Is Perpetual Stew Safe To Eat? Would You Try a Medieval Staple That Has Been Cooked For Years?

Food safety guidelines remind us to throw away leftover foods after 3 to 4 days even if they are kept in the refrigerator. Beyond this period, the risk of food poisoning goes up.

Forever Soup

A kind of dish, known as perpetual stew, used to be famous during the Medieval times, but has been gaining popularity recently. Also known as "hunter's pot", the idea of perpetual stew refers to the practice of keeping a pot of soup that slowly simmers at all times. Ingredients such as meats, vegetables, and liquids are replenished, but not tossed, as the pot gets low. Perpetual stew is even described as a pot into which whatever foodstuffs one can find is placed and cooked.

In making perpetual stew, the pot is never or rarely emptied all the way, but the ingredients and liquids are replenished as necessary. If properly maintained, such foods can continue cooking for decades or longer.

During the Medieval times, this practice worked mainly because inns and pubs had to have some kind of warm and filling dish which could accommodate crowds at any time of the day. This can only be made possible by having a cauldron that constantly bubbles with whatever was in season.

In our modern times, we have become used to the idea of restaurants with a set of menu and choices. However, a thousand years ago, food offered at the inn was mainly based on what the innkeeper had. These kinds of stews are even described as incredibly flavorful, since they simmer perpetually, with each new addition mixing with older flavors.

Is perpetual stew safe?

Historically, perpetual stew is considered safe. Generally, the pots are almost fully depleted by the end of a cycle, so only some of the broth base is left to start another batch. The leftover soup then helps flavor the next pot.

In 1981, a New York Times article talked about a French beef stew which has been cooking for 21 years. Writer Arthur Prager recommends refrigerating the soup overnight if unfinished. Then the fat on the top must be skimmed off since this is where bacteria tends to build up. The soup can then be simmered again for at least 20 minutes before being served again. While it is recommended to discard leftover veggies and meat after two rounds of reheating, the broth will never spoil.

The article also mentioned a "pot-au-feu" in Normandy which had been burning for 300 years. There was also another one in Perpignan which began in the 1400s, but did not survive World War II.

In modern times, perpetual stew is still served despite some of the skepticisms regarding their safety. In Thailand, for example, a restaurant known as Wattana Panich serves beef noodle soup which has been preserved and cooked for 45 years. For four and a half decades, the broth of their soup has never been thrown away after a day's cooking. Instead, the broth is kept overnight and then used to cook the next day's soup.

According to the US Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service, bacteria grow rapidly between the temperatures of 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The agency also recommends leftovers can be reheated as long as the food reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. This means that for perpetual stew, nothing bad can grow as long as the soup is maintained at 200 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature required for a steady simmer.