فارسیOne of the main reasons a stew becomes thick and glossy (well-set) is the meat.
Meat contains a lot of collagen. When it cooks slowly over gentle heat (around 70–90°C / 158–194°F) for a long time, the collagen gradually turns into gelatin. Gelatin has a slippery and sticky property; when it dissolves in water, it makes the stew thick and beautifully glossy. However, if the heat is too high, this process doesn’t happen properly and the meat just becomes tough. So one of the most common mistakes when cooking stew is using high heat.