What is "stew"

Stew \Stew\, v. i. To be seethed or cooked in a slow, gentle manner, or in heat and moisture.

Stew \Stew\, n. [OE. stue, stuwe, OF. estuve. See Stew, v. t.]

1. A place of stewing or seething; a place where hot bathes are furnished; a hothouse. [Obs.]

   As burning [AE]tna from his boiling stew Doth belch out flames.
   --Spenser.

   The Lydians were inhibited by Cyrus to use any armor, and give themselves to baths and stews.
   --Abp. Abbot.

2. A brothel; -- usually in the plural.
   --Bacon. South.

   There be that hate harlots, and never were at the stews.
   --Aschman.

3. A prostitute. [Obs.]
   --Sir A. Weldon.

4. A dish prepared by stewing; as, a stewof pigeons.

5. A state of agitating excitement; a state of worry; confusion; as, to be in a stew. [Colloq.]

Stew \Stew\, n. [Cf. Stow.]

1. A small pond or pool where fish are kept for the table; a vivarium. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
   --Chaucer. Evelyn.

2. An artificial bed of oysters. [Local, U.S.]

Stew \Stew\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stewed; p. pr. & vb. n. Stewing.] [OE. stuven, OF. estuver, F. ['e]tuver, fr. OF. estuve, F. ['e]tuve, a sweating house, a room heated for a bath; probably of Teutonic origin, and akin to E. stove. See Stove, and cf. Stive to stew.] To boil slowly, or with the simmering or moderate heat; to seethe; to cook in a little liquid, over a gentle fire, without boiling; as, to stew meat; to stew oysters; to stew apples.

c.1300, "vessel for cooking," from stew (v.). Later "heated room," especially for bathing (late 14c.). The meaning "stewed meat with vegetables" is first recorded 1756. The obsolete slang meaning "brothel" (mid-14c., usually plural, stews) is from a parallel sense of "public bath house" (mid-14c.), carried over from Old French estuve "bath, bath house; bawdy house," reflecting the reputation of medieval bath houses.

late 14c., transitive "to bathe (a person or a body part) in a steam bath," from Old French estuver "have a hot bath, plunge into a bath; stew" (Modern French étuver), of uncertain origin. Common Romanic (cognates: Spanish estufar, Italian stufare), possibly from Vulgar Latin *extufare "evaporate," from ex- "out" + *tufus "vapor, steam," from Greek typhos "smoke." Compare Old English stuf-bæþ "hot-air bath;" see stove.\n

\nIntransitive use from 1590s. Meaning "to boil slowly, to cook meat by simmering it in liquid" is attested from early 15c. The meaning "to be left to the consequences of one's actions" is from 1650s, especially in figurative expression to stew in one's own juices. Related: Stewed; stewing. Slang stewed "drunk" first attested 1737.

Etymology 1 n. 1 (label en obsolete) A cooking-dish used for boiling; a cauldron. (14^th-17^thc.) 2 (label en now historical) A heated bath-room or steam-room; also, a hot bath. (from 14^thc.) vb. 1 (context transitive or intransitive or ergative English) To cook (food) by slowly boiling or simmering. 2 (context transitive English) To brew (tea) for too long, so that the flavour becomes too strong. 3 (context intransitive figuratively English) To suffer under uncomfortably hot conditions. 4 (context intransitive figuratively English) To be in a state of elevated anxiety or anger. Etymology 2

n. A steward or stewardess on an airplane.

1. n. agitation resulting from active worry; "don't get in a stew"; "he's in a sweat about exams" [syn: fret, sweat, lather, swither]

2. food prepared by stewing especially meat or fish with vegetables

1. v. be in a huff; be silent or sullen [syn: grizzle, brood]

2. bear a grudge; harbor ill feelings [syn: grudge]

3. cook slowly and for a long time in liquid; "Stew the vegetables in wine"

Mark Stewart (born August 16, 1961), known by his stage name Stew, is an American singer-songwriter and playwright from Los Angeles, California, United States. In the early 1990s, he formed a band called The Negro Problem and later went on to release albums under his own name. His 2000 release Guest Host was named Album of the Year by Entertainment Weekly and his 2002 album, The Naked Dutch Painter and Other Songs, repeated that feat. He toured in support of Love's Arthur Lee in 2002 and in 2003 he was invited to take part in the Lincoln Center's American Songbook series of concerts.

Starting in 2004, he began writing the book, lyrics and music (with Heidi Rodewald) for his semi- autobiographical rock musical Passing Strange, produced with the support of the Sundance Institute and The Public Theater, which won him the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics. In 2005, he wrote and performed " Gary's Song" for the SpongeBob SquarePants episode " Have You Seen This Snail? (Where's Gary?)". In 2006, he and Rodewald continued to produce Passing Strange as well as working on a film project with The Sundance Institute. Passing Strange had successful runs at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, California, in the fall of 2006, and off-Broadway at The Public Theater in New York City during the spring of 2007. It received critical praise from both the New York Times and Variety and opened on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre in February 2008 under the aegis of producer Liz McCann and the Shubert Organization. The play garnered seven Tony nominations in 2008, with Stew receiving four nominations and winning the award for Best Book. The play closed in July 2008, with Spike Lee filming the final performances for a feature film which screened at the Sundance Festival in January 2009.

Stew and Heidi debuted a new show, "Making It," at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn in February 2010.

In December 2011, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis announced that its 2012 new theatre series, Ignite!, would feature a reading of a stage musical adaptation of the graphic novel, Stagger Lee, with a book by the graphic novel's author, Derek McCulloch, and music and lyrics by Stew and Heidi Rodewald.

A stew is a combination of food ingredients cooked in liquid.

Stew may also refer to:

People:

• Stew (musician), singer/songwriter/playwright and member of the band The Negro Problem
• Stewart Stew Albert (1939–2006), anti-Vietnam War activist and co-founder of the Yippies
• Stewart Stew Barber (born 1939), former American Football League player and executive
• Stewart Stew Bolen (1902-1969), American Major League Baseball pitcher
• Stewart Stew Bowers (1915-2005), American Major League Baseball pitcher
• Stewart Stew Cliburn (born 1956), American former Major League Baseball pitcher
• Stewart Stew Hofferth (1913-1994), American Major League Baseball catcher
• Stewart Stew Johnson (born 1944), former American Basketball Association player
• Stew Leonard, Jr., president and CEO of the Stew Leonard's American supermarket chain
• Stewart Stew Morrill (born 1952), American college basketball coach

Other uses:

• Another name for a rookery (slum)
• A medieval term for a brothel
• A stew or stew pond used for keeping live fish

A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables (such as carrots, potatoes, onions, beans, peppers and tomatoes) or meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used. While water can be used as the stew-cooking liquid, wine, stock, and beer are also common. Seasoning and flavourings may also be added. Stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature ( simmered, not boiled), allowing flavors to mingle.

Stewing is suitable for the least tender cuts of meat that become tender and juicy with the slow moist heat method. This makes it popular in low-cost cooking. Cuts having a certain amount of marbling and gelatinous connective tissue give moist, juicy stews, while lean meat may easily become dry.

Stews may be thickened by reduction or with flour, either by coating pieces of meat with flour before searing, or by using a roux or beurre manié, a dough consisting of equal parts of fat and flour. Thickeners like cornstarch or arrowroot may also be used.

Stews are similar to soups, and in some cases there may not be a clear distinction between the two. Generally, stews have less liquid than soups, are much thicker and require longer cooking over low heat. While soups are almost always served in a bowl, stews may be thick enough to be served on a plate with the gravy as a sauce over the solid ingredients.