Dumb question

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What is the difference between a soup and a stew? Is it the potatoes? And what about a chowder? It's a soup but it has potatoes? :confused:

Well i make a ace potato soup, so now im even more confused LOLI think a soup is generally thinner, whereas a stew is thick gravy with veggies and meat etc.........tho saying that broth has veggie and meat, but its not so much a gravy thing............hmmmmmm..............sooo not helping LOL

I's say tha main difference is the broth.soup is usually a thin, clear stockStew tends to me more like a gravyChowder is usually creamythat's my opinion as a certified foodie

i hope you meant stew is GRAVY not gray or else I think you might be making it wrong laffin

See that's why I'm askin'

In reply to: Chowder is usually creamy I thought that too but Manhattan Clam chowder is tamatoie isn't it? See I told you this was a dumb question but get these things in my head and they won't leave willingly until answered. But as a whole your answer sound good.

well, they are not hard deffinitions."stew" as a verb means to cook slowly for a long time. It's the most common way to deal with tougher cuts of meat. But "braising" is very similar, except generally with less liquid.Chowder generally refers to a dish containing fish but corn chowder is also common.Soup, in general, just means a liquid containing several components. Life on earth began in a biological soup.

Stew is slow cooked and has more substance than a soup and like someone already said has tougher cuts of meat.Soups are a bit more on the brothy side and cook faster and things of that nature. There is a gray area were it kind of melds into 1 thing, but that is the general idea.

don't forget bouillabaisse, gumbo and bouillon

I know that is scientifically believed but for me it would still involve spontaneous generation. Life coming from non-life. I just can't get myself to believe it. Sorry if I'm an idiot but I believe in G-D and that he made life. He may have made soup while doing so, but he still had his hand in it.
Please everyone. I don't want to get into a debate about this. You have every right to believe whatever you believe and I'm happy for you I've said I'm an idiot so I don't think we need to argue about it and I don't want to change my mind. Just wanted to share my thoughts on the matter.

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lol... you started it... or did I (or did god)?

Anybody want some stew? I'd like some stew. Unsupervised? You want some stew. I'll pass on the soup there might be people staring in that.;)

Mmmmmm.... Meaty goodness.

I'd love some stew thank!!Mrs X's soup usually resembled dirty dish water and I really was expecting something to sponteniously crawl out

I'm glad you're my freind. You make me laugh.

thank god my family is the meat and potatoes type!! The only stew-chowder whatever type thin I would it is Campbells.. and my grandmas!! Mmmm She makes the most amazing corn chowder

Everyone saying soup has to be all runny while stew is all thick :sBut what about lentil soup? Ya know the thick mushy stuff?

you answered your question. In reply to: But what about lentil soup? There are gray areas. hence cooking can get confusing for people.

Hahah I bet you do

Word meanings tend to shade off rather than cut off sharply. The term "soup" is pretty broad and covers everything from thin and clear to very thick and chunky. A chowder is a kind of soup. A stew is usually thicker than even a thick chunky soup - a stew should be capable of being served on a plate while a soup requires a bowl.