Comfort food

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The term comfort food refers to any food or drink to which one habitually turns for temporary respite, security, or special reward. The reasons that something becomes a comfort food are diverse but include the food's familiarity, simplicity, and/or pleasant associations. Small children often seem to latch on to a specific food or drink (in a way similar to a security blanket) and will repeatedly request it in high stress situations. Adults, however, are certainly not exempt.

A substantial majority of comfort foods are composed largely of simple or complex carbohydrate, such as sugar, rice, refined wheat, and so on. It has been postulated that such foods induce an opiate-like effect in the brain, which may account for their soothing nature. [1]

The term comfort food was added to the Webster's Dictionary in 1972.

Contents

[edit] List of comfort foods

While any foods or beverages could be considered comfort foods, there are many in the U.S. that might be considered 'universally' accepted comfort foods. Most comfort foods in the U.S. are regional in nature, such as collard greens in the South, or a hotdish in the Upper Midwest. Following are lists of some common universally accepted comfort foods by region. Nationality, regional history and ethnicity tend to define what foods are considered comfort foods.

[edit] North America

[edit] Foods

[edit] Drinks

[edit] Eastern Asia

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[edit] India

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[edit] Drinks

[edit] Greece

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[edit] Drinks

[edit] See also

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[edit] External links

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