The internet is full of fabulous facts about everything from current events to the history basket weaving. Because of this, as we research for our daily content on food trucks, food carts and street food, we stumble upon some items of knowledge that we just did not know.
We have decided when these fun facts pop up, that we would share them with our readers in our section titled “Did You Know?”
For today’s Did You Know we will look at Comfort Food fun facts.
The Facts: Comfort food is food prepared traditionally, that may have a nostalgic or sentimental appeal, or simply provide an easy-to-eat, easy-to-digest meal rich in calories, nutrients, or both.
Comfort foods may be foods that have a nostalgic element either to an individual or a specific culture. Many comfort foods are flavorful and easily eaten, having soft consistencies.
- When people are sad they are more likely to indulge in comfort foods than when they are happy, in order to improve their mood.
- December 5th is National Comfort Food Day.
- Comfort foods may be consumed to positively pique emotions, to relieve negative psychological effects or to increase positive feelings.
- The term Comfort Food was first used, according to Webster’s Dictionary, in 1977.
- One study divided college-students’ comfort-food identifications into four categories (nostalgic foods, indulgence foods, convenience foods, and physical comfort foods) with a special emphasis on the deliberate selection of particular foods to modify mood or effect, and indications that the medical-therapeutic use of particular foods may ultimately be a matter of mood-alteration.
Following a reader’s opinion poll by About.com, these foods were listed as the most common comfort foods by American respondents.
- Apple pie
- Baked beans
- Banana pudding
- Beef stew
- Brisket pot roast
- Chicken and dumplings
- Chicken pot pie
- Chicken soup
- Chili
- Chocolate chip cookies
- Corn on the cob
- Fried chicken
- Gelatin dessert
- Green bean casserole
- Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Runner Up)
- Hamburgers (Runner Up)
- Hot dogs
- Ice cream
- Macaroni and cheese
- Mashed potatoes
- Meatloaf
- Potato salad
- Pumpkin pie
- Shepherd’s pie
- Spaghetti
- Tomato soup
- Tuna casserole
Comfort Food Fun Facts We Missed
Please feel free to let us know if we may have missed some comfort food fun facts in the comment section below. We always love to add to these lists. If we can verify that the facts is just that, a fact, we will give the reader credit in the article.
Reference: Wikipedia: Fun Facts about Comfort Food.
