Some thoughts on comfort food (and why foodies get it wrong and Proust gets it right)
August 28 2011, 5:08 PM
I just polished off a dinner of rice and carrots and schnitzel. It is basic
food, and to me it is comfort food. It is a comfort food not just because
it is a simple old world dish. There is more to it than that. I discovered
this dish many years ago in the Hungarian restaurants on Bloor St in
Toronto, and whenever I eat it, I am reminded of happier times with every
bite. That's what foodies get wrong. It's not just the dish or the qualities of
the dish. It's the associations that we have with the dish that makes it a
comfort food as much as anything else. Depending on your background, a dish
like Irish stew or spaghetti and meatballs or chana masala or smoked salmon
or madeleines or ...well, you name it. Anything can be a comfort food with
the right associations. Chances are it will be an old or even classic dish,
not a new one. But it is the associations we make that we draw our comfort
from.
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food, and to me it is comfort food. It is a comfort food not just because
it is a simple old world dish. There is more to it than that. I discovered
this dish many years ago in the Hungarian restaurants on Bloor St in
Toronto, and whenever I eat it, I am reminded of happier times with every
bite. That's what foodies get wrong. It's not just the dish or the qualities of
the dish. It's the associations that we have with the dish that makes it a
comfort food as much as anything else. Depending on your background, a dish
like Irish stew or spaghetti and meatballs or chana masala or smoked salmon
or madeleines or ...well, you name it. Anything can be a comfort food with
the right associations. Chances are it will be an old or even classic dish,
not a new one. But it is the associations we make that we draw our comfort
from.
-----------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Handheld.
72 views and 1 response
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Aug 28 2011, 6:43 PMJoanne MacDonald responded:This is so true! And the older I get, the more I crave certain comfort foods for their associations of a simpler, happier time in my life. A good example of this for me, is codfish cakes.
When I was younger, I would complain to my mother about how stinky the codfish made the house smell. Now, I love to make fishcakes! They taste so delicious & are easy to make. (Plus, if you really DON'T care for the smell, you can always boil the fish outside on the barbecue! :)