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 2366 recipes in total:

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Pultes Cum Iure Oenococti (Pottage with Wine Sauce)      Origin: Roman	Ragoût de poisson (Creole-style fish Stew)      Origin: Saint-Martin	Ris Gras Burkinabé      Origin: Burkina Faso
Pumpkin Chili      Origin: American	Ragout de Poisson au Njansang (Stewed Fish with Njansang)      Origin: Cameroon	Risoto Cranc Celtaidd a Chorgimychiaid Bae Ceredigion (Risotto of Celtic Crab and Cardigan Bay Prawns)      Origin: Welsh
Pumpkin Curry      Origin: Britain	Ragù d'anatra (Venetian Duck Ragu)      Origin: Italy	Risoto o Ddail Poethion a Pherlysiau Gwyllt (Risotto of Nettles and Wild Herbs)      Origin: Welsh
Pumpkin Goulash      Origin: American	Ragu di Carne      Origin: San Marino	Risotto al Funghi Porcini e Nepitella (Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms and Lesser Calamint)      Origin: Italy
Pumpkin Sambar      Origin: India	Rapa Nui Cazuela      Origin: Easter Island	Risotto al Tonno (Risotto with Tuna)      Origin: Italy
Pumpkin Vine Tips Tarkari      Origin: Nepal	Rapas (Turnips)      Origin: Roman	Risotto alla Arancia (Risotto with Orange)      Origin: Italy
Punjene Paprika (Stuffed Peppers)      Origin: Serbia	Rapes in Potage (Turnips in Pottage)      Origin: England	Risotto alla Milanese      Origin: Italy
Purée d'Aubergines (Aubergine Purée)      Origin: Rwanda	Raspberry Coulis      Origin: Britain	Risotto alla Paesana (Risotto with Beans and Bacon)      Origin: Italy
Qatari Jareesh      Origin: Qatar	Ratatouille      Origin: France	Risotto alle Erbe e Niputedda (Catmint and Herb Risotto)      Origin: Italy
Qatari Machboos      Origin: Qatar	Ravitoto sy Henakisoa (Pork with Cassava Leaves)      Origin: Madagascar	Risotto allo Zafferano (Saffron Risotto)      Origin: Switzerland
Quabili Pilau (Lamb and Yellow Rice with Carrots and Raisins)      Origin: Afghanistan	Rayo Saag Ra Sungur Ko Masu (Pork and Spinach Curry)      Origin: Nepal	Risotto con Prosciutto e Piselli (Risotto with Ham and Peas)      Origin: Italy
Queue de Boeuf Pinon (Oxtail Pinon)      Origin: Togo	Real Irish Stew      Origin: Ireland	Risotto Rucola (Wild Rocket Risotto)      Origin: Italy
Quizaca (Cassava Leaf Stew)      Origin: Angola	Rechta      Origin: Algeria	Ritra d'Oie (Ritra of Goose)      Origin: Madagascar
Qurutob      Origin: Tajikistan	Red Cabbage with Glazed Onions      Origin: Belgium	Ritra de Canard (Ritra of Duck)      Origin: Madagascar
Râgout de Boeuf aux Bananes (Beef Stew with Plantains)      Origin: Central African Republic	Red Curry Cambogee with Meat      Origin: Cambodia	Riz au Gras ('Fat Rice')      Origin: Benin
Rabbit in Tomato and Emperor's Mint Sauce      Origin: Britain	Red Oil Greens      Origin: Liberia	Riz au Lait de Coco de Comores (Comorian Rice with Coconut Milk)      Origin: Comoros
Rabbit in Tomato and Mint Sauce      Origin: Andorra	Red Oil Sweet Potato Greens      Origin: Liberia	Riz Créole (Creole Rice)      Origin: Guadeloupe
Rabbit Pilaf      Origin: Uzbekistan	Red-cooked Pork      Origin: China	Riz des Iles (Island Rice)      Origin: Comoros
Rabbit Pilaf      Origin: Uzbekistan	Red-red      Origin: Ghana	Riz Dion (Rice and Mushrooms)      Origin: Haiti
Rabo Encendido (Spicy Dominican Oxtail Stew)      Origin: Dominican Republic	Renga Renga (Burundi Sweet Potato Leaf Stew)      Origin: Burundi	Riz et Pois Collés (Haitian Rice with Peas)      Origin: Haiti
Rad Na Moo (Pork with Noodles in Gravy)      Origin: Thailand	Resalsike (Royal Fruit Stew)      Origin: England	Riz Gras du Burkinabé (Burkina Faso Fat Rice)      Origin: Burkina Faso
Ragoût aux épinards (Spinach Stew)      Origin: Central African Republic	Reshmi Gosht (Lamb Breast in Aromatic Sauce)      Origin: India	Riz haricots rouges antillais (Antillean Red Beans and Rice)      Origin: Guadeloupe
Ragoût Béninoise (Beninese Ragout)      Origin: Benin	Restaurant-style Chakalaka      Origin: South Africa	Riz Wolof (Wolof Rice)      Origin: Guinea
Ragoût d'Ignames et Boeuf (Beef Stew with Yams)      Origin: British	Restaurant-style Monkfish Curry      Origin: Britain	Romazava      Origin: Madagascar
Ragoût de Chévre au Riz (Goat Stew with Rice)      Origin: DR-Congo	Rheinischer Sauerbraten (Rhenish Stewed Pickled Beef)      Origin: Germany	Romee (Cornmeal Mush)      Origin: Georgia
Ragoût de Porc au Citron Vert (Ragoût of Pork with Lime)      Origin: Senegal	Rhubarb and Ginger Compote      Origin: Britain	Roo Broth (Roe Deer in Broth)      Origin: England
Ragoût de Porc aux Potates Douces (Pork Stew with Sweet Potatoes)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Rhubarb and Pork Chop Casserole      Origin: British	Ropa Vieja      Origin: Cuba
Ragoût Njansang (Njansang Stew)      Origin: Central African Republic	Rice and Peas      Origin: Jamaica	Rosehip Purée      Origin: Fusion
Ragoût of Turkey      Origin: Britain	Rice and Peas      Origin: Saint Kitts	Rosemary-scented Lamb      Origin: Britain
Ragout Breton à la saucisse (Breton Stew with sausage)      Origin: France	Rice Flour FuFu      Origin: Liberia	Rostbraten Mit Pilzfulle (Roast Beef with Mushroom Stuffing)      Origin: Germany
Ragout d'Igname (Yam Porridge)      Origin: Burkina Faso	Rice Phala (Sweetened Rice Phala)      Origin: Malawi	Rosto      Origin: Gibraltar
Ragoût de cabri créole (Creole Goat Stew)      Origin: Guadeloupe	Rice with Pigeon Peas      Origin: Puerto Rico	Rougail Saucisse (Sausage Rougail)      Origin: Mauritius
Ragoût de chatrou créole (Creole Chatrou Stew)      Origin: Guadeloupe	Rifissa (Chicken and Lentil Stew)      Origin: Morocco
Ragoût de lambi (Conch stew)      Origin: Saint-Martin	Ris engoulé (Ris Engoule)      Origin: France

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