Perpetual stew

A perpetual stew, also known as hunter's pot[1][2] or hunter's stew, is a pot into which whatever one can find is placed and cooked. The pot is never or rarely emptied all the way, and ingredients and liquid are replenished as necessary.[1][3] The concept is often a common element in descriptions of medieval inns. Foods prepared in a perpetual stew have been described as being flavorful due to the manner in which the ingredients blend together,[4] in which the flavor may improve with age.[5]

Perpetual stew
Cocido montañés, a Cantabrian version of perpetual stew
Alternative namesHunter's pot, hunter’s stew
TypeStew

Examples

Perpetual stews were common in medieval cooking, often as pottage or pot-au-feu:

Bread, water or ale, and a companaticum ('that which goes with the bread') from the cauldron, the original stockpot or pot-au-feu that provided an ever-changing broth enriched daily with whatever was available. The cauldron was rarely emptied out except in preparation for the meatless weeks of Lent, so that while a hare, hen or pigeon would give it a fine, meaty flavour, the taste of salted pork or cabbage would linger for days, even weeks.

— Reay Tannahill[4]

Between August 2014 and April 2015, a New York restaurant served broth from the same perpetual stew (a master stock) for over eight months.[6][7]

Wattana Panich restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand, has continued to maintain the broth from the same perpetual stew for over 47 years (as of 2021).[8]

Ingredients

Various ingredients can be used in a perpetual stew, such as root vegetables and tubers (onion, carrot, potato, garlic, parsnip, turnip, etc.) and various meats and game meats.[3][5]

William Gibson references a perpetual stew served on the Bridge in his novel Idoru.[9]

Danny Devito, as the character Frank Reynolds, references a perpetual stew served to and from his Vietnamese sweatshop workers in the TV show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. [10]

See also

References
  1. Slabbert, Joan (2005). Bwana Kakuli. Trafford Publishing. pp. 76–77. ISBN 1412061563.
  2. Fitzpatrick, Sir Percy (1907). Jock of the Bushveld. Longmans, Green and Company. pp. 79–80.
  3. Associated Press (May 3, 2013). "Perpetual stew". Florence, Alabama: Times Daily. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  4. Food in History, by Reay Tannahill. New York : Crown Publishers, 1989. 424 p. ISBN 0-517-57186-2
  5. Henwood, Rodney (2013). Game Ranger. Author House. p. 105. ISBN 1491875690.
  6. Kravitz, Melissa (26 January 2015). "It's alive! Chef David Santos' stew never stops evolving at Luoro". AM New York. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  7. Sterling, Justine (28 January 2015). "Why You Shouldn't Be Terrified of This Never-Ending Stew". Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  8. GreatBigStory (19 July 2019). "This Soup Has Been Simmering for 45 Years". Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  9. https://www.chowhound.com/post/50-year-pot-soup-hong-kong-388730
  10. https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia

Further reading
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