Stewing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In cooking, stewing means preparing vegetables or meat by simmering in liquid. Unlike braising, the ingredients are generally diced.
A stew may be either simmered in a pot on the stove top or cooked in a covered casserole in the oven. 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, but are more often thickened 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.
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[edit] Types of stew
White stews, also known as blanquettes or fricassées, are made with lamb or veal that is blanched, or lightly seared without browning, and cooked in stock. Brown stews are made with pieces of red meat that are first seared or browned, before a browned mirepoix, sometimes browned flour, stock and wine are added.
[edit] Local stewed dishes
Stews are very traditional in the cooking of Iran, wherein they are called khoresh, and have evolved both parallel and with influence from Indian dishes such as mughal stews and the plentiful torkaris of Bengal.
[edit] Other uses of the word
In the United Kingdom, tea is referred to as stewed if the leaves are left to steep in the water for too long. Tannin is released, making the tea bitter and unpleasant to drink.
