Everyone will agree that winter is the perfect time of the year for cooking hearty stews as well as braised and slow cooked meals that help us overcome the chilly weather and the shorter days of the cold season.
Comfort food is typically inexpensive, uncomplicated, and easy to prepare. Many people eat comfort food because it is generally easily digestible, tasty and flavourful, or as a way to reward oneself.
Although by definition comfort food can be anything a person chooses, it generally consists of a recipe based on at least three major ingredients: lots of carbohydrates and sugar, high levels of fat, and plenty of love. According to many scientific studies, this combination of rich and fatty textures can in fact influence a person’s mood by increasing the levels of serotonin and endorphins in the brain.
Some studies state that the consumption of particular foods for comfort may be one of the primary ways individuals can maintain control. In essence, comfort food provides individuals with a sense of security during troubling times by evoking emotions that are associated with safer and happier times. Yet, a new research published in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that stress and upheaval actually lead people to choose less-familiar foods, and that contrary to most expectations, comfort foods are mostly consumed in comfortable times. This surprising result known as the “Comfort Food Fallacy” concludes that contrary to well-engrained beliefs, choices for old favourites happen at opposite times than predicted.
As a result, comfort food could be viewed as flavours that bring people together rather than a call for a bit of reassurance in turbulent and stressful times. This is especially true during Christmas time. So don’t bother preparing the latest beet salad with goat cheese or that salmon gravlax and stick to your traditional holiday recipes that will definitely put a smile on everyone’s faces. During family gatherings, people will always appreciate your classics as long as they get their dose of serotonin and endorphins stirred up with your home-cooked classics. The only downfall of indulging in our favourite comfort foods are probably the pangs of guilt afterwards.
Men are more likely to prefer entire meals, while women are more likely to prefer sweets and snack-foods. Here is a selection of nice, savvy home-cooked and uncomplicated catering that should help you indulge your winter cravings and reconnect with your childhood memories.
