KIT LEFFLEF
Your soft spot for mashed potatoes may be more complex than you think.
When Lauren Taylor, Oklahoma City senior, misses home or is stressed about school, she finds solace in chicken enchilada casserole with green chills. It's a dish her mom makes and, like any comfort food worth its calories in warm, tasty goodness, it has the ability to restore that sense of safety and protection she felt as a child.
Anyone who has a consistent, three-meal-a-day relationship with food knows it does more than meet physical needs. We were designed to enjoy food (which is fortunate, because otherwise the whole eating thing would get old), and food has an undeniable impact on mind, body and soul. But what determines the psychological effects of a food? In particular, what makes comfort food comforting? Research indicates that while people's comfort food preferences tend to be similarly rooted in positive experiences, these preferences may vary greatly between younger and older people and between men and women.
What is a comfort food?
The quality that makes a food
comforting is a perfect blend of physiological benefits like fat, sugar and salt, and specific psychological benefits a person has come to associate with that food, says Brian Wansink director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University. Contrary to popular belief, a significant portion (40 percent) of common comfort foods are healthy, and preferences for these foods do not have to be formed as children. Many can be formed as adults, Wansink says — all it takes is repeated positive associations.
Certain comfort foods, such as soup, seem to be consistent throughout North American culture, says Karen Ciancio, creator of www.cookingnook.com. We most often seek these foods when we are at either end of the emotional spectrum — when we are distressed and want foods like chili and biscuits, or when we feel the need to celebrate and want cookies and ice cream, she says.
"Most of the time we're in the middle of the spectrum, eating salad," Clancio says. "But a salad doesn't cut it when we're exceptionally happy or exceptionally sad."
The buzz factor
Young people tend to have more of a hankering for snack-related comfort foods than older people do, Wansink found in a 2003 study published in the journal *Physiology and Behavior*. Snack foods, such as potato chips, ice cream and cookies, tend to be high in flavor, and these flavor-saturated food appeals to the sensory-oriented 18-to-34 age group, he says.
Older people, he found, were more likely to prefer meal-related comfort foods, such as steak and casseroles.
"They get a greater buzz from them," Wansink says.
More than PMS
Women do seem to be more drawn to chocolate than men, but perhaps not entirely for hormonal reasons. In his study, Wansink found that while men tended to prefer meal-related comfort foods, woman preferred ones that were snack-related.
This may be because men tend to be accustomed to having meals prepared for them and therefore associate meal-related foods with being cared for, he says. But women
tend to associate these foods with work and therefore find comfort in foods that require little preparation, like snack foods. If gender roles in regard to meal preparation are to become less defined, comfort food preferences might change dramatically. More people would associate meal-related foods with work, which would make them less popular, Wansink says.
It's the little things that count
Unlike a majority of the people in Wansink's study,Devin Airey,Overland Park freshman, grew up having her dad cook for her. Dishes he made, such as chicken and dumplings and a special green bean dish,top her list of comfort foods. Not only do these foods say home to her, but they also remind her of her dad having meals ready when she would come home from work past dinner time.
"My dad is really understanding of what my life is like and how hard it is, so it's good to be taken care of sometimes," Alirey says. "Food may seem like the least of my worries, but it's the little things that count."
Check out these survey results to see how your favorite comfort foods ranked in popularity among more than 400 people.
THE KINGS OF COMFORT CUISINE
SNACK-RELATED FOODS
23 % Potato chips
14% Ice cream
12% Cookies
11% Candy/chocolate
06⇒ JAYPLAY 02.16.2006
→MEAL-RELATED FOODS
11% Pasta or pizza
9% Steak or beef burgers
9% Casseroles or side dishes
7% Vegetables or salads
4% Soup
Source: "Exploring comfort food preferences across age and gender," Physiology & Behavior, 2003.