issue comes in with the brand of stuffing. There are various brands of stove top stuffing to be found, but Stouffer’s is not one of them.
So while stove top stuffing exists, Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing does not, and you will have to look out for another brand to use when cooking some stovetop stuffing at home!
What Is Stove Top Stuffing?
Stove top stuffing is quite a specific product. It is stuffing you would eat with turkey or other roasts, but it is cooked on the stovetop.
Traditional stuffing takes quite a while to make, and you need a whole host of different ingredients to make stuffing, but stove top stuffing is instead a breaded, powder-like mix that is added to water and cooked on the stove, creating delicious stuffing in next to no time.
For many, this is a super convenient answer to weeknight meals, where the family wants to enjoy stuffing, but when you just don’t have enough time to make stuffing from scratch.
When you next purchase stove top stuffing, just be aware that you will likely end up buying Kraft stuffing, and definitely not Stouffer’s, as you will never be able to find it!
Why Do We Share False Memories?
There really is no clear answer as to why we might share some false memories with others, such as a large number of people remembering Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing.
This doesn’t happen because someone out there is trying to trick us, but rather because we might have mixed up advertising and products from different brands from each other.
We might have grown accustomed to seeing and using the Kraft Stovetop Stuffing growing up, but we might have heard the brand name Stouffer’s more often, and somewhere, the two lines became crossed.
This might seem like an unlikely thing to happen to so many people, but it is definitely the more likely explanation than there being some huge conspiracy trying to get us to remember a stuffing product that never existed.
What Are Some Other Mandela Effect Examples?
As the Mandela Effect became more well-known, it has brought out a whole host of different false memories shared by people all around the world. Other than Stouffer’s Stovetop Stuffing, and the date of death for Nelson Mandela, here are some other examples of the Mandela Effect:
- Many people swear that the Fruit of the Loom logo has always had a cornucopia in it, but in reality, it doesn’t, and it never has before.
- There are a vast number of people who swear that Pikachu from Pokemon has a black tip on his tail, but he never has.
- Lots of people swear that the Berenstain Bears were actually called Berenstein Bears and that the spelling has mysteriously changed, with no proof.
Once you open up the Pandora’s box which is the Mandela Effect, you will be amazed at how many stories are out there, and you might even find a Mandela Effect you have experienced.
Stouffer’s Stovetop Stuffing – What Happened to It?
After searching stores and online for Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing, there is a 100% chance that you will not find what you are looking for. This is not because Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing has been discontinued, but because it never existed.
This is an example of the Mandela Effect, where a large number of people believe and share a false memory, and a product existing called Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing is one of these.
There was never a product called Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing, and it is likely that many people are referring to Kraft Stovetop Stuffing, and became mixed up with the popular ready-made meals from Stouffer’s that was a staple in many homes.
So, while this might be incredibly confusing, you are not alone in believing that you grew up eating Stouffer’s Stove Top Stuffing, only to find out it doesn’t exist.
Related Questions
What Was the Original Stove Top Stuffing?
Kraft brands are thought to be the first who created stove top stuffing. This was available in a few different flavors, with the most popular being chicken and cornbread.
Do You Need to Cook Stove Top Stuffing?
Unless you are wanting to eat dried, powdered stuffing, it is highly advised to mix it with some water and cook it on the stove top to produce a quick and delicious stuffing that doesn’t take hours to make.
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