Stewing vs. Braising
 

this came up (twice) amongst real people (i.e. f2f) while eating & drinking

I have therefore turned to PPOT to resolve this burning controversy.

what's the diff.?

braising uses alot less liquid..

Braising means the meat gets seared at a high heat first, then "stewed"

And stewing, as per Vash's comments, means more liquid - and usually a whole lota vegetables thrown in too.

i actually sear meat before stewing too..

Then you are not stewing. ;)

As Bill said: sear + stew = braising

The veggies are optional but usually very rewarding.

Ian

Stewing has more to do with meat size. And liquid amount. To get a flavorful stew you have to sear it first. i'm only talking because i just watched alton brown..hahha.

Stewing like making a stew of...
Browning small pieces of meat and then adding veggie's, or other ingredients with enough liquid to simmer or slow cook.

I would think braising is usually having a single main meat, adding oil or butter on higher temp, covered pot or pan so that the condensation drips to the food. Minimal liquid. We have a special brasier pan that is designed with straight sides (not angled), approx. 4 inches height so when covered, the condensation is accelerated to the food, pan.

Stew: usually little pieces, submerged in liquid, you usually consume the liquid.

Braise: usually bigger pieces, not submerged in liquid, usually discard the liquid.

The piece size part is, I think, the most flexible distinction. I like to braise pork spare ribs, they are little pieces. And I'll stew a beef shank, that's a pretty big piece. The consuming the liquid part, to me, distinguishes stewing from boiling. You boil in plain water that is discarded. You stew in some sort of flavorful liquid - stock, wine, beer - that gets more flavorful so you really should consume it, either in the classic bowl of stew or, as with the shank, by subsequently reducing the liquid down to a sauce.

Just my opinion, I never went to culinary school or anything.

Same thing except the size of meat. Stewing, diced meat. Braising usually shanks or larger pieces. Not diced.

All the right terminology has to be used to explain it properly

There are 2 techniques beeing discussed and mixed up with a dish

techniques
Stewing technically means slow cooking on a small fire at low temps. No more , no less.

Braising basically means when cooking a big pieace of meat, you close the meat, add "some" liquid" and put a lid on it, so it cooks through and doesn't dry out..


dish
Stew , beef stew for instance, is done by dicing the meat, then first closing the meat with high heat with some veggies, and ultimately submerging it with a wine or beer.
That's stew.

No, no. Do not discard the liquid. That is the best part. Eg., Coq au vin, Etc.

One other difference IMO, is that I braise at a lower temperature than I would use for a stew. Braising= small amount of liquid, low temperature, slow cook, lid on. Braising is an art, and the Queen of that art is Molly Stevens. Her book on braising is one of the most used cookbooks in my kitchen.

one friend looked these up in Wiki and "It seems that the distinction between braising and stewing is fairly nebulous, and nets out to the chopping up of ingredients in stewing versus leaving them whole for braising."

another guy (who, for some reason, wants to get on MasterChef and have Gorden Ramsey scream at him) seems to favor the same distinction and bases it on the origins of the techniques, as in coq au vin (he used to live in France (arbitrageur) so maybe he is biased)

Not really stew is made at a really low temp, takes hours... bit faster in a pressure cooker.. but essentially it's really low temp.. should not be much difference from when you braise...

Transfer of heat: Either water or oil.
-Proteins congeal when boiled.
-Proteins cook on the surface only when deep fried quickly.