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Comfort food

Comfort food is food that provides the eater a nostalgic or sentimental value and may be characterized by its satisfying heartiness and association with childhood or home cooking. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual or it may apply to a specific culture.

Definition and history

The term comfort food can be traced back at least to 1615, where in the beginning of the second part of Don Quixote, at the beginning of chapter one, Quixote's niece and her nurse (governess, housekeeper?, "ama") are told to pamper him, "to give him things to eat which are comforting and appropriate for the heart and the brain... ." Others trace it back to 1966, when the Palm Beach Post used it in a story: "Adults, when under severe emotional stress, turn to what could be called 'comfort food'—food associated with the security of childhood, like mother's poached egg or famous chicken soup." According to research by April White at JSTOR, it might have been Liza Minnelli who used the term for the first time in its modern meaning in an interview, admitting to craving a hamburger.

When the term first appeared, newspapers used it in quotation marks. In the 1970s, the most popular comfort food in the United States were various potato dishes and chicken soup, but even at the time, the definition varied from person to person. During the next decades, the nature of comfort food changed in the US, shifting from savory dishes to sweet ones, while comfort food themed cookbooks started to spread and restaurants started to offer items labelled as such, when originally the term was used for food items consumed "home alone". Worldwide diet trends emerging in the 1990s, like the low fat or the low-carb diet, were unable to end the cravings for comfort food. According to White, the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the world in 2020 further strengthened people's need for comfort food that evokes nostalgia and the feeling of belonging.

Psychological studies

Consuming energy-dense, high calorie, high fat, salt or sugar foods, such as ice cream or french fries, may trigger the reward system in the human brain, which gives a distinctive pleasure or temporary sense of emotional elevation and relaxation. These feelings can also be induced by psychoactive ingredients found in other foods, such as coffee and chocolate. When psychological conditions are present, people often use comfort food to treat themselves. Those with negative emotions tend to eat unhealthy food in an effort to experience the instant gratification that comes with it, even if only short-lived.

One study divided college-students' comfort-food identifications into four categories (nostalgic foods, indulgence foods, convenience foods, and physical comfort foods) with a special emphasis on the deliberate selection of particular foods to modify mood or affect, and indications that the medical-therapeutic use of particular foods may ultimately be a matter of mood-alteration.

The identification of particular items as comfort food may be idiosyncratic, though patterns are detectable. In one study of American preferences, "males preferred warm, hearty, meal-related comfort foods (such as steak, casseroles, and soup) while females instead preferred comfort foods that were more snack related (such as chocolate and ice cream). In addition, younger people preferred more snack-related comfort foods compared to those over 55 years of age." The study also revealed strong connections between consumption of comfort foods and feelings of guilt.

Comfort food consumption is seen as a response to emotional stress and, consequently, as a key contributor to the epidemic of obesity in the United States. The provocation of specific hormonal responses leading selectively to increases in abdominal fat is seen as a form of self-medication.

Further studies suggest that consumption of comfort food is triggered in men by positive emotions, and by negative ones in women. The stress effect is particularly pronounced among college-aged women, with only 33% reporting healthy eating choices during times of emotional stress. For women specifically, these psychological patterns may be maladaptive.

A therapeutic use of these findings includes offering comfort foods or "happy hour" beverages to anorectic geriatric patients whose health and quality of life otherwise decreases with reduced oral intake.

Comfort foods provide emotional nutrition in the form of familiar tastes and a sense of security in stressful situations, but when taken in large quantities these foods become addictive and impair a person from engaging in new experiences or meeting challenges head-on. A reliance on comfort foods can stifle growth and transition, since the comfort foods are overused during times of transition and distress. The foods that people over-consume during stress periods leads to a state of emotional inertia where people may become resistant to necessary change or adaptation. This reliance on experience rather than interaction with present or upcoming situations eventually stifles the ability to thrive in fluid situations and inhibits the potential for personal growth.

By region

A partial list by region of comfort foods around the world.

Afghanistan

Comfort foods in Afghanistan are:

  • Aushak – stuffed dumplings and sauce
  • Bolani – filled flatbread
  • Borani Banjan or Borani-e-Banjan – baked eggplant with yogurt sauce
  • Borani Kadoo or Borani-e-Kado – sweet and savory braised pumpkin with yogurt sauce
  • Chainaki – lamb stew, traditionally served in a bowl lined with naan, and cooked in a clay vessel known as a chainak
  • Chalaw or Challow – steamed rice with spices
  • Kabuli palaw or Qabuli Pulao – steamed rice with raisins, carrots, and lamb
  • Karahai – meat cooked in a traditional karahi pot
  • Kebab – grilled skewered meat
  • Korma Gosht or Qorma-e-Gosht – braised meat
  • Mantu – meat-stuffed dumpling
  • Naan – flatbread
  • Sabzi Palu – spinach (sabzi) with spices
  • Sher Berinj – rice pudding

Australia, New Zealand and South Africa

Comfort foods in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa may include:

Austria

Austrian (and especially Viennese) comfort foods may include the following foods:

Brazil

Canada

Egypt

  • Basbousa – sweet unleavened cake
  • Falafel – fried bean ball
  • Fatteh – meat soup on cooked rice with crisp flatbread with garlic sauce
  • Ful medames – bean stew
  • Hawawshi – pita bread stuffed with flavored meat
  • Kushari – casserole of rice, macaroni, and vegetables
  • Macarona béchamel – baked pasta dish with ground meat and béchamel sauce
  • Sahlab – winter beverage from Orchis flour
  • Mulukhiyah – soup or stew made with jute mallow leaves
  • Om Ali – Pastry mixed with milk, nuts and sometimes coconut flakes topped with cream or butter and baked

France

Germany

German comfort foods may include the following foods:

Greece

  • Gemista – stuffed vegetables
  • Gyros – sliced rotisserie meat wrapped in flatbread
  • Keftedakia – meatballs
  • Koulourakia – butter cookies
  • Moussaka – baked eggplant or potato dish
  • Pastitsio – baked pasta dish with minced meat and béchamel sauce
  • Dolmadakia – stuffed leaves
  • Souvlaki – meat on a skewer

Hong Kong

Hungary

India

India's cuisine is diverse. Some Indian comfort foods – regional and subcontinent-wide – are listed below.

  • Biryani – mutton, chicken, beef or lamb
  • Chaat – savoury snacks
  • Curd rice – rice mixed with yogurt
  • Curry
  • Cutlet – deep-fried fritter of meat or vegetables
  • Dal chawal – spiced lentils and rice, particularly in North India
  • Fish fry
  • Kachori – spicy stuffed pastry from Rajasthan
  • Kadhi chawal – curd curry with rice
  • Kati roll – meat wrapped in flatbread, street food from West Bengal
  • Maach-bhaat – fish with rice, from Bengal
  • Momo – steamed filled dumpling
  • Sambar – lentil-based vegetable stew
  • Samosa – triangular pastry with a savory filling
  • Puri – fried flatbread
  • Masala Dosa – rice crepes, with or without a filling of potatoes and onion
  • Khichdi – stew made with rice and legumes (lentils, mung beans)
  • Pav bhaji – curry served with buttered buns
  • Radhaballavi – deep-fried flatbread with a filling
  • Rajma chawal – rice with beans
  • Rasam and Curd rice – particularly in South India
  • Vada pav – potato dumpling inside a bread bun, especially in Maharashtra

Indonesia

Some popular Indonesian foods are considered to be comfort food, usually served hot or warm, and either soupy or with a soft texture. Most of them are high in carbs or fat, such as congee, fried rice, and noodles which are high in carbs; while meatballs and grilled skewered meats contain fair amounts of fat and salt. Comfort foods often are the kind of food that provides nostalgic sentiments, as they often called masakan rumahan (home cooking) or masakan ibu (mother's dishes). In Indonesia, the warm and soft texture of bubur ayam is believed to help people to recover during convalescence. Sayur sop or sup ayam is Indonesian chicken soup that often sought during flu. The warm soup contains chunk of chicken, bits of potato, carrot, and common green bean served in chicken stock.

Some are traditional Indonesian food and some are derived from Chinese influences. Indonesian comfort foods include:

  • Bakmi or mie ayam – noodles (mi) with pork (bak) or chicken (ayam)
  • Bakso – meatball soup
  • Bubur ayam – chicken congee
  • Gado-gado – salad containing vegetables, tempeh and egg in peanut sauce
  • Mie goreng – fried noodle; for some Indonesians, especially those who are abroad, this may include a favourite brand or type of Indonesian instant noodles such as Indomie's "Mi goreng" line
  • Nasi goreng – fried rice
  • Nasi tim – steamed chicken rice
  • Sayur sop or sup ayam – Indonesian chicken and vegetables soup
  • Sate – skewered barbecue with peanut sauce
  • Soto ayam – spicy chicken soup

Ireland

Irish comfort food can include:

Italy

Japan

In Japan, there is an expression called "Taste of Mom()".

  • Curry Rice/Kare Raisu – Stewed vegetables - most commonly potato, onion, and carrot - in a mild curry sauce, sometimes with meat
  • Chazuke/ochazuke – rice with green tea
  • Miso soup – soybean-flavored clear soup
  • Mochi – rice cake
  • Onigiri – rice ball
  • Ramen – soup with thin noodles
  • Takoyaki – octopus balls
  • Tempura – battered, deep-fried pieces of meat or vegetables
  • Udon – soup with thick noodles

Lithuania

Philippines

  • Adobo – A salt and vinegar marinated meat stew, with a large amount of local and regional variations.
  • Arroz Caldo / Lugaw – A thick, savory rice porridge, often served as breakfast, on rainy days, or when sick.
  • Batchoy – A noodle soup with a variety of meats.
  • Filipino spaghetti - Sweet and savory spaghetti
  • Ginataan – A coconut cream-based dessert soup with candied banana, sticky rice balls, sagó (tapioca balls), taro, and langkâ (jackfruit).
  • Bulalo – A beef bone marrow soup.
  • Champorado – Chocolate rice porridge, sometimes served savory (as with tuyô)
  • Dinuguan - A pork blood and offal stew.
  • Halo-halo – A cold, crushed ice dessert dish of mixed sweets in fruits, with milk and topped with ice cream and leche flan.
  • Kare-kare – A stew of ox tripe and oxtail in a peanut sauce. It is regarded as a local variant of Indian curry.
  • Lumpia – Fried or fresh spring rolls with vegetable or meat filling.
  • Lomi – A hot noodle soup with distinctly thick egg noodles.
  • Pancit – A class of noodles, almost always fried or stir-fried, and often served during birthday celebrations.
  • Puto – Steamed rice cakes
  • Sinampalukan - Sour, tamarind-based chicken soup
  • Sinigang – A classification of sour soups with different configurations of meats, vegetables, and souring agents.
  • Sopas - A creamy soup (usually made with chicken) with elbow macaroni.
  • Suman – Another type of glutinous rice cake
  • Tsokolate – Hot chocolate drink made with cacao, served with or without milk.

Poland

Some Polish comfort food include:

Portugal

Puerto Rico

Some Puerto Rican comfort foods include:

  • Arroz con gandules – rice with pigeon peas
  • Arroz con pollo – rice with chicken
  • Bistec encebollado – steak and onions
  • Carne Guisada – stewed beef
  • Carne mechada – Puerto Rican style meatloaf
  • Churrasco – grilled flank or skirt steak
  • Cuchifritos and Fritanga – assortments of fried appetizers (alcapurrias, bacalaitos, pastelitos/pastelillos, piononos, sorullos/sorullitos)
  • Habichuelas guisadas con calabaza – beans stewed with pumpkin
  • Lechón asado – roast pork
  • Mixta – white rice, stewed beans with pumpkin and stewed meat with potatoes and carrots
  • Mofongo and trifongo – fried mashed green plantains
  • Mofongo relleno de mariscos, carne o pollo – Fried mashed green plantains stuffed with seafood, meat or chicken
  • Pasteles – Puerto Rican tamales
  • Pastelón de plátano maduro – ripe banana casserole with ground beef and cheddar cheese
  • Pinchos – Puerto Rican skewers
  • Tostones – fried plantain slices

Romania

Romanian comfort foods may include:

Russia

Russian comfort foods may include:

  • Bliny – pancakes or crepes
  • Borscht
  • Dressed herring – layered herring salad
  • Golubtsy – cabbage rolls
  • Kasha – porridge
  • Kotlety – meatballs
  • Kholodets – savory gelatin
  • Kulebyaka - a fish pie
  • Kvass – fermented drink made with bread
  • Napoleon – layered cake with layers of pastry and cream
  • Okroshka – cold vegetable soup
  • Oladyi – small thick pancakes or fritters
  • Olivier salad – mayo, sausage and vegetable salad
  • Pelmeni – meat-filled dumpling
  • Pirozhki – buns with various fillings
  • Rassolnik – soup with pickles
  • Shashlik – skewered and grilled cubes of meat
  • Shchi – predominantly cabbage soup
  • Solyanka – spicy and sour soup
  • Syrniki – cottage cheese pancakes
  • Ukha – fish-based clear soup
  • Vareniki – filled dumplings (see pierogi for Poland)
  • Vinegret – a salad made of diced vegetables, normally sour
  • Zakuski – an array of dishes to supplement main courses

<big>Singapore</big>

  • Kaya toast—toast with sweet coconut jam and cold butter, commonly served with coffee and soft-boiled eggs
  • Milo—chocolate flavoured malt drink
  • Hainanese chicken rice
  • Bak kut teh—pork ribs dish cooked in broth

South Korea

Spain

Switzerland

Traditional Swiss cuisine is characterized by its simplicity and extensive use of dairy products like cheese, cream and butter. Fruits (often apple compote) are also used in many (main) dishes, notably Älplermagronen and Maluns.

  • Älplermagronen – pasta, potatoes, cream, cheese, and onions
  • Capuns – stuffed leaves
  • Cholera – filled pastry
  • Fondue – melted cheese sauce for dipping
  • Maluns – potato pieces slow-fried in butter
  • Pizzoccheri – buckwheat-and-wheat pasta with cheese
  • Raclette – melted cheese
  • Rösti – grated potato pancake with various accompaniments
  • Wähe – pastry shell with custard and various ingredients

Taiwan

Turkey

Some Turkish comfort foods are:

Ukraine

Ukrainian comfort foods include, but aren't limitied to:

  • Borscht — beetroots soup, also there are few variants:
  • Green borscht
  • White borscht
  • Cabbage borscht
  • Deruny — potato pancakes with sour cream
  • Holubtsi — small, medium or large rolls with prepared rice
  • Cabbage roll
  • Grape leaves roll
  • Kasha — kind of porridge
  • Kolach — sweet, round shaped pastry
  • Mlynci — pancakes.
  • Nalysnyky — pancakes with fillings
  • Pampushky — small savory or sweet yeast-raised bun
  • Pyrizhky — baked or fried small donuts with different (mostly fruits or meat) fillings. (Not to be confused with Polish PiErogi or Russian PirogI)
  • Syrnyky — fried quark pancakes, garnished with sour cream
  • Varennia — jam
  • Varenyky — Filled dumplings cooked at boiling water
  • Vinegret — Beans and potato salad colored with beetroots

United Kingdom

United Kingdom comfort foods include:

United States

American comfort foods may include the following foods:

See also

References

Further reading

External links