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‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

atlasobscura.com

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Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#141

Post by princeb »

neilv wrote: post #140

I used to routinely eat "glop" that evolved over about a week each time. I started it the first day with some vegetarian rice or pasta concoction on the stove, served some, put the pan in the fridge, took it out the next day, added some ingredient (usually by sniffing it, and imagining what flavor would be good to add), cooked on stove again, repeat. It usually ran out in about a week. It tended to taste better close…

the important part is to never let your glop go below 60C in its entire lifespan. keep it in the oven, the pot, wherever, and leave the fire running until you finish it.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#142

Post by LeoPanthera »

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…

You can do this with whisky. When you have less than a couple of inches left, dump the remains into a decanter. Repeat with every bottle you buy. Occasionally drink some. Never let it empty.

It becomes your own personal blend, always changing. Lots of fun.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#143

Post by opo »

Waterluvian wrote: post #22
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?

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…

>...We would regularly eat rancid meat (many BBQ sauces were specifically built to hide/safen up rancid meat)

I think the idea that spices were used to cover the taste of rancid meat is generally considered to be a myth.

>...One myth needs busting here. Contrary to what you may have read, sauces were not invented to cover the smell and taste of spoiled meat. Spoiled meat tends to make people sick or dead, so, although covering it with a sauce might make it more palatable, people who used this strategy probably tried it only once.

https://amazingribs.com/barbecue-history-and-culture/barbecu...

An influential source that promoted this idea was a 1939 book by J.C. Drummond. Those as this review of the book shows, Drummond provided little evidence for his assertions and made errors like misinterpreting the meaning of words like “greene”:

http://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/drummond.pdf

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#144

Post by Spooky23 »

jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #73
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 an…

A local restaurant had a minestrone soup that had been running for 10-15 years, until the place burned down.

It was ridiculously good. I think the key aspect that made it good was that they served it with every meal so it turned over a lot.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#146

Post by metadat »

basseed wrote: post #117
jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 an…

thanks for your comment, just a small correction, it's "medieval" and "palate"

"palate" is a physiological term which describes the roof of a beings mouth.

Edit: @NovemberWhiskey I didn't know it was a dual-purpose word, thanks for the correction.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#147

Post by NovemberWhiskey »

metadat wrote: post #146
basseed wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thanks for your comment, just a small correction, it's "medieval" and "palate"

"palate" is a physiological term which describes the roof of a beings mouth. Edit: @NovemberWhiskey I didn't know it was a dual-purpose word, thanks for the correction.

No; "palate" was correct - it's a metonym in this case.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#148

Post by wackget »

The nonsense about how the flavour gets more complex over time is just that: nonsense.

There's a video on YouTube where a hobby scientist takes a cup of water and doses it with an incredibly potent poison, a tiny fraction of which could kill. He then discards half the water, dilutes it, and repeats the process about 6 times. Finally he drinks the water and is totally unharmed.

The point is that after the pot's been half-emptied a few times, nothing remains of the previous mixtures.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#149

Post by ilamont »

When I lived in Taipei many years ago there were a lot of subtitled Japanese food and travel shows. One time, the show profiled a small restaurant in southern Taiwan (Tainan or Kaohsiung, I can't remember which) where they had the same pot of soup broth going for more than a 100 years. Not just the broth, but the pot itself. It had a misshapen, oily hump on one side of the pot's edge.
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