Comfort food

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

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

Baked rice custard Bread and butter pudding Braised lamb shanks Brown sugar, yogurt, honey, and banana porridge Butterscotch apple dumplings Casserole (beef or chicken) Chicken soup Chiko roll Fairy bread Golden syrup pikelets Honey and oat slices Hot chips

Lamb and vegetable soup or Irish stew Lamingtons[16] Lamb chops Mashed potatoes Meat pie Pavlova Pea and ham soup Pie floater Potato wedges Pumpkin soup Rhubarb and apple Roast meat (beef, chicken, or pork with crackling)

Roast potatoes Sausage and mash Sausage roll Shepherd's pie Spaghetti and meatballs Steak and kidney pie Sticky date pudding Vegemite or Marmite on toast Weetbix with fruit and honey

Britain

Bangers and mash is a British comfort food.^[17]

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

Cottage or Shepherd's pie Custard Chicken Tikka Masala Fish and chips Full English breakfast Bangers and mash Cauliflower cheese Cornish pasty Fruit Crumble Lancashire hotpot Mushy peas Boiled egg and toast soldiers – toast sliced into approximately four pieces lengthwise, to dip into soft-boiled egg yolk.[22] Potatoes Chips Crisps Jacket potato Mashed potatoes

Puddings Bread and butter pudding Jam Roly-Poly Rice pudding Spotted dick Sticky toffee pudding Treacle pudding Roast meat Roast beef Roast chicken Yorkshire pudding Pies Fish pie Pork pie Steak and kidney pie Scotch egg Stottie cake

Soups and stews Beef stew with dumplings Brown Windsor soup Cawl (Wales) Cock-a-leekie soup (Scotland) Irish stew Potato, leek, and Stilton soup Toast Baked beans on toast Cheese on toast Welsh Rarebit Toad in the hole

Canada

Poutine Dumplings Grilled Cheese Sandwich Reuben Sandwich Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich Chili and Beans Scrambled Eggs on Toast Omelette Fried Potatoes Lasagna Cabbage Rolls Ginger Beef Split Pea Soup Perogies Hash Browns Tomato Soup Canned Salmon Kippered Herring Sardines

Tea Coffee Hot Chocolate Chocolate Bars Peanut Butter Sandwich Potato Chips Apple Pie Rhubarb Pie Cheesecake Cinnamon Buns Bran Muffins Pancakes Oatmeal Granola Oatmeal Cookies Chocolate Chip Cookies Ice Cream Egg Salad Sandwich French Toast

Potato Salad Pizza Hamburger Casserole Roast Turkey Beef Steak Fried Chicken Fried Rice Cheese French Fries Yoghurt Milk Shake Spaghetti and Meat Balls Fish and Chips Waffles Trail Mix Cake Jam

France

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.

• Croque-monsieur
• French onion soup
• Gratin dauphinois
• Hachis Parmentier
• Pâté
• Pot-au-feu
• Poule-au-pot
• Tartine

India

• Bhel puri
• Samosa
• Aloo puri
• Pao bhaji
• Dhokla
• Kachori

Indonesia

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:

• Bakmi or mie ayam (chicken noodle)^[25]
• Bakso (meatball soup)^[23][26][27]
• Bubur ayam (chicken congee)^[23]
• Indomie Mi goreng (fried noodle)^[23][24]
• Nasi goreng (fried rice)^[27]
• Nasi tim (steamed chicken rice)^[28][29]
• Sate (skewered barbecue)^[27]
• Soto ayam (traditional chicken soup) ^[23][30]

Italy

• Nutella ^[31]
• Lasagne
• Gnocchi

Pakistan

• Aloo gosht ^[32]
• Shawarma
• Kulfi
• Laddu

Philippines

• Adobo
• Arroz Caldo
• Batchoy
• Binignit
• Champorado with tuyô
• Chicken Sopas
• Halo-halo
• Kare-kare
• Lomi
• Pancit
• Puto
• Sinigang
• Suman

Poland

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

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

Bliny Borscht [16] Caviar Dressed herring Kotlety (meatballs) Kasha Kholodets

Kvass Napoleon Okroshka Olivier salad Ponchiki / Pampushky Pelmeni Pirozhki

Rassolnik Shashlik Shchi Solyanka Syrniki Ukha Vareniki

Taiwan

Dan zai noodles

Beef noodle soup [40] Dan zai noodles [41] Minced pork rice [41]

Oyster omelette [42] Red bean soup [43]

Small sausage in large sausage [42] Tangyuan [43]

Turkey

Mantı

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:

• Red Lentil soup
• Ezogelin soup
• Tarhana soup
• Mantı ^[44][45]
• Keşkek
• Stewed vegetables
• Kuru fasulye
• Bulgur

United States

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

American comfort foods may include the following foods:

Apple pie [47] Baked beans Biscuits and gravy [48] Casseroles [49] Chicken and dumplings[50] Chicken soup [48][51] Chili [46][48] Chili mac [52] Chocolate Chocolate chip cookies [48] Clam chowder [48]

Corned beef and cabbage Cornbread Dinner rolls French fries [48][51] Fried chicken [48][51] Green bean casserole Grilled cheese sandwich [48][51] and tomato soup Hamburgers Ice cream [48] Macaroni and cheese [46][48][51]

Mashed potatoes [48][51] Meatloaf [48] Pasta Pizza Potato chips Pot roast [53][54] Red beans and rice [55] Tuna casserole [56]

See also

• Diet food
• Dish (food)
• Food group
• Food presentation
• Haute cuisine
• List of foods
• List of nutrition guides
• Outline of food preparation
• Portion size
• Whole food

References

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