Comfort Cooking

What is it about food that is so comforting to us? Is it the familiarity, the necessity, or the enjoyment that it brings? But, I wonder is it so much the food that we find comforting—or is it the cooking?

When I travel, I find that I am not homesick so much for my neighborhood, house, room, or even my bed my (okay, true, I often do miss my closet…) but rather I find myself homesick for kitchen! While I enjoy eating out, trying new foods, and having a meal without planning the menu, I really miss cooking; from waking up in the morning and reading a cookbook, going grocery shopping, spending an afternoon cooking, and, yes, sitting down and eating. Call me crazy, but I find meals to be much less satisfying if I take out all the work.

I know I’m not the only one who finds food to be such a draw, especially when away from the regular routine. I remember, back in day, I was on a college tour and in one of the sessions, and the speaker asked the crowd of parents and potential student: “What is the channel most watched by college students?” I was a bit surprised by the answer: Food Network, until I got to college and sure enough cooking shows were the most played on my TV. Living in a dorm, and not walking though the kitchen every day as I did at my parent’s house, I found I had to get the culinary fix from somewhere—and it sure wasn’t the dining hall.

Enjoying a great meal is always wonderful, but I have to wonder if that Protestant work-ethic America was built on has prevailed, and we still find the work of cooking to be comforting, even more than the end result. When boxed-mixes for baked goods first hit the stores, it was a “just-add-water” deal; however, these didn’t sell so well. So they changed to have more of a “cooking component” with the mixing of egg, oil, and water or milk. It turned out that people wanted to feel like they were doing a little more work. Convenience and speed is key for the American cook, however, people still want to spend at least a little quality kitchen time.

So, perhaps the comfort we find is in the food (as a special on fried food comes on Food Network…) but perhaps we really find the comfort in the process. Despite the complaints that sometimes slip out, I think that we like the comfort of routine that food brings to our day-to-day.