Weird "historical" question about stew

[Inchworm]

Well, how do I word this hehe.

I knew this woman who was from a poor area in South America. I remember her saying that her mom ALWAYS had stew on the heat. I'm pretty sure it was a forever pot of stew she just added to.

I remember a year or so back hearing this custom reiterated in a story about France. Hec, I may have posted about it and forgot (I drink a lot ;) ).

It would be cool to attempt here. I'm overwhelmed with deer meat. I expect more around the end of the month. I don't like food to goto waste plus I appreciate the stuff.

Anyone heard of this concept? Got a term to share that would help me look in the right direction? Any "common sense" tips?

:hi:

PS: Happy Holidays!! :woohoo:

[Lucinda]

1. Happy Holidays!

Someone just posted about this recently...here or in the lounge maybe....let me see if I can find it

[Inchworm]

2. Hehe

If it was me I'm gonna hide :rofl:

[Denninmi]

3. The term you are looking for is "Pot au feu"

Literally means "pot on the fire" -- it's the perpetual soup/stew pot that you're thinking about. In the old days, when the fire was kept going constantly in the stove (wood or coal burning, most likely) to keep the kitchen heated as much as possible (which wasn't much, by the way), a stockpot was kept on the stove, and various things would be added to it -- scraps, leftovers, whatever was edible, would work in the soup/stew, and wasn't destined to be used anywhere else. Water or other liquid would be added as needed to keep it full. Often, pot au feu would be eaten for breakfast because it was already cooked and ready to go -- pre-industrial era fast food, or at least, I think I recall reading that somewhere.

Here is an interesting article I found about it:

http://www.hertzmann.com/articles/2005/pot-au-feu/

[Inchworm]

4. That's prezactly what I'm talking about

:rofl:

I'm so going to do this :D

Thanks!

:9

[Denninmi]

5. I think we have it a lot easier.

A crockpot set on low would probably be a lot easier than hauling firewood every few hours on a cold January day.

[elleng]

6. Ya think???

:rofl:

[Warpy]

7. My grandmother had one of those during the Depression

and threw whatever was ready in the garden into it daily, along with bones from her brother who owned a butcher shop (and fed all the cats in town).

Anybody who showed up hungry got a bowl of the stuff and if my grandfather wasn't home, he didn't even have to weed the petunias for it.

[pengillian101]

8. Lord love your GrandMother and GrandUncle!

Thanks for posting your memories :-)

I just love reading personal stories.

[Tesha]

9. maybe I'm not quite awake yet.....

but I can't figure out what

"he didn't even have to weed the petunias for it."

means.

Help?:blush:

[Warpy]

10. My grandfather found them odd jobs to do to "pay" for the soup

My grandmother didn't care, she just wanted them fed for a day.

[Tesha]

11. ahhh...

gotcha! :blush:

[Inchworm]

12. Report: Not a real good idea on electric stove

Even on low it was too hot to let sit for as long as it takes to consume "holiday cheer" with houseguests 'til the wee hours, enjoy said cheer, and sleep through the effects of the cheer the next morning... err.. afternoon.

It lasted 3 days though! Man, it was delicious and everyone loved it. The dogs even loved the re-hydrated crispies I found at the end of the test lol

:rofl:

[MilesColtrane]

13. Hmm

Wouldn't that be a "Club Med" for bacteria to grow?

[kestrel91316]

14. Not at a low simmer, nope. And if it's reheated soon enough, nope.

My grandma on the ranch in NV used to make a pot of chicken and noodles and then just leave it on the stove after she turned the heat off. With the lid ON, of course. And then she would reheat it for leftovers within several hours, too soon for bad bugs to get a foothold, and hot enough to kill them off.

As long as mayo or eggs are not involved, it's not terribly dangerous. We all survived this when we would visit, though it perturbed my mom.

It's how grandma and grandpa successfully raised 6 kids during the depression on a very remote ranch. They had an icebox and later a propane fridge, but a pot of hot food didn't go into it.