by D. Kearney Sparano

Created on: November 17, 2009

I would suppose any food that brings a sense of emotional comfort is a comfort food. It is really a very personal and subjective question.

That being said, I would argue that whatever someone enjoys as a comfort food, it has a couple basic components.

First of all it tastes good. It has too, who would take comfort in something they think tastes bad. This is most likely why comfort foods tend to be candies, snacks, junk foods and desserts. By flavor alone, they bring a sense of pleasure and thus comfort. Also there is the added aspect of a guilty indulgence whish also enhances the pleasure. We all need indulgences and pleasure. Without them, as Nicholson said, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Perhaps that is why within TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) guidelines for nutrition, something like 10% of your diet shouldn't be healthy.

Aside from what tastes good I believe there are emotional and nostalgic factors to comfort food. A common game played by Anthony Bourdain when he meets a chef is the final meal question. Simply put he asks the chef what they would want for a final meal. He said he has always gotten answers that reflect what the chef ate during childhood. Often it is something that mom made. There flavors and aromas take a person back, usually, to a simpler time and a good memory of love and family. Gathering around the table for lasagna or casserole, might not be the memory of the best dish a person has ever eaten, but it might the best memory they have of eating.

So when you couple what tastes good with what brings back good memories, you get comfort food. For me I would list the following as comfort food: cheetos, veal parmesan, now and laters, starbursts, Pringles sour cream and onion, pumpkin pie, blueberry muffins, spaghetti and meatballs, hamburgers, onion rings from Burger King, fries, bagels, bacon and eggs. Many of these foods are all things I loved as a child, some I still eat most in moderation. I can quickly say that to me a burger and fries are immediate comfort food. Often when I return from an overseas trip it is the 1st thing I want, a bagel is a very close second. Those are my comfort foods because they are touchstones to home. They tell me that I am back in America and more importantly back on Long Island and that brings me comfort.

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