For us Guyanese, the headline should probably read, ‘Curry obsessed, are we?’ And that is perhaps a truer reflection of us, but we also like and make a lot of stews. We even make the distinction between a brown stew and a red stew. In the Caribbean, a big pot of stew is like the number one dish to make and to master. It is comforting, and a go-to dish. A huge pot of stew is perfect for entertaining a crowd too.
A stew is one of those dishes that when made and eaten, sets your soul at ease; it comforts, it fortifies. Perhaps stews evoke these feelings due to the cooking process involved that results in succulent morsels and a sauce/gravy brimming with incredibly deep flavour from all the ingredients. Such stews give you pause; they force you to slow down – to prepare them and to enjoy them.
A stew means different things for different people depending on where you are from but for the purposes of this column, a stew means seasoned meat or poultry cooked low and slow with lots of liquid and some flavouring that also gives colour – burnt sugar, browning, tomato paste, tomato sauce or annatto (achiote).
