How To Braise + Stew

Despite their warm climates, soups and stews feature prominently in island cuisines. This cooking technique is a critical way to stretch ingredients and is exceedingly adaptable, lending itself to different vessels and heat sources—from cast-iron pots set over open fires to Dutch ovens on a conventional stove. It’s a way to use up bits of ingredients that on their own wouldn’t make a meal. And because you can taste and adjust as it cooks, each individual cook can put their stamp on their dish. Above all other techniques, braises and stews define island cooking.