comfort food

comfort food

English

WOTD – 5 December 2021

Pronunciation

Macaroni and cheese, or mac and cheese, is regarded as a comfort food by many people.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkʌmfət ˌfuːd/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkʌmfɚt ˌfud/
• Hyphenation: com‧fort food

Noun

comfort food (countable and uncountable, plural comfort foods) (originally US)

1. Simple, comforting home-cooked-style food associated with one's formative years, often a staple of diners and other informal restaurants.
   • 1962 March 15, “Comfort foods for breakfast”, in Eugene Patterson, editor, The Atlanta Constitution, volume XCIV, number 229, Atlanta, Ga.: Ralph McGill, OCLC 225049322, page 3-F, columns 1–2:

     People like soup. It's what a psychologist would call a comfort food. Easy to eat, easy to digest, hearty soups are quick energy builders.

   • 1966 November 7, Joyce Brothers, “Obesity might be related to psychological problems”, in John O. Ferris, editor, The Muncie Star, volume 90, number 190, Muncie, Ind.: Muncie Newspapers, OCLC 9293344, page 7, column 6:

     Studies indicate that most 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.

2. Food, often high in carbohydrates or sugar, consumed to feel comfort or alleviate stress rather than to receive nutrition.

   After the relationship ended, she overindulged on comfort food every night.

   • 1966 March 25, Betty Boxold, “Betty’s Column”, in A. A. Smyser, editor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, volume 55, number 145, home edition, Honolulu, Hi.: Porter Dickinson, ISSN 2326-1137, OCLC 8807359, page C-2, column 1:

     In his recently published "The Thin Book by a Formerly Fat Psychiatrist," Dr. [Theodore Isaac] Rubin applauds "comfort foods" for dieters. He states that it is important for dieters to have a comforting food on hand that can be quickly prepared – "fat people are most receptive to comfort." At the top of his list of comfort foods is tea. He recommends it to dieters because it's calorie-free, can be drunk hot or cold and gives a little lift …

   • 2015 April 4, Cari Romm, “Why Comfort Food Comforts: A New Study Looks at the Intersection of Taste, Nostalgia, and Loneliness”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic‎, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, ISSN 1072-7825, OCLC 936540106, archived from the original on 7 June 2021:

     [C]omfort food’s power may lie primarily in the associations it calls to mind. People who have positive family relationships are more likely to reach for reminders of those relationships in times of sadness—and often, those reminders come in the form of something edible.

Related terms

• comfort-eat
• comfort eating
• comfortfic

Translations

simple, comforting home-cooked-style food associated with one’s formative years

French: aliment-doudou m, aliment-réconfort m, aliment réconfortant m Indonesian: makanan rumahan Japanese: コンフォート・フード Javanese: olahan omahan Portuguese: comida de conforto f, comida caseira f

food consumed to feel comfort or alleviate stress

Dutch: troosteten (nl) n, troostvoedsel n Finnish: lohturuoka German: Nervennahrung (de) f, Seelentröster (de) m Hebrew: אוכל מנחם \\ אֹכֶל מְנַחֵם‎ m (okhél m'nakhém)

See also

• eat one's feelings
• grub out
• soul food

Further reading

• comfort food on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “comfort food, n.” under “comfort, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1997.
• “comfort food, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.