Hungarian:
gulyás

goulash, traditional stew of Hungary. The origins of goulash have been traced to the 9th century, to stews eaten by Magyar shepherds. Before setting out with their flocks, they prepared a portable stock of food by slowly cooking cut-up meats with onions and other flavourings until the liquids had been absorbed. The stew was then dried in the sun and packed into bags made of sheep’s stomachs. At mealtime, water was added to a portion of the meat to reconstitute it into a soup or stew.

The paprika that is indispensable for flavouring the modern goulash was added to the formulation in the 18th century. The classic “kettle goulash” is prepared by frying cubes of beef or mutton with onions in lard. Garlic, caraway seeds, tomatoes, green peppers, and potatoes complete the stew. Székely gulyás, another Hungarian specialty, is a stew of pork and sauerkraut flavoured with tomatoes, onions, caraway seeds, and sour cream.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.

stew, dish of meat, poultry, or fish, usually with vegetables, cooked in liquid in a closed vessel over low heat. Prepared properly, the stew never boils, but simmers at about 190 °F (88 °C), a process that tenderizes tougher foods and mingles flavours. Meats to be stewed are cut in cubes, fowls are jointed, and fish is cut in steaks or chunks. For brown stews, the meat pieces (and sometimes a portion of the vegetables) are seared in hot fat before the liquid is added. Poultry is often cooked à blanc, without browning, as are delicate veal and lamb stews. Root vegetables (carrots, onions, turnips, parsnips, and potatoes), tomatoes, and celery are commonly added to stews. The sauce that develops as the dish cooks may be thickened by pureeing the vegetables or by incorporating flour or egg yolks.

The French ragout à brun is a brown stew that is flavoured with garlic, tomato, and herbs. A navarin is a ragout à brun made with lamb or mutton; navarin à la printanière has been garnished with new potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, and turnips. Fricassees and blanquettes are “white” stews of poultry (in the case of fricassee), veal, or lamb. They are delicately flavoured with mushrooms, mild vegetables, and herbs; the sauce is thickened with egg yolks and cream.

Stews are found in virtually all of the world’s cuisines. Gulyás (goulash), pörkölt, paprikás, and tokany are four stews that have been called the four pillars of Hungarian cooking. Bigos, a hunter’s stew of Poland, combines a variety of fresh and cured meats, game, cabbage or sauerkraut, and aromatic vegetables. Irish stew is a simple “white” dish of mutton, onions, and potatoes. A Greek stifado of beef is flavoured with red wine, onions, tomatoes, bay leaf, and garlic, and it may contain cubes of feta cheese. Two American stews deserve mention: Brunswick stew (originating in Brunswick County, Virginia) combines squirrel, rabbit—more commonly today, chicken—sweet corn, lima beans, tomatoes, okra, and onions; Kentucky’s burgoo is similar, adding beef and potatoes, carrots, turnips, and other vegetables.

Chef tossing vegetables in a frying pan over a burner (skillet, food).
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Fish stews may be made with freshwater or ocean fish; often a variety is used, with shellfish. Notable are the French meurette, matelote, cotriade, and bouillabaisse; the Spanish zarzuela; the Italian cacciucco; the Belgian waterzooi; and the cioppino of the United States.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Kara Rogers.