We use jars.
Stew pots stay cooking for weeks.
That eye of newt keeps staring at me 🤨
When I make stew for myself, I do use plastic tubs. Two ladles in each tub and freeze 'em.
But it’s rare I make an entire stew just for myself. :)
I think they did this in the 80s.
Shakespeare witches probably had barrels, which apparently are air tight and seal better than crates.
Possibly metal barrels could be air tight, but even a master cooper wouldn’t be able to make a wooden one that good. The wood itself is slightly permeable. When making eg. whiskies, the fraction of the alcohol that soaks through the wood and evaporates is known as the “angel’s share”. Makes distilleries smell amazing, of course, but all the barrels would be wooden in Shakespeare’s day.