An interesting Article on Stews vs Soups stored in your pantry.

[Wise Old Owl]

Here is the Article I found.


I went into Big Lots to discover what canned foods I could add cheaply to my basement Larder. I got somewhat tricked by the Progresso "Beef Pot Roast" as it doesn't say soup. It was a soup - mostly gravy, peas, carrots, slices of potato, and six small cubes of real chuck. So it can't a can't be a Roast, clearly not a stew. I was so confused I had to look up the difference between a soup and a stew and found the above link. A stew in my memory is eaten with a fork. Well not as disappointing as Dainty Moore or less stew. That DM garbage has burger formed cubes that "pretend" to be meat. Yes I know the Meatball stew has peas and meatballs. The stew lacks peas and has formed beef. Nevermind.

Canned anything comes "with" disappointment. In the Advertising world the four letter word "with" meat means it's the smallest ingredient.

So I am looking for help here, guess I have to can my own stew.

[pete lynch]

I only put canned food in my pantry that I already know I like. That way it rotates.
Did you ever try the Hanover Chicken Pot Pie I mentioned in another thread?
Sorry I can't help.

[kyratshooter]

I see a serious flaw in logic before jumping onto the complaint bandwagon.

You went to Big Lots to buy canned foods. Guess what? You are going to be disappointed! Their selection is going to be limited and they are going to have rejects, seconds and off brands. That is what Big Lots is and does.

At least you found some Dinty Moore. My experience has been that at Big Lots you would find brands with names like Ole Chuck Wagon or Sold It Before It Died and the ingredients were listed as, taters, vegetables, meat, "other stuff". And when you checked to see who made this wonderful stuff you found that it is a product of Pablo's Horse Racing Stables in Argentina.

You should have found the pet food isle and bought Alpo dog food. It will have your chunks of meat and the thick gravy you desire. It will also cost more than the canned stews you are complaining about.

As to the difference between a soup and a stew, I believe that in my house, growing up, it was determined by how many leftovers you had divided by the number of people you needed to feed, multiplied by the amount of water you needed to add to stretch it to one bowl each.

Traditionally stews were made with leftovers and had no designated label. There might not be enough beef, chicken, pork for everyone to have a full serving so it went into the pot with the leftover potatoes and other assorted veggies and everyone got a big bowl with a chunk of cornbread and went to bed full and happy.

Home made soups were an all day deal and involved rendering down broth or stock and often pureeing vegetables to hide the contents from picky eaters. Kids would often eat soups without realizing there were vegetables in there that they would not eat if they were presented on a plate.

That was one reason canned soups were popular for 100 years before Dinty Moore showed up on the shelves. They turned an all day job into the art of opening a can.

And yes, Dinty Moore might resemble a pile of wet garbage, because that is what stew was. Leftovers thrown into the pot with whatever meat scraps were available. It stayed on the fire constantly and cooked until it was a mush, which is why you think stew should be thick, with whatever was available today being added to the blend. You scooped out a ladle full and poured it over a big chunk of coarse bread, said grace, and did not ask what was in it

"Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old!"

[tundrabadger]

"What stew was?"


Hell, give me some chicken bones with a bit of meat left on them and about 3 hours and that's what stew WILL BE. It might not have that much meat in it, but you can get damn good flavour out of t.

[hunter63]

What is "Stone Soup"?
Quote>

Some travelers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travelers. Then the travelers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travelers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavor, which they are missing. The villager does not mind parting with a few carrots to help them out, so that gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travelers again mention their stone soup which has not reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, the stone (being inedible) is removed from the pot, and a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all. Although the travelers have thus tricked the villagers into sharing their food with them, they have successfully transformed it into a tasty and nutritious meal which they share with the donors.
<quote

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Soup

Had a lot of soups and stews growing up as well....Usually more so, at the end of the month before MF paycheck.....stretching the food.

Also "Casseroles"...The name for what ever is left in the house, add a can of mushroom soup, and bake.
Still don't eat them to this day.

As far as the canned Dinty Moore and many soups... I buy them, eat them as something I will just stuff in my face....
Not so much any more as I need to watch salt intake.

Most all our soups DW makes from scratch....in proportions for a big family....so we put in plastic containers and freeze.

I would rather have her bean soup....or even corned beef and cabbage than any of the canned soup/strews....
But some times convenience comes into play.....
You get what you pay for.....I guess.

Hummm, often wonder who sits on the assembly line counting out the "2 pieces of bacon,4 carrots, 3 celery and 49 beans", in the Bean w/Bacon soup.
Or who decides that I need 9 chips...as a serving size.

[Wildthang]

So is porridge stew too? Or is it something entirely different?

[Wildthang]

Oh.......Oh, how about chowder, it reminds me of soup too!

[tundrabadger]

So is porridge stew too? Or is it something entirely different?

You know, obviously you're being facetious, but I just finished a book by Jacques Pepin that had, not a word of a lie, an oatmeal based breakfast soup in it. Feels like a little more work than I want to do before I've had coffee, though.

[M118LR]

What ever happened to the oxtail's? Isn't that how stew is made?
http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-...l_stew,FF.html

[hunter63]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porridge

Always kinda liked "gruel" as well.

[M118LR]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porridge

Always kinda liked "gruel" as well.

Why didn't wiki list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maypo

[hunter63]

That was a bit tooooo sweet for me.....
Oatmeal, cream of wheat, cream of rice.......Made thick with butter and salt....

Grits are a "porridge" as well.....

So looks like any thickened grain or legumes cook down.....with out meat..... is porridge...
Soups have a meat base, or at least broth.......???

[M118LR]

Is chowder a soup? Seafood & Potato based. Seafood (clams, shrimp, fish etc) are they considered meat? What about potato soup?

[hunter63]

Don't know about chowder, but potato soup around here is veggie or chicken broth.....and may have ham of bacon in it....(I like the bacon..)

[M118LR]

Don't know about chowder, but potato soup around here is veggie or chicken broth.....and may have ham of bacon in it....(I like the bacon..)

I figured you might add a little cheese, but save the ham/bacon for the beans, or double baked potato soup.

http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-potato-soup-416708

[LowKey]

We had beef stew all the time growing up. Buy a whole hindquarter of a cow and a good portion isn't good for anything but stew or hamburger.
We weren't much for soup. Chicken soup if you were sick, made from frozen stock made from picked dinner carcasses. Usually with only some garlic, celery and whatever pasta was in the pantry. Any leftover chicken was pot pie or sandwiches. Never much made it into the soup.

I don't buy canned stews or soups. Waaaaay too much salt! Canned baked beans are a good base for a quick supper but my slow cooked ones are much better.

[Wildthang]

Don't know about chowder, but potato soup around here is veggie or chicken broth.....and may have ham of bacon in it....(I like the bacon..)

Hunter you just gave me the best idea ever conceived in the culinary world, bacon soup!!!!

[hunter63]

Wasn't my idea....but this recipe is close to Momma's .....
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/235445/...to-bacon-soup/