Stew

Stew can be any sort of edible hodgepodge. Some stews are like soup, but thicker, so thick they are best eaten with a fork. Other stews – seafood stews of New England and the Pacific Northwest, for instance – are downright elegant. Prominent American varieties are Lowcountry Frogmore stew (shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn-on-the-cob; aka Lowcountry boil), Kentucky burgoo, Illinois downstate chowder, southern Brunswick strew, Rocky Mountain buffalo stew, crawfish etouffee and jambalaya, oxtail stew, and, arguably, southwestern chili, both red and green.