Is Chili a soup or a stew?

[fly girl]

you must be eating some thick-a$$ gumbo. I call it a soup.

With the okra and rice, it’s thick! You can get a hearty spoonful and you really can’t slurp it like a soup. (Not that I slurp soup, but to provide a visual.)

However, I definitely call chowder which is thick a soup.

Guess when it comes to soups, stews, and gravies, I’m an enigma!

 

[ttintagel]

This reminds me of the episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 where Mike and the robots were impersonating Andy Rooney reviewing soup.

"Soup is funny. It's not really a meal, nor is it really a first course. Because it's mostly made of water. I find soup to be the most watery of foods.

Some soups have beans in them, and there are beans that are as watery as soups, but they're not soups. I don't trust soups on the whole, no more than I trust stews.

Well, there are French soups with bread in them. I don't really understand that. To me, it's arbitrary whether you put bread in the soup or soup in the bread, you still have sloppy bread."

 

[Disneychick75]

Maybe because you can get it served in a cup that can be used as an appetizer. Same with Gumbo.

And what about Gumbo? Is that a soup or a stew. I think of it as a stew.

The dictionary calls gumbo a stew. I'd say it's more like a soup. That said, I say gumbo is in a class of its own just as chili is.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

This reminds me of the episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 where Mike and the robots were impersonating Andy Rooney reviewing soup.

"Soup is funny. It's not really a meal, nor is it really a first course. Because it's mostly made of water. I find soup to be the most watery of foods.

Some soups have beans in them, and there are beans that are as watery as soups, but they're not soups. I don't trust soups on the whole, no more than I trust stews.

Well, there are French soups with bread in them. I don't really understand that. To me, it's arbitrary whether you put bread in the soup or soup in the bread, you still have sloppy bread."

What have soups and stews done to you that makes you not trust them?

Other than French Onion soup, what other French soups have bread in them? Sometimes the bread can soak up the soup which can be fun to eat.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

(Not that I slurp soup, but to provide a visual.)

No big deal to slurp. Quite common in Asia.

 

[Disneychick75]

This reminds me of the episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 where Mike and the robots were impersonating Andy Rooney reviewing soup.

"Soup is funny. It's not really a meal, nor is it really a first course. Because it's mostly made of water. I find soup to be the most watery of foods.

Some soups have beans in them, and there are beans that are as watery as soups, but they're not soups. I don't trust soups on the whole, no more than I trust stews.

Well, there are French soups with bread in them. I don't really understand that. To me, it's arbitrary whether you put bread in the soup or soup in the bread, you still have sloppy bread."

Sloppy bread in French onion soup = c'est magnifique!

 

[fly girl]

No big deal to slurp. Quite common in Asia.

Agree. And yes, very common in Japan.

Just not my thing. I don’t like to hear people eating, so I extend that outwards. It’s not a big deal, just don’t like the sound. But I know others love it. Different strokes for different folks!

 

[Lord Manhammer]

Agree. And yes, very common in Japan.

Just not my thing. I don’t like to hear people eating, so I extend that outwards. It’s not a big deal, just don’t like the sound. But I know others love it. Different strokes for different folks!

Um, you know people who love the sound of others eating?? Like, as in a asmr thing? Or a fetish?

 

[fly girl]

Um, you know people who love the sound of others eating?? Like, as in a asmr thing? Or a fetish?

Omg, lol, ASMR! That’s what I was referring to.

But I’m sure there’s someone out there …

 

[gmi3804]

What have soups and stews done to you that makes you not trust them?

Other than French Onion soup, what other French soups have bread in them? Sometimes the bread can soak up the soup which can be fun to eat.

If we want to get pedantic, French Onion Soup doesn't have bread at all. Soupe A L'Oignon Gratinee does. Another dish that has been bastardized by the American culture of More Everything.

 

[Mysterian]

If you freeze chili in a small cup, is it a popsicle?

If you put it between two slices of bread, does Chili become a Manwich? Trick question: it becomes dinner.

Is the People's Elbow just called an Elbow in Communist countries?

 

[gmi3804]

If you freeze chili in a small cup, is it a popsicle?

If you put it between two slices of bread, does Chili become a Manwich? Trick question: it becomes dinner.

Is the People's Elbow just called an Elbow in Communist countries?

If walnut oil is made from walnuts and olive oil is made from olives, then what is baby oil made from?

 

[tzolkin]

Ah, but they don't end up with a broth.

I'm confused. Every beef stew I have ever eaten has some type of broth remaining when ready to eat.

Skyline (or Cincinnati) chile is actually a stew that's used as a sauce, most often served atop noodles.

I think this is part of the reason why I consider chili a separate category from soup or stew. We were poor and always ate chili over rice (other people I knew ate it with noodles or other filler items). It wasn't until I was an older teen that I found out that most people just ate a whole big bowl of straight chili-- what extravagance.

I have had similar thoughts when trying to categorize recipes like curries or dal. I tend to think of things like that as more of a gravy dish than a stew or soup.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I'm confused. Every beef stew I have ever eaten has some type of broth remaining when ready to eat.

I always considered that to be more of a gravy because if you do a beef stew correctly it's thick. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[LuvOrlando]

OP this is very perplexing, like food Rubix Cube and now I am thinking of all the other wayward foods.
Chili is just chili, but if I need to pick one then Sloppy Joe goes with it because a Sloppy Joe is pretty close so where would I put it... oh the puzzlement!
Why does it need a category? Fluff has no category and yet it is

 

[Micca]

Chili is just chili, but if I need to pick one then Sloppy Joe goes with it because a Sloppy Joe is pretty close so where would I put it.

Sloppy Joe is a sandwich filling--Chili is chili

 

[MrsPete]

I don't really think of it as either, but more it's own thing.

It's neither. It's chili. You can have many kinds of chili just like you can have many kinds of stews and soups.

It's neither - it's chili, its own category.

This is the right answer. Chili is neither soup nor stew -- it's chili.
It's thicker and more meaty than soup or stew. It's its own category.

 

[tzolkin]

I always considered that to be more of a gravy because if you do a beef stew correctly it's thick. Maybe I'm wrong.

I don't think you're wrong. I think it's likely just regional differences in how things are prepared.

This is the type of beef stew I'm used to seeing. Definitely broth, not a thick gravy.


Another regional soup/stew difference that I was surprised by when I moved to North Carolina is chicken stew-- no vegetables and gets super thick when the crackers absorb all the broth.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

OP this is very perplexing, like food Rubix Cube and now I am thinking of all the other wayward foods.
Chili is just chili, but if I need to pick one then Sloppy Joe goes with it because a Sloppy Joe is pretty close so where would I put it... oh the puzzlement!
Why does it need a category? Fluff has no category and yet it is

Doesn't all food need a category? Maybe that's just how my brain works. Fluff? As in marshmallow fluff? I believe that would be considered a confection.

 

[gmi3804]

Doesn't all food need a category? Maybe that's just how my brain works.

You should ask the OP.