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Stuffing or forcemeat (farce) is a flavorful amalgam of raw or cooked ingredients that have been chopped or ground for use as a stuffing for meat, poultry, game, fish, vegetables, eggs, or pastas. Forcemeats are also the base for pâtés, terrines, ballottines, galantines, and sausages, as well as used as a topping on croutons. The exact composition of a stuffing depends on the food to be filled as well as the texture required.
There are three types of standard stuffing: those made with meat, game, offal, or poultry; those made with vegetables; and those made with seafood. There is a minor fourth category of stuffings based on cooked egg yolk. Many stuffings are bound with cornstarch, gelatin, egg, or a bread-based paste known as a panade. In all types, proper seasoning is extremely important, providing both the stuffing and the item stuffed to be with sufficient flavor.