Perpetual stews trace their history back to medieval times. Photo: Edward Howell / Unsplash
Perpetual stews trace their history back to medieval times. Photo: Edward Howell / Unsplash
Perpetual stews trace their history back to medieval times. Photo: Edward Howell / Unsplash
Perpetual stews trace their history back to medieval times. Photo: Edward Howell / Unsplash

Would you (and should you) eat 40-day-old perpetual stew?


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It started as potato leek soup. Now, after 40 days of cooking and experimentation, it has become a “perpetual stew” that people are queuing up to sample in Brooklyn, New York.

Created by social media influencer Annie Rauwerda, who embarked on her stewing journey on June 7, the concoction has had multiple ingredient additions, refills and a handful of “stew parties”. It now tastes different every day.

Rauwerda took the idea from a Wikipedia page on perpetual stew – a pot into which "whatever foodstuffs one can find" are placed.

It adds: "The pot is never or rarely emptied all the way, and ingredients and liquid are replenished as necessary.”

Rauwerda also runs the Instagram page Depths of Wikipedia, where she highlights quirky finds.

The Brooklyn resident documents the stew's journey with daily vlogs. To keep the dish flowing, Rauwerda initially invited friends to add ingredients to it via “stew soirees”, where they put in more potatoes, celery, carrots, bean sprouts, rice, garlic and onions.

One day, dill was added in and “boy, was that a mistake”, Rauwerda posted. On June 15, she took the Crack-Pot concoction, as it's now dubbed, to the public, and started inviting strangers to drop by with anything they wanted to add to the stew.

Dozens of Brooklyn residents have since shown up bringing all types of vegetables, from mushrooms to sweet potatoes and beetroot. In return, they are handed bowls or cups of the mixture.

“It’s not just a perpetual stew now, it’s a viral perpetual stew,” Rauwerda told The Washington Post, as her soup gatherings have become something of a community event. One testimonial featured on her dedicated stew website reads: “Amazing stew, amazing friendships."

There are sceptics, of course, who deliberate on the safety and hygiene aspects of consuming the weeks-old broth.

Although the taste “completely depends on the day”, Rauwerda says, the stew “should be safe”.

“We keep it cooking at boiling temperature at all times and we also cycle [eat] the stew throughout the week, so ingredients aren't in there for too long," she says.

Rauwerda, who is not a trained chef, also points out the safe-to-eat Thai beef noodle broth that has been simmered for half a century in Bangkok's Wattana Panich restaurant. A perpetual stew is also similar to the Chinese master stock, a broth repeatedly used to prepare other dishes.

The content creator plans to end the stew-making on August 6, but says she can't predict what the soup is going to evolve into by then.

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6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m

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8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m

9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m

 

The National selections

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7.40pm Equilateral

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Infobox

Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman

The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August

Results

UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets

Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets

Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets

Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs

Monday fixtures

UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain

AndhaDhun

Director: Sriram Raghavan

Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan

Rating: 3.5/5

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo

Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic

Power: 242bhp

Torque: 370Nm

Price: Dh136,814

Race%20card
%3Cp%3E6pm%3A%20Al%20Maktoum%20Challenge%20Round%201%20%E2%80%93%20Group%201%20(PA)%20%2450%2C000%20(Dirt)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E6.35pm%3A%20Dubai%20Racing%20Club%20Classic%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20%24100%2C000%20(D)%202%2C410m%3Cbr%3E7.10pm%3A%20Dubawi%20Stakes%20%E2%80%93%20Group%203%20(TB)%20%24150%2C000%20(D)%201%2C200m%3Cbr%3E7.45pm%3A%20Jumeirah%20Classic%20Trial%20%E2%80%93%20Conditions%20(TB)%20%24150%2C000%20(Turf)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E8.20pm%3A%20Al%20Maktoum%20Challenge%20Round%201%20%E2%80%93%20Group%202%20(TB)%20%24250%2C000%20(D)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E8.55pm%3A%20Al%20Fahidi%20Fort%20%E2%80%93%20Group%202%20(TB)%20%24180%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E9.30pm%3A%20Ertijaal%20Dubai%20Dash%20%E2%80%93%20Listed%20(TB)%20%24100%2C000%20(T)%201%2C000m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results

6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,400m. Winner: Rio Angie, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).

7.05pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 1,600m. Winner: Trenchard, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

7.40pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m. Winner: Mulfit, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

8.15pm: Handicap Dh210,000 (D) 1,200m. Winner: Waady, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.

8.50pm: Handicap Dh210,000 (D) 2,000m. Winner: Tried And True, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

9.25pm:Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m. Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29

Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face

The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.

The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran. 

Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf. 

"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said. 

Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer. 

The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy. 

 

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PRESIDENTS CUP

Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:

02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland

Updated: July 18, 2023, 3:57 PM`