There are many methods to distinguish a soup from a stew—the ratio of liquid to components, for instance, or the scale to which mentioned components are reduce. However let’s put technical elements apart for a second, and take a barely much less tangible strategy: For starters, soup invitations you to slip into a light-weight cardigan and discover consolation on the eating room desk, whereas stew prefers you slip into your most obnoxiously thick knitwear—a turtleneck so chunky you’ll be able to barely see excessive, for instance—and settle in subsequent to a roaring fireplace. If soup suggests you get on together with your day, stew desires you to lick your bowl clear of its long-simmered sauce, then (please) take that nap you have been dreaming about for weeks.

Whether or not meaty or vegan, advanced or as humble as might be, stews provide a form of excessive consolation that few different dishes can. Listed below are 17 of our favorites, every value digging out your beefiest turtleneck for.