 Perpetual stew served in New York City, United States | |
| Alternative names | Hunter's pot, hunter's stew |
|---|---|
| Type | Stew |
Aperpetual stew, also known asforever soup,hunter's pot[1][2] orhunter's stew, is a pot into which foodstuffs are placed and cooked, continuously. The pot is never or rarely emptied, and ingredients and liquid are replenished as necessary.[1][3] Such foods can continue cooking for decades or longer if properly maintained. The concept is often a common element in descriptions ofmedievalinns. Foods prepared in a perpetual stew have been described as being flavourful due to the manner in which the ingredients blend together.[4] Various ingredients can be used in a perpetual stew such asroot vegetables,tubers (potatoes,yams, etc.) and various meats.[3]
Perpetual stews are speculated to have been common inmedieval cuisine, often aspottage orpot-au-feu:
Bread, water or ale, and acompanaticum ('that which goes with the bread') from the cauldron, the original stockpot or pot-au-feu that provided an ever-changing broth enriched daily with whatever was available. The cauldron was rarely emptied out except in preparation for the meatless weeks ofLent, so that while ahare, hen or pigeon would give it a fine, meaty flavour, the taste ofsalted pork orcabbage would linger for days, even weeks.
A batch of pot-au-feu was claimed by one writer to be maintained as a perpetual stew inPerpignan from the 15th century untilWorld War II, when it ran out of ingredients to keep the stew going due to theGerman occupation.[5]
Some medieval historians have, however, cast doubt on the historicity of the idea. Historian Jenni Lares from theUniversity of Tampere notes that no medieval sources support its existence and argues that it was not a particularly probable dish. Although leftovers were used, surplus food was likely prepared regularly only during festive seasons. For the stew to remain edible, the pot would have had to be boiled constantly, which was not feasible in the Middle Ages. Fires in residential buildings were typically lit only during the day, and they were banned at night in cities due to the risk of fire spreading. Collectingfirewood was also time- and labor-intensive, making it unlikely that so much would have been used on a single stew. Furthermore,Catholic doctrine forbade the eating of meat on one or more days weekly, as well as duringLent. OnGood Friday, cooking or even lighting a fire was forbidden.[6]
The tradition of perpetual stew remains prevalent in South and East Asian countries. Notable examples include beef and goat noodle soup served by Wattana Panich inBangkok, Thailand, which has been cooking for over51 years as of 2025[update],[7][8] andoden broth from Otafuku inAsakusa, Japan, which has served the same broth daily since 1945.[9]
Between August 2014 and April 2015 a restaurant in New York City, United States, served amaster stock in the style of a perpetual stew for over eight months.[10]
In July 2023 a "Perpetual Stew Club" organised by the social media personalityAnnie Rauwerda held weekly gatherings in New York City to consume perpetual stew. Hundreds attended the event and brought their own ingredients to contribute to the stew.[11][12][13] The stew lasted for 60 days.[14]
