Comfort Zone Event Cache

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

Comfort food refers to a variety of familiar, simple foods usually home-cooked or eaten at informal restaurants. It is typically inexpensive, uncomplicated, and easy to prepare, composed largely of simple or complex carbohydrate, such as sugar, rice, refined wheat, and so on.

We connect food with important times, feelings, and people in our lives. Most comfort foods, as we know, are warm, soft, flavorful foods that remind us of our childhood. A comfort food, especially one high in carbohydrates or fats, is often more satisfying than other offerings.

Many people turn to it for familiarity, emotional security, or as a special reward, because it is what you have been eating since you were little, make you feel warm, comfortable and homey. If you are upset, sad or sick, it might help you feel better. If you are away from home, you might miss it if you cannot get it where you are, and if you do have it, it might make you miss your grandma or something.

The reasons a dish becomes a comfort food are diverse but often include pleasant associations of childhood. Small children often seem to latch on to a specific food or drink and will repeatedly request it in high stress situations. Adults eat comfort food for a sense of continuity.

Various foods or snacks could fill the urge for a comfort food depending on a person's taste, but in any given culture or cuisine there are foods that become universally accepted comfort foods. Items such as mashed potatoes and tomato soup are generally accepted by everyone as comfort food.

Perhaps men are from Mars and women from Venus, at least in the eating department. When it comes to foods that bring them psychological comfort, men like hearty meals, while women look for snacks that require little or no preparation, though they may cause pangs of guilt. The favorite comfort for both men and women was ice cream. Men usually preferred hot, delicious foods like soup or noodles. Women liked sweet things such as chocolate and candies. Men and women like to eat comfort foods when they are happy, but women eat these foods more when they are sad or worried.

However, the kinds of foods that give comfort may vary with one's mood. A person may crave pizza when happy, reach for cookies when sad, and open up a bag of potato chips when bored.