Stewing
In this post, we will assess the stewing cooking method. At this point, you are well-versed with most other cooking methods that we have covered; and, as such if you are recommended to cook food a certain way e.g., poach it, braise it or steam it, to meet your nutritional demands, you at least have an idea. We will look at the remaining cooking technique that is also widely used to cook various foods.
How Is Stewing Done?
Stewing is a cooking method that utilizes fat or oil to cook a food. It is a slow cooking method that allows food to cook until tender. You can use a liquid to form a sauce or soup, when stewing. Certain vegetables e.g. cabbage and kales do not necessarily require a liquid. You can just add some oil in cooking pot, insert base vegetables e.g. onions, peppers, capsicum etc, and allow them to brown before adding the vegetables. Alternatively, with meat e.g. beef, poultry and pork, a liquid can be added –usually water. The process is similar to how you cook vegetables by allowing onions and tomatoes to heat in fat or oil before adding the main ingredient i.e. meat with water, then allow to cook slowly. Spices can be added later after food has tenderized. Usually, the food is cooked with the pot covered. The foods being stewed are normally cut into small pieces to cook properly.
Cooking Temperatures
Depending on food being stewed, temperatures and liquid amount could vary. The duration of cooking also varies with type of food. The tough and larger cuts of meat could take a while longer compared to vegetables.
Comparison with other almost similar cooking methods
Both braising and stewing involve the browning of food but with braising the browning is done on particular food e.g. meat while the browning in stewing is first done on the base vegetables before adding the main ingredient i.e meat or vegetables. When liquid is used, like in the case of meat, stewing is different from simmering, in that it uses a lesser quantity of liquid that is served along with the food.
How Nutritional Value Is Affected
While stewing, a food’s flavour is preserved since the aromatic components remain with the food. As long as the liquid is retained, nutritional value of a food is generally preserved. Foods become tender and flavourful when stewed.