October 2017 Homecooking DOTM - STEWS

The dish of the month for October 2017 is STEWS.

Have fun!

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Because I can’t figure it out (different definitions on different sites - from it being a difference of cooking methods to it being a difference of final thickness): how are you defining stew?

(I’m cooking this month and might have a contribution to make [er, in fact, the base of my “stew” just boiled over while I was writing this!] depending on the definition.)

Interesting you brought it up.

A stew is made from solid ingredients that have been cooked in a liquid (water, broth, wine, beer) and then served in the resulting gravy. Again the range of ingredients and styles varies enormously. Stewing is a great way to serve less tender cuts of meat. The slow cooking method tenderizes the meat and the lower temperature allows the flavors to combine. It is often difficult to tell soups and stews apart. Generally, stews contain less liquid.

From a big slice

For me, stew liquid can be thicker than soup, the liquid can be more concentrated and not suitable of drinking, but more as a sauce.

Difference between broth, consommé, bisque, chowder, cream soup, gumbo, stew, purée and gravy:

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This is how I view stews as well. A thick “gravy” is the final “liquid base” - such as these pictures:

And then there’s what others call “stew” and I call “beef and vegetable gravy soup” - such as this picture from that “other” site:

The beef and veg shouldn’t be swimming in the liquid, IMO. But that’s also just my preference. I know that some call this “stoup” (and no, that term wasn’t “invented” by Rachael Ray - my mother and grandma used to use the term as well).

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Of course, now I want beef stew. :yum:

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