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 2485 recipes in total:

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Jamaican Jerk Jackfruit      Origin: Jamaica	Kanda (Beef Meatballs with Pumpkin Seeds)      Origin: Central African Republic	Kedgeree 2      Origin: Fusion
Jamaican Mutton and Lime Leaf      Origin: Jamaica	Kanda ti Nyma      Origin: Central African Republic	Kedjenou      Origin: Cote dIvoire
Jamaican Pimento Tripe Curry      Origin: Jamaica	Kang Ped Pla-dook (Red Curry with Catfish)      Origin: Thailand	Kedjenou II      Origin: Cote dIvoire
Jamaican Prawn Curry      Origin: Jamaica	Kangchu Tsoem (Pig's Trotter Tshoem)      Origin: Bhutan	Kefta dyal Ghriba (Synagogue Koftas)      Origin: Tunisia
Jamaican Rum Prawns      Origin: Jamaica	Kangué (Ragout of Beef)      Origin: Mayotte	Keftedes (Greek Meatballs)      Origin: Greece
Jamaican Seafood Soup      Origin: Jamaica	Kaninchengeschnetzeltes (Liechtenstein-style Rabbit Stew)      Origin: Liechtenstein	Kejenou avec Agouti (Kejenou with Cane Rat)      Origin: Cote dIvoire
Jamaican Spicy Okra      Origin: Jamaica	Kansiyé      Origin: Guinea	Kekefia (Plantain Pottage)      Origin: Nigeria
Jambo (Okra Soup)      Origin: Bonaire	Kansiyé avec 'Mafe' (Smoked Chicken in Peanut Sauce with Mashed Plantains)      Origin: Guinea	Kelenkelen (Fish with Cassava Leaves)      Origin: Cameroon
Jambo (Okra Soup)      Origin: Curacao	Kansiyé de Poisson (Fish Kansiyé)      Origin: Guinea	Keleya Zaara (Tunisian Lamb with Saffron)      Origin: Tunisia
Jarret de Boeuf      Origin: Chad	Kansiyé de Poulet (Chicken Kansiyé)      Origin: Guinea	Kenkey      Origin: Ghana
Jasha Maroo (Minced Chicken Tshoem)      Origin: Bhutan	Kansiyé      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Kenyan Chicken Tikka      Origin: Kenya
Java Chicken      Origin: Fusion	Kaoteriad (Breton Fish Stew)      Origin: France	Kenyan Matoke      Origin: Britain
Jollof Rice with Chicken, Beef, and Ham      Origin: Ghana	Kapenta      Origin: Zambia	Kereviz Geragoor (Celery Stew)      Origin: Armenia
Joues de porc confites au cidre (Confit of Pork Cheeks in Cider)      Origin: France	Kapr na černo (Carp in Black Sauce)      Origin: Czech	Kerrie-aartappels en Uie (Curried Potatoes and Onions)      Origin: South Africa
Joutes of almannd mylk (Herb Pottage with Almond Milk)      Origin: England	Kapuska z Kielbasa (Sauerkraut and Kielbasa)      Origin: Poland	Kerrieboontjies (South African Curried Beans)      Origin: South Africa
Judd mat Gaardebounen (Smoked Pork with Broad Beans)      Origin: Luxembourg	Karē Raisu (Japanese Curry Rice)      Origin: Japan	Kewa Datshi (Potatoes with Cheese)      Origin: Bhutan
Judias Verdes con Salsa de Tomate (Green Beans in Tomato Sauce)      Origin: Spain	Karabakh Loby (Broad Beans in Sour Cream and Tomato Sauce)      Origin: Azerbaijan	Kewa Phagsha (Spicy Pork with Potatoes)      Origin: Bhutan
Jugged Pigeons      Origin: Britain	Karahi Machhli (White Fish Curry)      Origin: Pakistan	Khao Man (Coconut Rice)      Origin: Brunei
Kabaro au Carry (Malagasy Curried Beans)      Origin: Madagascar	Kare Kare      Origin: Philippines	Khasi Ko Masu (Nepali Goat Meat Curry)      Origin: Nepal
Kabritu Stoba (Stewed Kid Goat)      Origin: Aruba	Kari Ikan (Fish Curry)      Origin: Malaysia	Khatta Curry      Origin: India
Kabritu Stobá (Goat Meat Stew)      Origin: Saba	Karjalanpaisti (Karelian Stew)      Origin: Finland	Khela Kalia (West Bengali Lamb Curry)      Origin: India
Kabritu Stobá (Goat Meat Stew)      Origin: Curacao	Karkandji (Hibiscus Sauce)      Origin: Chad	Khichidi      Origin: India
Kachumbari      Origin: Rwanda	Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Aruba	Khichiri      Origin: India
Kadala Curry      Origin: India	Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Bonaire	Khnom Jin Namya (Catfish Curry over Noodles)      Origin: Thailand
Kadhai Gosht      Origin: Pakistan	Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Curacao	Khoodra Mafrooka      Origin: Sudan
Kådun Pika (Spicy Chicken)      Origin: Guam	Karni Stobá (Curaçao Stewed Beef)      Origin: Curacao	Khoresh B'Amieh (Okra Stew)      Origin: Iran
Kådun Pika (Spicy Chicken)      Origin: Northern Mariana Islands	Karni Stobá (Sint Eustatian Stewed Beef)      Origin: Sint Eustatius	Khoresht Rivas (Persian Lamb and Rhubarb Stew)      Origin: Iran
Kafta with Argan Oil (Syrian Meatballs with Argan Oil)      Origin: Syria	Kashmiri Chicken Curry      Origin: India	Khoresht-e Gheymeh (Persian Lamb Stew with Dried Limes and Split Peas)      Origin: Iran
Kajaik (Sudanese fish stew)      Origin: South Sudan	Katakou au Poisson Frais (Palm Soup Base with Fresh Fish)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Khoresht-e Loobia (Stewed Mutton with String Beans)      Origin: Iran
Kakrar Jhal (Bengali Crab Curry)      Origin: India	Katami Satsabeli Baga (Duck in Georgian Walnut Sauce)      Origin: Georgia	Khoresht-e Zereshk (Barberry, Lamb and Nut Stew)      Origin: Iran
Kalia II (Meat and Potato Curry II)      Origin: Bangladesh	Katogo (Beans with Cassava)      Origin: Uganda	Khoreshte Kalal (Lamb Stew with Barberry Sauce)      Origin: Iran
Kaluun iyo Bariis (Spicy Fish Sauce with Rice)      Origin: Somalia	Kebab Halla (Stewed Beef)      Origin: Egypt	Khormya (Spiced Lamb with Yoghurt)      Origin: Kazakhstan
Kalya de Poulet (Chicken Kalya)      Origin: Mauritius	Kebbeh Kunda Benachin      Origin: Gambia
Kamuna      Origin: Sierra Leone	Kede in Bokenade (Kid Goat in Sauce)      Origin: England

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