Comfort food

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] According to a 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.[5]

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 USA, 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.[5]

Consuming energy-dense, high calorie, high fat, salt or sugar foods, such as ice cream, chocolate 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.[6][7] 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.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10]

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.[11] The provocation of specific hormonal responses leading selectively to increases in abdominal fat is seen as a form of self-medication.[12]

Further studies suggest that consumption of comfort food is triggered in men by positive emotions, and by negative ones in women.[13] The stress effect is particularly pronounced among college-aged women, with only 33% reporting healthy eating choices during times of emotional stress.[14] For women specifically, these psychological patterns may be maladaptive.[15]

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.[16]

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

Australia, New Zealand and South Africa

A Pavlova garnished with fruit and cream

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

• Braised lamb shanks[21][22]
• Bread and butter pudding[21][22]
• Butterscotch apple dumplings[22]
• Casserole (beef or chicken)[22]
• Chicken soup[22]
• Golden syrup pikelets[22]
• Honey and oat slices[22]
• Hot chips[21]
• Lamingtons[23]
• Mashed potatoes[21][22]
• Meat pie[21][22]
• Pea and ham soup[22]
• Pie floater[24]
• Porridge, topped with brown sugar or honey, yogurt, nuts, and fruit[22]
• Potato wedges[21]
• Pumpkin soup[22]
• Rice custard[22]
• Roast meat (beef, chicken, or pork with crackling)[21][22]
• Roast potatoes[22]
• Sausage and mash[22]
• Sausage roll[21]
• Shepherd's pie[22]
• Spaghetti[22]
• Steak and kidney pie[22]
• Sticky date pudding[21][22]
• Vegemite or Marmite on toast[25]

Canada

A plate of classic poutine at a Montreal restaurant.

• Butter tart / Tarte au sucre – small sweet tart-shaped pastries[26][27][28]
• Cake[29]
• Cheesecake[30]
• Chili and beans[31]
• Chocolate bars[28]
• Cookies[27]
• Fish and chips[32]
• Fried chicken[29]
• Fried rice[33]
• Ginger beef[34]
• Grilled cheese sandwich[27][32][33][35]
• Hamburger[35][27]
• Ice cream[28][29]
• Lasagna[29][36]
• Macaroni and cheese[27][28][29][32][33][35][37]
• Nanaimo bar[28][32]
• Pancakes with maple syrup[27][35]
• Pea soup[33]
• Pierogies[33]
• Pizza[33][27][35]
• Potatoes such as French fries, Hash browns, Mashed potatoes,[29] Potato chips,[28] and Potato salad
• Poutine[25][26][27][28][32][33][35]
• Rhubarb pie[36]
• Scrambled eggs on toast[33]
• Tourtière – meat pie with pork and lard[26]

United Kingdom

Bangers and mash is a British comfort food.[38]

United Kingdom comfort foods include:

• Bacon butty (bacon sandwich)[39][40][41]
• Bangers and mash – sausages and mashed potatoes[38][40][41][42]
• Cauliflower cheese[40][42][43][44]
• Chicken Tikka Masala[42][43][44]
• Cornish pasty[40][42]
• Cottage pie (Shepherd's pie)[40][41][42][43]
• Custard[43]
• Curry – India-inspired stew over rice[41]
• Egg and chips[41][45]
• Egg and soldiers – toast sliced into approximately six to eight pieces lengthwise, to dip into soft-boiled egg yolk[41][46]
• Fish and chips[40][41][47]
• Fruit Crumble – stewed fruit with crumbly topping[25][40][42][43]
• Full English breakfast[40][41]
• Lancashire hotpot[43]
• Pies
  • Cheese pie, with potatoes or other savory ingredients[42][43]
  • Fish pie[42][43][48]
  • Pork pie[40]
  • Steak and kidney pie[43]
• Potatoes
  • Jacket potato[41]
  • Mashed potatoes
• Puddings
  • Bread and butter pudding[43]
  • Jam Roly-Poly – suet pudding rolled in a spiral with jam[49]
  • Rice pudding[42][43]
  • Spotted dick – steamed pudding with dried fruit[40]
  • Sticky toffee pudding[42]
  • Treacle pudding[40][43]
• Roasted meat, such as roast beef[25][40][41][42] or chicken[40][42]
• Scotch egg – hard-boiled egg baked in sausage[40][42]
• Soups and stews
  • Beef stew with dumplings[41]
  • Cock-a-leekie soup[40]
  • Lobscouse or lobscows – meat stew[44]
  • Potato, leek, and Stilton soup
• Stottie cake – heavy, round bread[50]
• Toad in the hole – sausages baked in Yorkshire pudding[41][42][43]
• Toast
  • Baked beans on toast[41]
  • Welsh Rarebit – hot cheese sauce on toast[42][43]
• Toastie – grilled sandwich[43]
• Yorkshire pudding[40][42][51]

Egypt

Ful medames served with hard-boiled eggs, a staple in Egypt.

• Basbousa – sweet unleavened cake
• Falafel – fried bean ball[52]
• Fatteh – meat soup on cooked rice with crisp flatbread with garlic sauce[53]
• Ful medames – bean stew[54][55]
• Hawawshi – pita bread stuffed with flavored meat[56]
• Kushari – casserole of rice, macaroni, and vegetables[57]
• Macarona béchamel – baked pasta dish with ground meat and béchamel sauce[58]
• Sahlab – winter beverage from Orchis flour[59]
• Mulukhiyah – soup or stew made with jute mallow leaves[60][61]
• Om Ali – Pastry mixed with milk, nuts and sometimes coconut flakes topped with cream or butter and baked[62]

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.

• Crème caramel – custard dessert[63]
• French onion soup – onion soup with cheese and bread[63]
• Gratin dauphinois – potato slices baked with cream[25]
• Pâté – cold meat paste[63]
• Pot-au-feu – beef stew[64]
• Tomates Farcies – Tomatoes stuffed with ground meat

Germany

Flädlesuppe

German comfort foods may include the following foods:

• Arme Ritter
• Auszogne
• Bouletten, Frikadellen, Fleischpflanzerl etc.
• Bratkartoffeln[65]
• Currywurst[65]
• Flädlesuppe[66]
• Fleischsalat
• Frankfurter
• Franzbrötchen
• Gaisburger Marsch
• Hamburger Aalsuppe
• Hamburger Labskaus
• Kartoffelpuffer[66]
• Käsespätzle[66][65]
• Klöße[66][65]
• Kohlrouladen[66]
• Leberkäse
• Laugenbrezn, Laugengebäck
• Maultaschen[66]
• Mett
• Münchner Weißwürscht
• Nürnberger Lebkuchen
• Nürnberger Rostbratwurst
• Obazda
• Pichlstoana
• Regensburger
• Rote Grütze
• Rindsrouladen[66]
• Sauerbraten[66]
• Saumagen
• Schwäbische Spätzle
• Schlachtplatte
• Schnitzel[65]
• Schweinshaxn
• Spanferkel
• Steckerlfisch
• Schweinsbraten

Hungary

Puliszka with curd cheese and smoked lard (left) and plum preserve (right)

• Aranygaluska – dough balls rolled in a mixture of sugar and crushed nuts[77][78]
• Goulash soup[78]
• Chicken soup[77][78]
• Lángos – yeast dough deep fried in oil with various toppings[79]
• Madártej – meringue floating on crème anglaise[77]
• Chicken paprikash[77][78]
• Paprikás krumpli – potato stew with paprika[79]
• Pörkölt – meat stew with paprika[78]
• Puliszka – polenta with toppings[77]
• Rántott hús – a type of Snitzel; but also fried chicken is called the same way[78]
• Tejbegríz – Semolina pudding [77]
• Tojásos nokedli – small, plump soft noodles with eggs[77]

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 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.[88] 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.[89]

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.[90] Indonesian comfort foods include:

• Bakmi or mie ayam – noodles (mi) with pork (bak) or chicken (ayam)[91]
• Bakso – meatball soup[88][92][93]
• Bubur ayam – chicken congee[88]
• Gado-gado – salad containing vegetables, tempeh and egg in peanut sauce[94]
• Indomie Mi goreng – fried noodle[88][90]
• Nasi goreng – fried rice[93]
• Nasi tim – steamed chicken rice[95][96]
• Sayur sop or sup ayam – Indonesian chicken and vegetables soup[89]
• Sate – skewered barbecue with peanut sauce[93]
• Soto ayam – spicy chicken soup[88][97]

Italy

Panna cotta

• Bruschetta[110]
• Cacciucco – fish stew[110]
• Crostini – small toasted bread slices with toppings[110]
• Gnocchi – small soft dough dumplings[111][110]
• Lasagne – flat noodles (pasta) layered with meat, cheese and tomato sauce[112][113]
• Pasta all'amatriciana – pasta with guanciale, tomato sauce and pecorino cheese[114][110]
• Pasta alla carbonara – pasta with egg guanciale, and pecorino cheese[110]
• Nutella – sweet spread of cocoa and hazelnuts[115]
• Panna cotta – sweetened cream thickened with gelatin[110]
• Pizza – baked flatbread with toppings[110]
• Porchetta – boneless pork roast[110]
• Risotto[110]

Philippines

Pork adobo

• Adobo – A salt and vinegar marinated meat stew, with a large amount of local and regional variations.[121][122]
• Arroz Caldo / Lugaw – A thick, savory rice porridge, often served as breakfast, on rainy days, or when sick.[123][124]
• Batchoy – A noodle soup with a variety of meats.[125]
• Filipino spaghetti - Sweet and savory spaghetti[126]
• Ginataan – A coconut cream-based dessert soup with candied banana, sticky rice balls, sagó (tapioca balls), taro, and langkâ (jackfruit).[127]
• Bulalo – A beef bone marrow soup.[124]
• Champorado – Chocolate rice porridge, sometimes served savory (as with tuyô)[25][128][124]
• Dinuguan - A pork blood and offal stew.[128]
• Halo-halo – A cold, crushed ice dessert dish of mixed sweets in fruits, with milk and topped with ice cream and leche flan.[121][125]
• Kare-kare – A stew of ox tripe and oxtail in a peanut sauce. It is regarded as a local variant of Indian curry.[122]
• Lumpia – Fried or fresh spring rolls with vegetable or meat filling.[122]
• Lomi – A hot noodle soup with distinctly thick egg noodles.[124]
• Pancit – A class of noodles, almost always fried or stir-fried, and often served during birthday celebrations.[122][129]
• puto – Steamed rice cakes[128]
• Sinampalukan - Sour, tamarind-based chicken soup[130][131]
• Sinigang – A classification of sour soups with different configurations of meats, vegetables, and souring agents.[121][124][125]
• Sopas - A creamy soup (usually made with chicken) with elbow macaroni.[124][132][133]
• Suman – Another type of glutinous rice cake[125]
• Tsokolate – Hot chocolate drink made with cacao, served with or without milk.[124]

Poland

Steamed pierogi, with fried onions on top

Some Polish comfort food include:

• Soups and stews
  • Bigos – "hunters' stew"[134]
  • Barszcz z uszkami – clear beetroot soup with forest mushrooms dumplings[135]
  • Gulasz – goulash / meat and vegetable stew[136]
  • Kapuśniak – sauerkraut soup
  • Rosół – chicken soup with fine noodles[137][136]
  • Zupa grzybowa – wild mushroom soup
  • Zupa ogórkowa – sour cucumber soup[137]
  • Zupa pomidorowa – clear tomato soup with rice or noodles[137]
  • Zupa szczawiowa – sorrel soup served with boiled egg[137]
  • Żurek – sour rye soup[134][135]
• Budyń waniliowy z malinami – vanilla pudding with raspberries
• Kotlet schabowy – pork schnitzel[135]
• Golonka – stewed or roasted ham hock[135]
• Kopytka – small potato dumpling[135]
• Łazanki – large flat noodles with fried sauerkraut
• Makaron ze śmietaną i truskawkami – pasta with cream and strawberries[138]
• Naleśniki z twarogiem – pancakes with milk curd[135]
• Pierogi – filled dumplings[25][139][134]
• Placki ziemniaczane – potato pancakes[138]
• Sernik – baked cheesecake
• Śledź w oleju – pickled herring
• Zapiekanka – toasted open-face sandwich[135]

Puerto Rico

Arroz con pollo: chicken with rice

Some Puerto Rican comfort foods include:

• Arroz con gandules – rice with pigeon peas[140][141]
• Arroz con pollo – rice with chicken[140]
• Bistec encebollado – steak and onions[142]
• Carne Guisada – stewed beef[141]
• Carne mechada – Puerto Rican style meatloaf
• Churrasco – grilled flank or skirt steak[142]
• Cuchifritos and Fritanga – assortments of fried appetizers (alcapurrias, bacalaitos, pastelitos/pastelillos, piononos, sorullos/sorullitos)[142][140][141]
• Habichuelas guisadas con calabaza – beans stewed with pumpkin[142]
• Lechón asado – roast pork[142]
• Mixta – white rice, stewed beans with pumpkin and stewed meat with potatoes and carrots
• Mofongo and trifongo – fried mashed green plantains[142][143]
• Mofongo relleno de mariscos, carne o pollo – Fried mashed green plantains stuffed with seafood, meat or chicken[140]
• Pasteles – Puerto Rican tamales[141]
• Pastelón de plátano maduro – ripe banana casserole with ground beef and cheddar cheese[141]
• Pinchos – Puerto Rican skewers[143]
• Tostones – fried plantain slices[142][143]

Russia

Solyanka

Russian comfort foods may include:

• Bliny – pancakes[144]
• Borscht[144]
• Dressed herring – layered herring salad[145]
• Golubtsy – cabbage rolls[25][144]
• Kasha – buckwheat porridge[144]
• Kotlety – meatballs[144]
• Kholodets – savory gelatin
• Kvass – fermented drink made with bread
• Napoleon – layered pastry
• Okroshka – cold vegetable soup
• Oladyi – small thick pancakes or fritters[146]
• Olivier salad – vegetable salad[144]
• Pelmeni – meat-filled dumpling[144]
• Pirozhki – buns with various fillings[144]
• Rassolnik – pickled soup
• Shashlik – skewered and grilled cubes of meat
• Shchi – cabbage soup
• Solyanka – spicy and sour soup[147]
• Syrniki – cottage cheese pancakes[146]
• Ukha – clear, fish-based soup
• Vareniki – filled dumplings (pierogi)

South Korea

Seolleongtang

• Tteokbokki – rice cakes in spicy chili stew[148]
• Shin Ramyun – instant noodles by Nongshim[148]
• Kimbap – cooked rice rolled in seaweed and stuffed with vegetables or meat[148]
• Samgyeopsal – roasted pork belly[149]
• Mandu – dumplings with various fillings[149]
• Soups and stews
  • Kimchi jjigae – spicy stew made with kimchi[148]
  • Haejang-guk – vegetables and meat in beef broth[148]
  • Sundubu-jjigae – soft tofu stew[148]
  • Seolleongtang – ox bone soup[148]
  • Budae-jjigae – "army stew" with noodles, Spam, vegetables and other ingredients[150][149]
  • Kalguksu – soup with handmade noodles[149]

Spain

Chocolate con churros

• Castañas asadas – roasted chestnuts[151]
• Chocolate con churros – hot chocolate drink with fried dough[152]
• Cordero asado – grilled lamb
• Fried seafood, such as boquerones fritos (fried anchovies) and calamares fritos (fried squid)
• Gazpacho – cold vegetable soup
• Jamón serrano – Serrano ham[151]
• Paella – rice with saffron, cooked in a shallow pan[153]
• Sausage, such as chorizo, morcilla, and salchichón
• Sobao – sweet bread[151]
• Stew, such as cocido madrileño (Madrid stew)[154]
• Tarta de Santiago – almond cake or tart[153]
• Torreznos – bacon[151]
• Tortilla española or tortilla de patata – potato-onion omelet[153][155]

Taiwan

Dan zai noodles

• Beef noodle soup[156]
• Dan zai noodles – noodles and prawn with broth[157]
• Minced pork rice[157]
• Oyster omelette[158]
• Red bean soup[159]
• Small sausage in large sausage – grilled sausage in a rice casing[158]
• Tangyuan – filled rice dumplings in sweet syrup[159]

Turkey

Mantı, with yogurt and red pepper sauce

Some Turkish comfort foods are:

• Mantı – spicy meat dumpling[160][161][162]
• Kuru fasulye – bean and tomato stew[25][162][163]
• Pilav – rice dish[164]
• Mercimek Çorbası – a soup based on lentils[165]
• Börek – baked filled pastries, a wide variety of regional variations of börek exists
• Menemen - commonly eaten for breakfast[166]
• Yaprak Sarma - stuffed grape leaves[162]
• Gözleme - a stuffed flatbread , commonly stuffed with spinach,minced meat and potato mash[162]
• Lahmacun[163]
• Pide[163]
• Tarhana soup[165]

United States

Macaroni and cheese is an American comfort food.[167]

American comfort foods may include the following foods:

• Apple pie[168]
• Beef stew
• Biscuits and gravy[169][170]
• Burritos[170]
• Cake[169][171]
• Casseroles[171][172]
• Chicken and dumplings[171]
• Chicken fried steak[171]
• Chicken soup[169][170]
• Chili[167][169][171]
• Chili mac[173]
• Chocolate chip cookies[169][171]
• Chowders: Clam chowder, Shrimp chowder, Corn chowder, etc.[169][171]
• Cornbread[171]
• Corned beef and cabbage
• Cupcakes[169][171]
• Fluffernutter
• French fries[169][170]
• Fried chicken[25][169][170][171]
• Green bean casserole[171]
• Green chile stew
• Grilled cheese sandwich[169][170] and tomato soup[171]
• Grits[4][171]
• Hotdish
• Ice cream[169][171]
• Lasagna[171]
• Macaroni and cheese[167][169][170][171]
• Mashed potatoes[25][169][170][171]
• Meatloaf[169][171]
• Peanut butter[174]
• Pepperoni rolls
• Pizza[25][170]
• Pot roast[171][175][176]
• Red beans and rice[171][177]
• Tamale pie[178]
• Tuna casserole[179][180]

• Hoffman, Jan (15 December 2014). "The Myth of Comfort Food". Well. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
• "Women like sugar, men like meat". USA Today. Retrieved 21 April 2016.

Look up comfort food in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Media related to Comfort food at Wikimedia Commons