When the term first appeared, newspapers used it in quotation marks. In the 1970s, the most popular comfort food in the United States were various potato dishes alton brown chicken and dumplings chicken soup, but even at the time, the definition varied from person to person. Consuming energy-dense, high calorie, high fat, salt or sugar foods, such as ice cream or french fries, may trigger the reward system in the human brain, which gives a distinctive pleasure or temporary sense of emotional elevation and relaxation.

The identification of particular items as comfort food may be idiosyncratic, though patterns are detectable. Comfort food consumption is seen as a response to emotional stress and, consequently, as a key contributor to the epidemic of obesity in the United States. Further studies suggest that consumption of comfort food is triggered in men by positive emotions, and by negative ones in women. A therapeutic use of these findings includes offering comfort foods or “happy hour” beverages to anorectic geriatric patients whose health and quality of life otherwise decreases with reduced oral intake. A partial list by region of comfort foods around the world. This section needs additional citations for verification.

Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. A plate of classic poutine at a Montreal restaurant. Bangers and mash is a British comfort food. Ful medames served with hard-boiled eggs, a staple in Egypt. A madeleine de Proust is a French expression specifically referring to Marcel Proust’s description of comfort food in In Search of Lost Time. Some popular Indonesian foods are considered to be comfort food, usually served hot or warm, and either soupy or with a soft texture.

Some Indonesian comfort foods are traditional Indonesian food and some are derived from Chinese influences. A salt and vinegar marinated meat stew, with a large amount of local and regional variations. A thick, savory rice porridge, often served as breakfast, on rainy days, or when sick. A noodle soup with a variety of meats.

Dinuguan – A pork blood and offal stew. A cold, crushed ice dessert dish of mixed sweets in fruits, with milk and topped with ice cream and leche flan. A stew of ox tripe and oxtail in a peanut sauce. It is regarded as a local variant of Indian curry. Fried or fresh spring rolls with vegetable or meat filling.