The art of stewing food is an easy one to master. It involves, primarily, paying attention to make sure the stew cooks moistly and does not burn. Stewing is the  cooking some kind of meat with vegetables with a small amount of liquid in a pot that is sealed to prevent evaporation. The liquid can be stock, wine, beer, or something else to provide a base for the sauce that is created by the cooking process.

The idea is that the food itself provides the extra flavor for the sauce as the stew slowly cooks. Some cooks will add spices to enhance the flavor, but others will just rely on the meat and vegetables to make the dish tasty.

Covering the pot allows for the water that evaporates to condense on the inside of the cover and then, in effect, baste the food automatically. One has to pay attention, though, to make sure that not too much of the liquid is cooked off, adding as needed, to make sure that the stew is not burnt. Overcooking should also be avoided, as it tends to make the stew mushy.

Just about any kind of food can be stewed. Meat, chicken, lamb, or fish are most often used in stew along with a number of vegetables to provide variety and taste. Some favor an entire vegetarian stew. The process of stewing should cause tough cuts of meat to become tender over time.

The slow cook and hold ovens manufactured by Thermodyne are a great option for stewing large amounts of food for restaurants, caterers and other commercial applications.  Most of our stew recipes call for the products to go into the oven the night before serving, this gives the food products a chance to stew at low temperatures for extended periods of time.