[stoo, styoo] 
| 1. | to cook (food) by simmering or slow boiling. |
| 2. | to undergo cooking by simmering or slow boiling. |
| 3. | Informal. to fret, worry, or fuss: He stewed about his chaotic state of affairs all day. |
| 4. | to feel uncomfortable due to a hot, humid, stuffy atmosphere, as in a closed room; swelter. |
| 5. | a preparation of meat, fish, or other food cooked by stewing, esp. a mixture of meat and vegetables. |
| 6. | Informal. a state of agitation, uneasiness, or worry. |
| 7. | a brothel; whorehouse. |
| 8. | stews, a neighborhood occupied chiefly by brothels. |
| 9. | Obsolete. a vessel for boiling or stewing. |
| 10. | stew in one's own juice, to suffer the consequences of one's own actions. |
| stew (stōō, styōō) v. stewed, stew·ing, stews v. tr. To cook (food) by simmering or boiling slowly. v. intr.
[Middle English stewen, to bathe in a steam bath, stew, from Old French estuver, possibly from Vulgar Latin *extūpāre, *extūfāre, to bathe, evaporate : Latin ex-, ex- + Vulgar Latin *tūfus, hot vapor (from Greek tūphos, fever; see typhus).] stew'y adj. |
stew
|
stew
dish of meat, poultry, or fish, usually with vegetables, cooked in liquid in a closed vessel over low heat. Prepared properly, the stew never boils, but simmers at about 190 F (88 C), a process that tenderizes tougher foods and mingles flavours. Meats to be stewed are cut in cubes, fowls are jointed, and fish is cut in steaks or chunks. For brown stews, the meat pieces (and sometimes a portion of the vegetables) are seared in hot fat before the liquid is added. Poultry is often cooked a blanc, without browning, as are delicate veal and lamb stews. Root vegetables (carrots, onions, turnips, parsnips, and potatoes), tomatoes, and celery are commonly added to stews. The sauce that develops as the dish cooks may be thickened by pureeing the vegetables or by incorporating flour or egg yolks.
Learn more about stew with a free trial on Britannica.com.
