comfort food comfort food comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone, and may be characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, or simple preparation. the nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may apply to a specific culture. chicken soup, a common classic comfort food that is found across various cultures definition and history 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." 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. 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. 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. 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 – 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 a pavlova garnished with fruit and cream comfort foods in australia, new zealand and south africa may include: braised lamb shanks bread and butter pudding butterscotch apple dumplings casserole (beef or chicken) chicken soup golden syrup pikelets honey and oat slices hot chips lamingtons mashed potatoes meat pie pea and ham soup pie floater porridge, topped with brown sugar or honey, yogurt, nuts, and fruit potato wedges pumpkin soup rice custard roast meat (beef, chicken, or pork with crackling) roast potatoes sausage and mash sausage roll shepherd's pie spaghetti steak and kidney pie sticky date pudding vegemite or marmite on toast canada a plate of classic poutine at a montreal restaurant. butter tart / tarte au sucre – small sweet tart-shaped pastries cake cheesecake chili and beans chocolate bars cookies fish and chips fried chicken fried rice ginger beef grilled cheese sandwich hamburger ice cream lasagna macaroni and cheese nanaimo bar pancakes with maple syrup pea soup pierogies pizza potatoes such as french fries, hash browns, mashed potatoes, potato chips, and potato salad poutine rhubarb pie scrambled eggs on toast tourtière – meat pie with pork and lard catalonia comfort foods in catalonia include: pa amb tomàquet (bread smeared with tomato and olive oil, and sometimes garlic) allioli (aioli) (sauce which is an emulsion of garlic and olive oil. the name literally means "garlic and oil" in catalan) catalan-style cod (with raisins and pine nuts) escalivada (various grilled vegetables) escudella i carn d'olla (a broth, it may be served as soup with pasta and minced meats and vegetables, or as the soup first and then the rest) canelons (cannelloni with a bechamel sauce) fricandó esqueixada (salted cod salad with tomato and onion) mongetes amb botifarra (beans and pork sausage) suquet (a seafood casserole) savoury coca mar i muntanya ("sea and mountain") dishes, which combine meat and seafood embotits, a generic name for different kinds of cured pork meat, including fuet (a characteristic type of dried sausage), salchichón or llonganissa (salami) and different kinds of cold cut botifarra. calçot (specially cultivated onion, grilled and served as a "calçotada") caragols a la llauna (cooked snails) sonsos and many other mediterranean fresh fish crema catalana (custard made from egg yolks, milk, sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon) panellets (bite-sized cakes in different shapes, mostly round, made mainly of marzipan) united kingdom bangers and mash is a british comfort food. united kingdom comfort foods include: bacon butty (bacon sandwich) bangers and mash – sausages and mashed potatoes cauliflower cheese chicken tikka masala cornish pasty cottage pie (shepherd's pie) custard curry – india-inspired stew over rice egg and chips egg and soldiers – toast sliced into approximately six to eight pieces lengthwise, to dip into soft-boiled egg yolk fish and chips fruit crumble – stewed fruit with crumbly topping full english breakfast lancashire hotpot pies cheese pie, with potatoes or other savory ingredients fish pie pork pie steak and kidney pie potatoes jacket potato mashed potatoes puddings bread and butter pudding jam roly-poly – suet pudding rolled in a spiral with jam rice pudding spotted dick – steamed pudding with dried fruit sticky toffee pudding treacle pudding roasted meat, such as roast beef or chicken scotch egg – hard-boiled egg baked in sausage soups and stews beef stew with dumplings cock-a-leekie soup lobscouse or lobscows – meat stew potato, leek, and stilton soup stottie cake – heavy, round bread toad in the hole – sausages baked in yorkshire pudding toast baked beans on toast welsh rarebit – hot cheese sauce on toast toastie – grilled sandwich yorkshire pudding egypt ful medames served with hard-boiled eggs, a staple in 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 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 french onion soup – onion soup with cheese and bread gratin dauphinois – potato slices baked with cream pâté – cold meat paste pot-au-feu – beef stew germany flädlesuppe german comfort foods may include the following foods: arme ritter auszogne bouletten, frikadellen, fleischpflanzerl etc. bratkartoffeln currywurst flädlesuppe fleischsalat frankfurter franzbrötchen gaisburger marsch hamburger aalsuppe hamburger labskaus kartoffelpuffer käsespätzle klöße kohlrouladen leberkäse laugenbrezn, laugengebäck maultaschen mett münchner weißwürscht nürnberger lebkuchen nürnberger rostbratwurst obazda pichlstoana regensburger rote grütze rindsrouladen sauerbraten saumagen schwäbische spätzle schlachtplatte schnitzel schweinshaxn spanferkel steckerlfisch schweinsbraten greece pastitsio moussaka gemista gyros keftedakia – meatballs koulourakia dolmadakia souvlaki hong kong baked pork chop rice – a type of hong kong-style western cuisine cart noodle – an à la carte noodle dish traditionally sold using carts cha chaan teng – a hong kong style place to eat comfort food dim sum – small bite-sized portions of food served in small steamer baskets during yum cha egg tart hotpot macaroni in broth – a type of hong kong-style western cuisine pineapple bun – a type of pastry that resembles a pineapple put chai ko – a palm-sized pudding cake snack siu mei (including char siu) – meats roasted on spits over an open fire or in a large rotisserie oven 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 goulash soup chicken soup lángos – yeast dough deep fried in oil with various toppings madártej – meringue floating on crème anglaise chicken paprikash paprikás krumpli – potato stew with paprika pörkölt – meat stew with paprika puliszka – polenta with toppings rántott hús – a type of snitzel; but also fried chicken is called the same way tejbegríz – semolina pudding tojásos nokedli – small, plump soft noodles with eggs india biryani – mutton, chicken, beef or lamb chaat curd rice – rice mixed with yogurt cutlet daal chawal – particularly in north india fish fry kachori kadhi chawal - curd curry with rice rolls maachh-bhaat momo sambar samosa puri – fried flatbread masala dosa – rice crepes, with or without a filling of potatoes and onion khichdi – 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 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. 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 indonesian comfort foods