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 2308 recipes in total:

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c (Zama)      Origin: Moldova	Caldo de Chabéu (Palm Nut Stew)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Cari de Cerf (Venison Curry)      Origin: Reunion
c (Groaty Pudding)      Origin: England	Caldo de Citi (Red Palm oil Stew)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Cari de Morue (Cod Curry)      Origin: Saint Pierre
Cëebu Jen II      Origin: Senegal	Caldo de Peixe (Cape Verdean Fish Soup)      Origin: Cape Verde	Cari de Porc (Pork Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Cà Ri Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Curry)      Origin: Vietnam	Caldo de Peixe de Guiné-Bissau (Guinea-Bissau Style Fish Stew)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Cari de Thon (Tuna Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Caçarola de Frango com Cominho (Chicken Casserole with Cumin)      Origin: Angola	Caldou au Bissap (Flatfish with Hibiscus Flowers)      Origin: Senegal	Cari Dholl (Yellow Split Pea Curry)      Origin: Mauritius
Cabbage and Bacon      Origin: Ireland	Callaloo Soup      Origin: Saint Lucia	Cari Langoustes (Lobster Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Cabbage Egusi Soup      Origin: Ghana	Callaloo Soup      Origin: British Virgin Islands	Cari Massale de boeuf (Beef Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Cabbage Jambalaya      Origin: Cajun	Callaloo Soup      Origin: US Virgin Islands	Cari Massale de Cabri (Goat Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Cabbage with Chicken      Origin: Guyana	Calulu Carne Seca (Dried Meat Calulu)      Origin: Angola	Cari Mouton (Mutton Curry)      Origin: Saint Pierre
Caboches in Potage (Cabbage Stew)      Origin: England	Calulu de Cabara (Goat Meat Calulu)      Origin: Angola	Cari Ourite (Octopus Curry)      Origin: Mauritius
Cabri aux Gombos et Patates Douces (Goat with Okra and Sweet Potatoes)      Origin: Senegal	Calulu de Peixe (Fish Calulu)      Origin: Angola	Cari Poisson (Fish Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Cabri Massalé (Kid Goat Massala)      Origin: Reunion	Camarâes à Guineense (Guinean Prawns)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Cari Poisson (Fish Curry)      Origin: Mauritius
Cabrito com Inhame (Kid Goat with Yam)      Origin: Cape Verde	Camarão na Abóbora (Prawns in Pumpkin Shells)      Origin: Mozambique	Cari Pom'Terre Boucané (Smoked Pork and Potato Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Caccabinam Fusilem (Fluid Casserole)      Origin: Roman	Camarones Guisados (Stewed Prawns)      Origin: Puerto Rico	Cari Poulet Rougaile Tomate (Chicken Curry with Tomato)      Origin: Reunion
Caccabinam Minorem (Small Casserole)      Origin: Roman	Camel Chubbagin      Origin: Mauritania	Caribbean Cook-up      Origin: Jamaica
Cachupa Rica      Origin: Cape Verde	Cameroonian Jollof Rice      Origin: Cameroon	Caribbean Rice and Beans      Origin: British Virgin Islands
Cachupa Rica      Origin: Cape Verde	Canard au cidre (Duck with Cider)      Origin: France	Caribbean Rice and Beans      Origin: US Virgin Islands
Cachupinha      Origin: Cape Verde	Canard au curry (Curried Duck)      Origin: DR-Congo	Caril de Amendoim de Frango (Peanut and Chicken Stew)      Origin: Mozambique
Cactus Chili      Origin: America	Canarian Ropa Vieja      Origin: Spain	Caril de Frango (Chicken Curry)      Origin: Sao Tome
Cafriela de Frango      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Canja      Origin: Cape Verde	Caril de Frango com Coco (Chicken and Coconut Curry)      Origin: Sao Tome
Cajun Brew Pork'n'Beans      Origin: American	Canja de Gahlinha (Cape Verdean Chicken Stew)      Origin: Cape Verde	Caril de peixe (Fish curry)      Origin: Sao Tome
Cajun Chicken and Seafood Gumbo      Origin: Cajun	Cannellini alla Catania      Origin: Italy	Carne de Porco à Alentejana (Pork in the style of Alentejo)      Origin: Portugal
Cajun Chili Pork      Origin: Cajun	Cape Malay Black-eyed Beans Curry      Origin: South Africa	Carne de Porco em Vinho D'alhos (Pork in Vinegar)      Origin: Portugal
Cajun Tofu Gumbo      Origin: Cajun	Cape Malay Egg Curry      Origin: South Africa	Carne Desmechada      Origin: Colombia
Calabrese Mushroom Chili      Origin: American	Cape Malay Egg Curry      Origin: South Africa	Carne en Polvo (Powdered Beef)      Origin: Colombia
Calalou (Beninese Callaloo)      Origin: Benin	Cape Malay Mutton Curry      Origin: South Africa	Carne en Polvo (Powdered Beef)      Origin: Dominican Republic
Calalou      Origin: French Guiana	Cape Pigeons in Coconut Milk      Origin: Zambia	Carne en Salsa (Beef in Gravy)      Origin: Gibraltar
Calalou aux crabes (Crab Callaloo)      Origin: Guadeloupe	Caponata      Origin: Italy	Carne Gisada con Plantanos (Beef and Plantains)      Origin: Cuba
Calalu      Origin: Benin	Capons in Concy II (Chicken in Bread-thickened Stock with Eggs)      Origin: England	Carne Gizado (Stewed Meat and Vegetables)      Origin: Cape Verde
Calco Stoba (Conch Stew)      Origin: Aruba	Carboanda Criolla (Argentine Vegetable Beef Stew)      Origin: Argentina	Carne Guisada (Puerto Rican Stewed Beef)      Origin: Puerto Rico
Caldeiraa de Cabrito (Goat Meat Stew)      Origin: Mozambique	Carbonade Flamande      Origin: Belgium	Carne Guisada (Panamanian Beef Stew)      Origin: Panama
Caldeirada de Lulas a Madeirense (Madeira Squid Stew)      Origin: Portugal	Cardo con Verdolaga (Pork with Purslane)      Origin: Mexico	Carne Mechada      Origin: Venezuela
Caldo Branco (White Stew)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Cari Boeuf aux Carottes (Beef and Carrot Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Caldo de Bicuda (Barracuda Stew)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Cari Boeuf Gingembre Oignons (Beef Curry with Ginger and Onions)      Origin: Reunion

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