The Difference Between Sauce and Dressing, According to an Expert

Culinary terms can be confusing, but that doesn’t mean you should rely on artificial intelligence to help figure things out, as the internet found out this week. When asked the difference between sauce and dressing, the answer became a popular meme with a frightening answer: “Sauces add flavor and texture to dishes, while dressings are used to protect wounds.”

Technically, this response is correct, even if the photo next to this explanation shows not a length of gauze, but what appears to be a creamy Caesar dressing, with a note that the standard serving size for salad dressing is two tablespoons.

Sauces are liquid accompaniments served with food to add flavor and enhance their texture. And dressings do indeed protect wounds (even though in the Food & Wine world, we first think of dressings as thinner sauces, most often added to salads). To add to the confusion, the word dressing can also commonly describe the bread-based preparation stuffed in roast turkeys and chickens across the Southern United States. 

So, it's our responsibility to inform readers that vinaigrettes, while delicious when prepared with the proper balance of acid and oil, are not recommended to be ladled onto any type of wound, even under strict supervision of a medical or culinary professional. This warning extends to all types of salad dressings, including those that are mayonnaise-based, including Thousand Island, or anything that contains hot bacon bits. 

Sadly, the story doesn't end with ranch and Bordelaise. If, for example, you search for “icing” for your next coffee cake, don’t be surprised if AI suggests you elevate your swollen ankle while keeping it cold with an ice pack. Similarly, “trussing” a chicken is not so different from trussing a hernia, although the former is done more simply, with butcher’s twine. 

As far as varieties of poultry stuffing go, no matter what your search engine recommends, we cannot endorse using any type of bread side dish to protect a wound and aid in its healing. However, to avoid possible kitchen or health mishaps in the future, try adding the word “culinary” or “food” to your dinner searches and “medical” to your hospital searches.

Good luck cooking, take care of your health, and don’t believe everything you read on the internet.