comfort food

plural comfort foods

1. countableuncountableSimple, comforting home-cooked-style food associated with one's formative years, often a staple of diners and other informal restaurants.

   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.

   1962 March 15, “Comfort foods for breakfast”, in Eugene Patterson, editor, The Atlanta Constitution, volume XCIV, number 229, Atlanta, Ga.: Ralph McGill, →OCLC, page 3-F, columns 1–2

   1 more example

   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.

   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, page 7, column 6

2. countableuncountableFood, 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.

   2 more examples

   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 …

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

   [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.

   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, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Jun 2021