Comfort food

For the Noah Ashenhurst novel, see Comfort Food (novel).

Chicken soup is a common classic comfort food that might be found across cultures, and is widely regarded as a folk remedy for colds and flus.

Comfort food is food prepared traditionally, that may have a nostalgic or sentimental appeal, or simply provide an easy-to-eat, easy-to-digest meal rich in calories, nutrients^{[citation needed]}, or both. Comfort foods may be foods that have a nostalgic element either to an individual or a specific culture.^{[citation needed]} Many comfort foods are flavorful and easily eaten, having soft consistencies.

Psychological studies

Comfort foods may be consumed to positively pique emotions, to relieve negative psychological affects or to increase positive feelings. The term was first used, according to Webster's Dictionary, in 1977.

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 has been 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.

International examples of comfort foods

American comfort foods

Macaroni and cheese is an American comfort food

Fried chicken is another American comfort food.

In a reader's opinion poll by About.com, the following are the top 25 foods stated as comfort foods by respondents:

• Apple pie
• Baked beans
• Banana pudding
• Beef stew
• Brisket pot roast
• Chicken and dumplings
• Chicken pot pie
• Chicken soup
• Chili
• Chocolate chip cookies
• Corn on the cob
• Fried chicken
• Gelatin dessert
• Green bean casserole
• Hot dogs
• Hot chocolate
• Ice cream
• Macaroni & cheese
• Mashed potatoes
• Meatloaf
• Pizza
• Potato salad
• Pumpkin pie
• Shepherd's pie
• Spaghetti
• Tomato soup
• Tuna casserole

One recent development, as chefs have explored the roots of American cuisine and tried to define it as a unique style, is the advent of fine dining comfort food restaurants that feature more careful cooking and presentation, higher quality and fresh organic ingredients, along with consequently higher prices.

British Comfort Foods

A survey was commissioned by TV channel Good Food, which quizzed more than 3,000 British adults about their current eating habits compared with the last year.

The results are in order of 1 to 10;

• Bangers and Mash
• Fish and Chips
• Baked Beans on Toast
• Chocolate Cake
• Lasagne
• Spaghetti Bolognese
• Treacle sponge pudding and Custard
• Crumble and Custard
• Shepherd's Pie
• Macaroni Cheese

See also

• Dessert
• Junk food
• Food choice, a subject of research in nutrition, food science, psychology, anthropology and other branches of the natural and social sciences.

Further reading

• Ray, Rachael. Comfort foods. ISBN 1-891105-05-1. 
• Meyers-Lussier, Robert. This Is Delicious! What Is It?: An Eclectic Collection of International Comfort Foods. ISBN 0-595-30505-9.