(WETM) – Thanksgiving Day is just a week away, and families across the U.S. are getting their feasts ready. Whether it’s which type of pie, which type of stuffing, or how best to cook a turkey, Americans are searching online to make sure they can have the best Thanksgiving dinner possible.
Google has compiled search trends surrounding Thanksgiving meals, breaking down which desserts are most popular and how each state is searching for different dishes.
Stuffing or Dressing?
When it comes to the classic Thanksgiving stuffing, Google’s data showed that the vast majority of the U.S. refers to the dish as “stuffing”, New England States more than any others. A pocket of southern states (Lousiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, and Mississippi) search instead for “Thanksgiving dressing”.
The results are even more interesting when broken down by each state. New York is searching for “sausage stuffing”, and Pennsylvania is searching for “stuffing with raisins”, the only state in Google’s data to be searching for that specific variety.
Again, southern states are grouped by their searches for cornbread dressing, along with some others throughout the lower 48. Other unique searches include stuffing that contains jalapeños, greek yogurt, oysters, apples, cauliflower, or sage.
Smoked, Fried or Roasted?
Thanksgiving dinner wouldn’t be Thanksgiving dinner without the turkey. Some people like white meat; some like dark meat.
But the majority of the U.S. is looking up how to smoke a turkey according to Google Trends. With the exception of New England, a couple of southern states, and Hawaii, the data shows that most of the country searches for the “smoked turkey” cooking method, including Pennsylvania.
New York, all of New England, and Hawaii search the most for “roast turkey.” North Carolina and Louisiana search for “fried turkey”.
Time for Dessert
Fall is the perfect time for a warm slice of pie.
Ahead of Thanksgiving (mid-October through mid-November), and perhaps unsurprisingly, the two most-searched types of pie are apple and pumpkin, according to Google. The western half of the lower 48 is dominated by pumpkin pie searches, while the eastern half is more mixed.
New York and Pennsylvania followed suit. The Empire State is searching more for apple pie, while the Commonwealth is looking up pumpkin pie, the map from Google shows.
But in just the past week ending on Nov. 15, Google said that mini apple pies, chocolate pecan pie, bread pudding, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and carrot cake were the most popular dessert trends.
Don’t forget the sides
Pie, turkey and stuffing aren’t the only Thanksgiving staples. Other dishes have ranked high in search traffic as each family prepares to make their Thanksgiving dinner their own.
Over the past week, Google reported that broccoli salad, candied yams, brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese are the most searched side dishes.
And during or after dinner, some people like to enjoy a nice cocktail. The most popular this week have been hot buttered rum, apple cider mojito, pumpkin martini, pumpkin pie pudding shots, and canberry sangria, according to the data.
Google Trends’ full Thanksgiving data can be found here.
