A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables (such as carrots, potatoes, beans, peppers and tomatoes etc.), meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used. While water can be used as the stew-cooking liquid, wine, stock, and beer are also common. Seasoning and flavourings may also be added. Stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature (simmered, not boiled), allowing flavors to mingle.Stewing is suitable for the least tender cuts of meat that become tender and juicy with the slow moist heat method. This makes it popular in low-cost cooking. Cuts having a certain amount of marbling and gelatinous connective tissue give moist, juicy stews, while lean meat may easily become dry.
Stews may be thickened by reduction or with flour, either by coating pieces of meat with flour before searing, or by using a roux or beurre manié, a dough consisting of equal parts of butter and flour. Thickeners like cornstarch or arrowroot may also be used.
Stews are similar to soups, and in some cases there may not be a clear distinction between the two. Generally, stews have less liquid than soups, are much thicker and require longer cooking over low heat. While soups are almost always served in a bowl, stews may be thick enough to be served on a plate with the gravy as a sauce over the solid ingredients." This definition of STEW is from Wikipedia
Read about the History of STEW fromWikipedia
and i find this list of STEWS from all over the world very interesting, perhaps planning to cook from this list if the ingredients are available and the method of cooking is possible.
List of STEWS
Baeckeoffe, a potato stew from Alsace
Barbacoa, a meat stew from Mexico
Bigos, a traditional stew in Polish cuisine
Birria, a goat stew from Mexico
Bo Kho, (Vietnamese: bò kho), a beef stew in rich seasonings, served with bread, noodle or plain rice from Vietnam
Bouillabaisse, a fish stew from Provence
Bourguignon, a French dish of beef stewed in red burgundy wine
Booyah, an American meat stew
Brunswick stew, from Virginia and the Carolinas
Burgoo, a Kentuckian stew
Caldeirada, a fish stew from Portugal
Carnitas, a pork meat stew from Michoacán, Mexico
Cassoulet, a French bean stew
Cawl, a Welsh stew, usually with lamb and leeks
Charquican, a Chilean dish
Chankonabe, a Japanese dish flavoured with soy sauce or miso. Chankonabe is traditionally eaten by sumo wrestlers.
Chicken stew, whole chicken and seasonings
Chicken paprikash, chicken stew with paprika
Chili con carne, Mexican meat and bean stew
Chili sin carne, a meatless American adaptation of the Mexican dish
Chilorio, a pork stew from Sinaloa, Mexico
Cincinnati chili, chili developed by Greek immigrants in the Cincinnati area
Cholent, a slow-cooked Jewish dish eaten on the Shabbat
Cochinita pibil, an orange color pork stew from Yucatán, Mexico
Cotriade, a fish stew from Brittany
Cocido, a traditional Spanish stew. In Portugal, it is called cozido
Cream stew, a yoshoku Japanese white stew
Daube, a French stew made with cubed beef braised in wine, vegetables, garlic, and herbs.
Dinuguan, pork blood stew from the Philippines.
Fabada Asturiana, a Spanish bean and meat stew
Feijoada, Brazilian or Portuguese bean stew.
Főzelék, a thick Hungarian vegetable dish.
Gaisburger Marsch, a German dish of stewed beef served with Spätzle and potatoes
Gheimeh, an Iranian stew with cubed lamb and yellow split peas
Ghormeh Sabzi, an Iranian stew with green herbs, dried limes, beans and meat.
Goulash, a Hungarian meat stew with paprika
Gumbo, a Louisiana creole dish
Hasenpfeffer, a sour, marinated rabbit stew from Germany
Haleem, an Pakistani lentil/mutton stew.
Hayashi rice, a Japanese dish of beef, onions and mushrooms in red wine and demi-glace sauce, served with rice
Irish stew, made with lamb or mutton, potato, onion and parsley
Ishtu, a curry in Kerala, India made from chicken or mutton, potato, and coconut milk.[2]
Istrian Stew or yota, or jota, a dish popular in Croatian and Slovenian Istra and NE Italy
Jjigae, a diverse range of Korean stews.
Kare-kare, stewed beef or oxtail and vegetables in peanut sauce from the Philippines.
Karelian hot pot, from the region of Karelia in eastern Finland.
Khash, a stew from Armenia and Georgia.
Khoresht, a variety of Persian stews, often prepared with saffron.
Kokkinisto, a Greek stew with red meat, in a tomato passata with shallots, cinnamon and other spices.
Lancashire Hotpot, an English stew
Locro, a South American stew (mainly in the Andes region)
Mechado, a Philippine-style beef stew
Nihari, a Pakistani beef stew made overnight and served for breakfast.
Nikujaga, a Japanese beef and potato stew
Olla podrida, a Spanish red bean stew
Pasticada, a Croatian stew from the region of Dalmatia
Peperonata, an Italian stew made with peppers
Pescado Blanco, a white fish stew from Patzcuaro Michoacán Mexico
Pörkölt, a Hungarian meat stew resembling goulash, flavoured with paprika
Potjiekos, a South African stew
Pot au feu, a simple French stew
Puchero, a South American and Spanish stew
Ragout, a highly seasoned French stew
Ratatouille, a French vegetable stew
Sancocho, a stew from the Caribbean
The Stew, a stew from the La Tour du Pin
Semur, a typical Javanese stew with beef or chicken, potatoes, carrots, various spices and kecap manis (sweet soy sauce).from Indonesia.
Stoofvlees, a Belgian beef stew with beer, mustard and laurel
Tagine, a Moroccan stew, named after the conical pot in which it is traditionally cooked and/or served in.
Tharid, a traditional Arab stew of bread in broth
Waterzooi, a Belgian stew
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Does anyone know how to select a really juicy, sweet and flavorful watermelon? I am never really lucky although i follow all the best ways suggested like - to look at the color and quality of the flesh, which should be a deep color and absent from white streaks. If it features seeds, they should be deep in color. Oftentimes, however, we do not have this liberty when purchasing watermelon since it is more common to buy a whole, uncut fruit. When choosing a whole watermelon, look for one that is HEAVY for its size with a rind that is relatively smooth and that is neither overly shiny nor overly dull. In addition, one side of the melon should have an area that is distinct in color from the rest of the rind, displaying a yellowish or creamy tone. This is the underbelly, the place that was resting on the ground during ripening, and if the fruit does not have this marking, it may have been harvested prematurely, which will negatively affect its taste, texture and juiciness.
