Laurie Snider
Notes from the Nest
As the light of the day was beginning to fade, the rain which had been coming down in torrents all day, was starting to freeze. First, it was pinging off the windows as pellets, making a tap, tap, tap sound against the panes of glass but shortly after was sticking to them, obscuring my view from the kitchen window.
The entire day had been quite dreary. The sun was apparently up, somewhere, but buried behind so many layers of dark, gray, rain-filled clouds, that inside lighting was required all day, to see with any measure of acuity. The rain, sudden drop in temperature and forecast for snow, and lots of it, affirmed my decision for tonight’s menu choice, a delicious, tasty stew.
As long as there have been fires to cook them on, there have been stews. The father of history, Herodotus, wrote that ancient Scythians, from the 8th to 4th Centuries B.C., put flesh into an animal’s paunch, mixed with water and boiled it over a bone fire.
During archaeological digs, ceramic and bronze cauldrons, dating back 8,ooo years, used for making keng (vegetable and meat stews) by the Chinese, have been discovered. Even in the Old Testament stew is referred to. Esau trades his father’s dowry to his brother Jacob, for a dish of stewed meat.
Historical evidence shows a wide variety of vessels have been employed, for cooking these delectable concoctions in. Animal skins were a popular choice, by ancient cultures. Indigenous peoples in North America used birch-bark containers or hollowed out trees for cooking them, prior to being introduced to metal containers by the Europeans. Tribes in the Amazon would use turtle shells, boiling the contents and adding other ingredients. Large mollusks, like clams were another type of cooking pot, used by some cultures.
The word stew, is from the old French word, estuier, meaning to enclose. It’s basically an assortment of food that’s cooked in liquid, usually for a longer period of time, in one pot. There’s a list as long as your arm of all the different kinds. They may be made with meat, fish or poultry, or no meat at all. The main difference between soups and stews is thickness. Stew may be served in a bowl or be thick enough to serve on a plate and eaten with a fork.
There are recipes for stew that can be found, in all regions of the globe. Sometimes they’re named for the ingredients they contain, like chicken stew, or another possibility is by locale, as is the case with Irish stew. Longer cooking times are one of their advantages, as they’re often made with tougher cuts of meat, which become tender with longer, moist cooking times.
Stew has long been considered an everyday, common food, served for family and friends, less often for fine dining and special occasions. The grand French dish, boeuf Bourguignonne, made with beef, mushrooms and tiny onions, being an exception. Perpetual stews, also called Hunter’s pots, are the opposite, where almost any ingredients found get dumped into the pot. As the pot empties, more additives and liquids are added, as necessary, to replenish it, so it lasts for days or even months.
Ragouts are also French stews. The term “made-dish,” was used to differentiate between roasts and dishes that used a mixture of ingredients, that were common in both France and England. An 18th Century recipe in The Compleat Housewife, offers a recipe for a Ragoo. It uses a claret, gravy, sweet herbs and spices tossed together in lamb’s stones (testicles) and adding cock’s comb, sliced sweet meats, oysters, mushrooms and truffles. Mmm!
Brunswick stew, around since the early 19th Century, is a favourite in the American south and was also fancied by Queen Victoria. Its tomato based with lima or butter beans, okra, corn and other vegetables. The original meat in this dish was squirrel, rabbit or opossum. Modern versions, now commonly use chicken instead.
During the Great Depression, when food sources were scare, Crow stew was eaten, using crow meat, sour cream, flour and bacon fat. The term “eating crow” came about as crow was considered to be foul-tasting and tough, like the humiliation of swallowing your pride, after taking a strong position on something, then being proven wrong. If crow wasn’t your preference other similar idioms referred to eating dirt, your hat or your shoe!
No matter which country or culture it originates from, or what ingredients get tossed into the pot, undoubtedly stew is an ultimate comfort food. Its a tasty blend of flavorful foods, served steaming hot from a pot on the stove. Tonight, it offers nutritious sustenance, on an evening where all manner of weather is raging outside my window. Yes, indeed…It’s a fine night for stew!