Stews have been around almost nearly as long as humans have been cooking. All you need is a vessel to hold your ingredients and water and a means of heating that vessel. It can be as simple as a leather bag with stones heated in a fire dropped into it. So stews were almost certainly prepared during the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, if not earlier. Once you have clay or metal pots you can prepare stews next to or set directly over a fire. Stews are low-maintenance cookery, generally not requiring that the cooking pot be observed continuously. The slow cooking is also ideal for tenderizing tougher cuts of meat (neck, shin, tail etc). As these also tend to be the most flavoursome parts of animals, this also means that stews can be extremely flavourful. Stews also pair well with the local staple: potatoes, rice, bread, yams, cassava etc.

Even in hunter-gatherer societies stews are useful in that the slow cooking can make the most of tough meat and it can be combined with foraged grains, leafy greens, nuts and starchy tubers to yield a flavourful, low maintenance and nutritious meal. With the advent of agriculture almost all grains are amenable to stewing and combining grains and legumes in a stew provides a ready way to gain all the essential amino acids that humans (particularly children) require.

The boiling process of making stews also helps sterilize the ingredients, killing harmful bacteria and viruses. It can also help neutralize harmful chemicals, such as the cyanogenic compounds in bitter cassava and helps reduce bitterness in leafy greens, making the food both safer to eat and more palatable. The addition of flavouring ingredients (fruit, spices, herbs) during the cooking process can also alter the flavours of stews, making them more palatable and more appealing. This is particularly the case when adding components with high umami content (certain fish, seaweed, cruciferous vegetables, beans, soy sauce, mushrooms etc).

It is little wonder that, taken globally, the list of stews presented on this site is a long one.

Some stews border on soups and the definition of whether a dish is a soup or a stew. A good example of this is Welsh cawl which can be served with more liquid as a soup or can be thickened as a stew and served with bread and/or potatoes. Most curries, due to their long, slow cooking and blend of ingredients can also be considered a subtype of stew.

Pretty much every culture on earth has a classic stew that's a major part of its cultural culinary repertoire. I have viewed and collected recipes for many of these on my travels. These and other classic stews from around the world are collected and presented here.

The alphabetical list of all the stew recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 1816 recipes in total:

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Bonava (Meat and Potatoes Stew)      Origin: Mauritania	Bygan Dhal      Origin: India	Caldo de Peixe (Cape Verdean Fish Soup)      Origin: Cape Verde
Bonava (Mauritanian Lamb Stew)      Origin: Mauritania	Bœuf à la bretonne (Breton-style beef)      Origin: France	Caldo de Peixe de Guiné-Bissau (Guinea-Bissau Style Fish Stew)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau
Bonito con Cebolla y Tomate (Bonito with Onion and Tomato Sauce)      Origin: Spain	c (Groaty Pudding)      Origin: England	Caldou au Bissap (Flatfish with Hibiscus Flowers)      Origin: Senegal
Boo with Okra      Origin: Uganda	Cëebu Jen II      Origin: Senegal	Callaloo Soup      Origin: Saint Lucia
Botswanan Cabbage      Origin: Botswana	Cà Ri Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Curry)      Origin: Vietnam	Calulu Carne Seca (Dried Meat Calulu)      Origin: Angola
Botswanan Chicken Groundnut Stew      Origin: Botswana	Caçarola de Frango com Cominho (Chicken Casserole with Cumin)      Origin: Angola	Calulu de Cabara (Goat Meat Calulu)      Origin: Angola
Bottle Masala Chicken Curry      Origin: Britain	Cabbage and Bacon      Origin: Ireland	Calulu de Peixe (Fish Calulu)      Origin: Angola
Bouillabaisse      Origin: France	Cabbage Jambalaya      Origin: Cajun	Camarâes à Guineense (Guinean Prawns)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau
Bouillabaisse with Rouille and Croutons      Origin: France	Cabbage with Chicken      Origin: Guyana	Camarão na Abóbora (Prawns in Pumpkin Shells)      Origin: Mozambique
Bouillon d'awara (Awara Broth)      Origin: French Guiana	Caboches in Potage (Cabbage Stew)      Origin: England	Camarones Guisados (Stewed Prawns)      Origin: Puerto Rico
Bouillon de Crabes (Swimmer Crab Bouillon)      Origin: Mauritius	Cabri aux Gombos et Patates Douces (Goat with Okra and Sweet Potatoes)      Origin: Senegal	Camel Chubbagin      Origin: Mauritania
Bouillon de Petits Crabes (Stew of Small Crabs)      Origin: Mauritius	Cabri Massalé (Kid Goat Massala)      Origin: Reunion	Cameroonian Jollof Rice      Origin: Cameroon
Boulgour aux Fruits Secs (Bulgur Wheat with Dried Fruit)      Origin: Mauritania	Cabrito com Inhame (Kid Goat with Yam)      Origin: Cape Verde	Canard au cidre (Duck with Cider)      Origin: France
Bourride      Origin: Britain	Caccabinam Fusilem (Fluid Casserole)      Origin: Roman	Canard au curry (Curried Duck)      Origin: DR-Congo
Braf (Broth)      Origin: Dominica	Caccabinam Minorem (Small Casserole)      Origin: Roman	Canja      Origin: Cape Verde
Braised Lamb Shanks with Cannellini Beans      Origin: Britain	Cachupa Rica      Origin: Cape Verde	Canja de Gahlinha (Cape Verdean Chicken Stew)      Origin: Cape Verde
Braised Meatballs      Origin: China	Cachupa Rica      Origin: Cape Verde	Cannellini alla Catania      Origin: Italy
Braised Pork Ribs and Taro Stew      Origin: Hong Kong	Cachupinha      Origin: Cape Verde	Cape Malay Egg Curry      Origin: South Africa
Brewet of Almayn (Bruet of Almonds)      Origin: England	Cactus Chili      Origin: America	Cape Malay Egg Curry      Origin: South Africa
Brined Cabbage Sarma      Origin: North Macedonia	Cajun Brew Pork'n'Beans      Origin: American	Cape Malay Mutton Curry      Origin: South Africa
Bruet Sarcenes (Saracen Brewet)      Origin: England	Cajun Chicken and Seafood Gumbo      Origin: Cajun	Caponata      Origin: Italy
Bruine Bonen (Suriname-style Kidney Bean Stew)      Origin: Suriname	Cajun Chili Pork      Origin: Cajun	Capons in Concy II (Chicken in Bread-thickened Stock with Eggs)      Origin: England
Bruine Bonen met Rijst (Brown Beans with Rice)      Origin: Suriname	Calabrese Mushroom Chili      Origin: American	Carboanda Criolla (Argentine Vegetable Beef Stew)      Origin: Argentina
Brunswick Stew      Origin: American	Calalou (Beninese Callaloo)      Origin: Benin	Carbonade Flamande      Origin: Belgium
Bufuke with Onion Sauce      Origin: Uganda	Calalou      Origin: French Guiana	Cardo con Verdolaga (Pork with Purslane)      Origin: Mexico
Bukkeande      Origin: England	Calalou aux crabes (Crab Callaloo)      Origin: Guadeloupe	Cari Boeuf aux Carottes (Beef and Carrot Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Bunyoro Stew      Origin: Uganda	Calalu      Origin: Benin	Cari Boeuf Gingembre Oignons (Beef Curry with Ginger and Onions)      Origin: Reunion
Bursen      Origin: England	Calco Stoba (Conch Stew)      Origin: Aruba	Cari de Cerf (Venison Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Burseu (A Dish of Minced Meat)      Origin: England	Caldeiraa de Cabrito (Goat Meat Stew)      Origin: Mozambique	Cari de Porc (Pork Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Burundi Beans and Plantains      Origin: Burundi	Caldeirada de Lulas a Madeirense (Madeira Squid Stew)      Origin: Portugal	Cari de Thon (Tuna Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Burundian Beef and Greens in Peanut Sauce      Origin: Burundi	Caldo Branco (White Stew)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Cari Dholl (Yellow Split Pea Curry)      Origin: Mauritius
Burundian Igitoke      Origin: Burundi	Caldo de Bicuda (Barracuda Stew)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Cari Langoustes (Lobster Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Burundian Isombe (Cassava Leaf Stew)      Origin: Burundi	Caldo de Chabéu (Palm Nut Stew)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau
Burundian Ubugali (Cassava Porridge)      Origin: Burundi	Caldo de Citi (Red Palm oil Stew)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau

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