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Comfort food

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For the Noah Ashenhurst novel, see Comfort Food (novel).
Chicken soup is a common classic comfort food that is found across various cultures.

Comfort food is food which provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to the consumer,[1] and is often characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, and simple preparation.[2] The nostalgia may be specific to either the individual or a specific culture.[3]

Definition

The term comfort food has been traced back at least 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."[4] They are believed to be a great coping mechanism for rapidly soothing negative feelings.

Psychological studies

Comfort foods may be consumed to positively pique emotions, to relieve negative psychological effects or to increase positive feelings.[5]

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 effect, and indications that the medical-therapeutic use of particular foods may ultimately be a matter of mood-alteration.[6]

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.[7] An article, "The Myth of Comfort Food" revealed that men tend to choose these types of savory comfort foods because they remind them of being "pampered" or spoiled. While women choose snack-related foods because they are associated with low amounts of work and less "clean up." It also showed that women are more likely to reach for unhealthier foods in times of stress due to more weight-conscious mindsets.

Comfort food consumption has been seen as a response to emotional stress and, consequently, as a key contributor to the epidemic of obesity in the United States.[8] The provocation of specific hormonal responses leading selectively to increases in abdominal fat is seen as a form of self-medication.[9]

Further studies suggest that consumption of comfort food is triggered in men by positive emotions, and by negative ones in women.[10] The stress effect is particularly pronounced among college-aged women, with only 33% reporting healthy eating choices during times of emotional stress.[11] For women specifically, these psychological patterns may be maladaptive.[12]

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.[13]

There is also evidence that the soothing properties of comfort food is false. According to one study, the relationship between comfort and foods likely does not exist, because as humans we are resilient regardless. Nonetheless the feelings experienced are valid.

By country

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

Australia and New Zealand

Main articles: Australian cuisine and New Zealand cuisine

Comfort foods in Australia and New Zealand may include:[14][15]

Britain

Main article: British cuisine
Bangers and mash is a British comfort food.[17]

British comfort foods include the following foods:[18][19][20][21]

Canada

France

Main article: French cuisine
A madeleine

A madeleine de Proust is a French expression specifically referring to Marcel Proust's description of comfort food in In Search of Lost Time.

India

Main article: Indian cuisine

Indonesia

Main article: Indonesian cuisine
Bubur ayam (chicken congee) is an Indonesian comfort food.

Some popular Indonesian foods are considered to be comfort food, usually served hot or warm, and soupy or with a soft texture. 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.[23] Some Indonesian comfort foods are traditional Indonesian food and some are derived from Chinese influences. For some Indonesians, especially those who are abroad, comfort food might also be a certain brand or type of Indonesian instant noodle, such as Indomie Mi goreng.[24] Indonesian comfort foods include:

Italy

Pakistan

Main article: Pakistani cuisine

Philippines

Poland

Main article: Polish cuisine

Some Polish comfort food include:

  • Barszcz z uszkami (clear beetroot soup with forest mushrooms tortellini)
  • Boczek (smoked pork belly)
  • Bigos (hunters stew)
  • Budyń waniliowy z malinami (vanilla pudding with raspberries)
  • Kotlet schabowy (pork schnitzel)
  • Flaki (tripe)
  • Golonka
  • Gulasz (goulash)
  • Zupa grzybowa (mushroom soup)
  • Jagody ze śmietaną (blueberries with cream)
  • Kapuśniak (sauerkraut soup)
  • Kopytka (Polish gnocchi)
  • Łazanki
  • Makaron ze śmietaną i truskawkami (pasta with cream and strawberries)
  • Mielone z ziemniakami i mizerią (pork burgers with mashed potato and fresh cucumbers sour cream salad)
  • Naleśniki z twarogiem (pancakes with milk curd)
  • Zupa ogórkowa (cucumber soup)
  • Pierogi [33][34][35]
  • Placki ziemniaczane (potato pancakes)
  • Rosół (chicken soup with fine noodles)
  • Sernik (baked cheesecake)
  • Śledź w oleju (pickled herring)
  • Zupa pomidorowa (clear tomato soup with rice or noodles)
  • Zupa szczawiowa (sorrel soup served with boiled egg)
  • Żurek (sour rye soup)

Puerto Rico

Some Puerto Rican comfort foods include:[36][37][38][39]

  • Arroz blanco con habichuelas guisadas con calabaza, bistec encebollado y papas fritas – White rice with stewed beans with pumpkin, onions steak and fries
  • Arroz con gandules – Rice with pigeon peas
  • Carne frita con tostones – Fried pork with fried plantains
  • Carne mechada –Puerto Rican style meatloaf
  • Cuchifritos – Fritanga: Assortment of fried appetizers: Alcapurrias, bacalaitos, piononos, sorrullos
  • Lechón asado – roast pork
  • Mixta – White rice, stewed beans with pumpkin and stewed meat with potatoes and carrots
  • Mofongo –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
  • Sancocho – Popular stew broth, very succulent made from different ingredients; it may contain, among others, beef, pork, tubers, vegetables and herbs.
  • Sopón – rice soup with chicken or shrimp
  • Tripleta – Criollo bread sandwich, ham, steak and chicken, mayonnaise, ketchup and tomato salad and cabbage

Russia and Ukraine

Solyanka
Main articles: Russian cuisine and Ukrainian cuisine

Russian and Ukrainian comfort foods may include but are not limited to:

Taiwan

Dan zai noodles
Main article: Taiwanese cuisine

Turkey

Mantı
Main article: Turkish cuisine

In Turkish, comfort food is closest in meaning to the term Turkish: Anne yemeği, "mother's dish", especially in terms of providing a nostalgic feeling, or Turkish: Ev yemeği, "home dish". Some of Turkish comfort foods are:

United States

Macaroni and cheese is an American comfort food.[46]

American comfort foods may include the following foods:

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Comfort food.
  1. ^ "Comfort Food." (definition). Merriam-webster.com. Accessed July 2011.
  2. ^ "Comfort food". WordNet 3.1. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  3. ^ Rufus, Anneli (June 23, 2011). "How comfort foods work like Prozac". Gilt Taste. Retrieved 8 April 2015. (archived at WebCite)
  4. ^ Romm, Cari (3 April 2015). "Why Comfort Food Comforts". The Atlantic. Retrieved 21 July 2015. 'The phrase "comfort food" has been around at least as early as 1966, when the Palm Beach Post used it in a story on obesity: "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"'
  5. ^ Wansink, Brian; Sangerman, Cynthia (July 2000). "Engineering comfort foods". American Demographics: 66–7.
  6. ^ Locher, Julie L.; Yoels, William C.; Maurer, Donna; Van Ells, Jillian (2005). "Comfort Foods: An Exploratory Journey into the Social and Emotional Significance of Food". Food and Foodways. 13 (4): 273–97. doi:10.1080/07409710500334509.
  7. ^ Wansink, B; Cheney, M; Chan, N (2003). "Exploring comfort food preferences across age and gender". Physiology & Behavior. 79 (4–5): 739–47. doi:10.1016/S0031-9384(03)00203-8. PMID 12954417.
  8. ^ Dallman, Mary F.; Pecoraro, Norman; Akana, Susan F.; La Fleur, Susanne E.; Gomez, Francisca; Houshyar, Hani; Bell, M. E.; Bhatnagar, Seema; Laugero, Kevin D.; Manalo, Sotara (2003). "Chronic stress and obesity: A new view of 'comfort food'". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 100 (20): 11696–701. doi:10.1073/pnas.1934666100. JSTOR 3147854. PMC 208820. PMID 12975524.
  9. ^ Dallman, Mary F.; Pecoraro, Norman C.; La Fleur, Susanne E. (2005). "Chronic stress and comfort foods: Self-medication and abdominal obesity". Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 19 (4): 275–80. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2004.11.004. PMID 15944067.
  10. ^ Dube, L; Lebel, J; Lu, J (2005). "Affect asymmetry and comfort food consumption". Physiology & Behavior. 86 (4): 559–67. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.08.023. PMID 16209880.
  11. ^ Kandiah, Jayanthi; Yake, Melissa; Jones, James; Meyer, Michaela (2006). "Stress influences appetite and comfort food preferences in college women". Nutrition Research. 26 (3): 118–23. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2005.11.010.
  12. ^ Lebel, J; Lu, J; Dube, L (2008). "Weakened biological signals: Highly-developed eating schemas amongst women are associated with maladaptive patterns of comfort food consumption". Physiology & Behavior. 94 (3): 384–92. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.02.005. PMID 18325547.
  13. ^ Wood, Paulette; Vogen, Barbra D (1998). "Feeding the anorectic client: Comfort foods and happy hour". Geriatric Nursing. 19 (4): 192–4. doi:10.1016/S0197-4572(98)90153-7. PMID 9866509.
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  24. ^ a b Indomie - Mi Goreng
  25. ^ "My Comfort Food – Mie Jamur Pangsit Bakso". Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  26. ^ Comfort Food Helps Indonesian Maid Recover
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