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‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

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Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#71

Post by bitdivision »

jacquesm wrote: post #65
TuringNYC wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps i'm geeking this out too much, but I guess it depends on ingress-vs-egress and drawdown....but...doesn't including nearly spoiling food risk the whole stew going bad in a few days? Or do the constant simmer prevent that?

Before refrigeration people were a lot less picky about what was considered spoiled food. One of my grandmothers would never look at the dates, but just trusted her eyes, nose and tongue as to whether something was fit for consumption or not, regardless of how much it was past the 'best before' date.

Best before not bad after

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#72

Post by abyssin »

jacquesm wrote: post #65
TuringNYC wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps i'm geeking this out too much, but I guess it depends on ingress-vs-egress and drawdown....but...doesn't including nearly spoiling food risk the whole stew going bad in a few days? Or do the constant simmer prevent that?

Before refrigeration people were a lot less picky about what was considered spoiled food. One of my grandmothers would never look at the dates, but just trusted her eyes, nose and tongue as to whether something was fit for consumption or not, regardless of how much it was past the 'best before' date.

Back in my dumpster diving days, I discovered how useful the sense of smell can be. Surprisingly, using it to detect bad food also changed the way I enjoyed good food. It became very pleasurable to eat fresh food!

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#73

Post by jasonwatkinspdx »

Waterluvian wrote: post #5

Kind of related to this is the concept of "Brunswick Stew." Look it up if you want a more accurate description, but as I recall, the idea from Colonial times in America is that there'd be a tavern/inn with a fire, constantly running, and a big cauldron of stew always topped off and ready for weary travelers. The idea is that they never "finished" a batch. They just perpetually added leftovers and foods that were at r…

I haven't had it personally, but one of my SO's tried a famous "perpetual stew" when in France and we talked about it at one point. Her description kinda matched what I'd expect from braises that I've let go to long: you end up with bland mush.

I think there's a reason very few restaurants serve this style of dish, and it's not because of health codes. We live in an era of insane abundance compared to the medeivil and colonial eras. A lot of historic dishes from those times just don't stand up to the expectations of a modern pallet.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#74

Post by supernova87a »

madrox wrote: post #62

I'm reminded of ramen restaurants I've visited that tell stories about their broth and its origins, mentioning that it's been simmering for decades. Some of the more famous ramen places I've visited have gone so far as to point out that the broth is made offsite in case anyone was thinking about attempting to tamper with it. Maybe some of that is for dramatic effect, but I imagine if you're a competitive restaurant a…

"170-180 years"! https://youtu.be/fpjFQoTWNUY?t=374

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#75

Post by salawat »

jollyllama wrote: post #10
candyman wrote: post #6

I also like the "forever bottle" that is common with bourbon lovers like me. You take one of your nicer bottles and when another one is close to empty you don't finish it but instead dump it into a "forever bottle" that keeps evolving with the different leftover bourbons you pour into it.

Tangentially related would be Navy coffee, which sailors say is made in pots that are never cleaned and develop a "varnish" of sorts.

Navy cooks will bust the bubble promptly. They clean the pots religiously, the difference is that each cook treats the brew differently. If a cook left a vessel or had a mate make the coffee, sailors'll notice the change in treatment.

Also, you have to keep in mind, Navy coffee is a mythic thing. Taking on a spiritual character from being a source of constancy and solace in an otherwise stressful/hostile environment. It's a morale thing.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#76

Post by drakonka »

jedberg wrote: post #54

My wife is Cantonese and while we don't have any family heirloom broths, there are definitely weeks, especially in winter, where we just have a constant broth going for a couple of weeks. All the leftover veggie bits and bones and such get thrown in there as we go. The flavor is always different, usually good, sometimes a little odd, but then we just purposely put new food in to balance it out (an apple for some swee…

Does it take a lot of electricity to keep your stove going 24/7 for weeks? Trying to get an idea of how much impact this could have on an electricity bill.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#77

Post by twiddling »

mbg721 wrote: post #46
blahedo wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh. I am a relatively recent (11 years) transplant to Virginia and had never heard of Brunswick Stew until I moved here, where lots of people make it (it's "traditional") but I have always found it to be thin, bland, and insipid, so I'll take the minimum amount to be polite at an event but otherwise avoid it. But of course they're all making it fresh from a recipe. I wonder if the reason I'm finding it bland is that…

Traditionally, the first step is making stock from a bowling-ball.

Stirring with the number 7 pin of course

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#78

Post by dekhn »

inetknght wrote: post #23
Waterluvian wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know. I'm not sure the historians fully know. This concept might even be apocryphal to an extent. What I have learned is that the concept evolved (like so much cooking does) from what I described into a "it's actually now a recipe that people prepare once." Something else I learned is that back in the day, people had different expectations for food quality. We would regularly eat rancid meat (many BBQ sauces…

> well... actually we purge it once a week otherwise it goes completely bad I know that when I cook stews I often end up with a lot of food bits stuck and eventually burned at the bottom and sides of the pot. I can imagine keeping it going by pouring the stew contents to another pot so that I could clean the first pot though. Without doing that... those stuck & burned bits will certainly add "flavor" to the stew.

This stuff is known as "fond" and it's commonly used to make flavorful liquids (stock/broth).

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#79

Post by scandox »

Waterluvian wrote: post #5

Kind of related to this is the concept of "Brunswick Stew." Look it up if you want a more accurate description, but as I recall, the idea from Colonial times in America is that there'd be a tavern/inn with a fire, constantly running, and a big cauldron of stew always topped off and ready for weary travelers. The idea is that they never "finished" a batch. They just perpetually added leftovers and foods that were at r…

We had a salad like that for a while but I think it was in danger of becoming a serious health risk after a week or so.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#80

Post by jrochkind1 »

TWO profiled broths were destroyed by bombs in war. Apparently a leading cause of broth destruction.

> an even older pot, in Perpignan [France], had been bubbling since the 1400s until it finally met its demise in 1945 during World War II bombing raids.

> The broth [in Tokyo’s historic Asakusa quarter] would be going on 100 today, but the previous batch was lost in 1945 during World War II bombing.

1945 was not a good year for ancient broth, among other things.

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