Comfort Food

Have you ever had one of those days when Murphy’s Law decides to reinforce itself into your life? When everything that can go wrong goes wrong, what do you do? A typical reaction would be to look up to the heavens, scream in agony and crawl back to bed tuck yourself under the covers and wish for a better day tomorrow. But personally, when I am having one of those days, and I don’t exactly have the liberty to crawl back into bed, all I can think of is to eat my favorite comfort food and then everything magically seems to get better. Ah, yes. Never under estimate the power of a deliciously baked chocolate cookie or a perfectly cooked sinigang. According to a scientific study, one of the first places that a human will look for comfort is in food.
Comfort food has become so universal, that in the year 1972, the term ‘comfort food’ was added to the Webster’s Dictionary. As its name suggests, it can be derived that comfort foods are exactly that; foods that provide comfort. It is defined to be food that is simply prepared and associated with a sense of home and contentment. This is usually home-cooked and eaten at informal restaurants. They are foods that are often emotionally significant to a person or group of people and are sometimes related to pleasant memories of childhood. Comfort foods soothe the psyche by reminding us of comforting childhood memories. For most of us, these foods are far from gourmet and generally epitomize home cooking. They invoke feelings of nostalgia, safety, and security.
Biologically each has varying sensitivity to crunch, fats, sugars, fluid, color, presentation, pre & post rituals - of the eating experience.Taste is subjective to a person which is why there are various foods and snacks that could fill the urge for a comfort food. It has been observed that culture and cuisine influence the acceptance of a certain individual to food. Their preference or partiality to comfort food is also influenced by their upbringing, memories & traumas, situations. There have been studies that gender also influences food preferences of individuals.
Comfort food has always been the staple of diners and other informal restaurants, as well as home cooking. Traditionally, there has been an emphasis on authenticity and low cost. One recent development, however, 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, and consequently, higher prices. Filipino comfort food is synonymous with home-cooked meals. It is also associated with street food such as balut, isaw, mani, mais, chocolate, and the ubiquitous ice cream. Filipino comfort food could be sinangag, sinigang or nilaga.
Comfort food is magical because it gives you the instant feeling of relief. They make you happy and provide you with a sense of comfort and stability. They are always reliable because no matter how old you are or how young you are once you decide that chocolate is one of your favorite foods; chocolate will always have calming properties once presented to you. Comfort food also gives us a means of reliving the past. It acts as a time machine. Like for example, in the Disney movie Ratatouille, when upon tasting the delicious dish concocted by the rat in the movie, the terrifying food critic was reminded of his own childhood and his spirits were immediately lifted.
At the end of a long day, I believe that there is no one in this world who would trade a night in front of the couch with a bowl of your favorite comfort food to remind you of how wonderful life could be. ♦