![Chicken noodle soup (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Chicken_noodle_soup_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Comfort food is food that provides a
nostalgic or sentimental value to someone, and may be characterized by its high
caloric nature, high
carbohydrate
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may o ...
level, or simple
preparation. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may apply to a specific
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
.
Definition and history
The term ''comfort food'' has been traced back at least to 1966, when the ''
Palm Beach Post
''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and ''The Palm Beach Daily News'' we ...
'' used it in a story: "Adults, when under severe emotional stress, turn to what could be called 'comfort food'—food associated with the security of childhood, like mother's
poached egg
A poached egg is an egg that has been cooked, outside the shell, by poaching (or sometimes steaming), as opposed to simmering or boiling. This method of preparation can yield more delicately cooked eggs than cooking at higher temperatures such as ...
or famous
chicken soup
Chicken soup is a soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common additions are pasta, noodles, ...
."
According to a research by April White at
JSTOR
JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
, it might have been
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...
who used the term for the first time in its modern meaning in an interview, admitting to craving a
hamburger
A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, ...
.
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
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...
dishes and
chicken soup
Chicken soup is a soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common additions are pasta, noodles, ...
, but even at the time, the definition varied from person to person. During the next decades, the nature of comfort food changed in the USA, shifting from savory dishes to sweet ones, while comfort food themed cookbooks started to spread and restaurants started to offer items labelled as such, when originally the term was used for food items consumed home alone. Worldwide diet trends, emerging in the 1990s, like the
low fat or the
low-carb diet were unable to end the cravings for comfort food. According to White, the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
that hit the world in 2020 further strengthened people's need for comfort food that evokes nostalgia and the feeling of belonging.
Psychological studies
Consuming energy-dense, high calorie, high fat, salt or sugar foods, such as
ice cream
Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...
,
chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec ci ...
or
french fries
French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...
, may trigger the reward system in the human brain, which gives a distinctive pleasure or temporary sense of emotional elevation and relaxation. When psychological conditions are present, people often use comfort food to treat themselves. Those with
negative emotion
Negative affectivity (NA), or negative affect, is a personality variable that involves the experience of negative emotions and poor self-concept. Negative affectivity subsumes a variety of negative emotions, including anger, contempt, disgust, gui ...
s tend to eat unhealthy food in an effort to experience the instant gratification that comes with it, even if only short-lived.
One study divided college-students' comfort-food identifications into four categories (nostalgic foods, indulgence foods,
convenience food
Convenience food, also called tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily p ...
s, and physical comfort foods) with a special emphasis on the deliberate selection of particular foods to modify mood or affect, and indications that the medical-therapeutic use of particular foods may ultimately be a matter of mood-alteration.
The identification of particular items as comfort food may be idiosyncratic, though patterns are detectable. In one study of American preferences, "males preferred warm, hearty, meal-related comfort foods (such as
steak
A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into patti ...
, casseroles, and soup) while females instead preferred comfort foods that were more
snack
A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home.
Traditionally, snacks are ...
related (such as chocolate and ice cream). In addition, younger people preferred more snack-related comfort foods compared to those over 55 years of age." The study also revealed strong connections between consumption of comfort foods and feelings of
guilt.
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
Obesity in the United States is common and is a major health issue associated with numerous diseases, specifically increased risk of certain types of cancer, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular disease, as well as si ...
. The provocation of specific hormonal responses leading selectively to increases in abdominal fat is seen as a form of
self-medication
Self-medication is a human behavior in which an individual uses a substance or any exogenous influence to self-administer treatment for physical or psychological conditions: for example headaches or fatigue.
The substances most widely used in sel ...
.
Further studies suggest that consumption of comfort food is triggered in men by positive emotions, and by negative ones in women. The stress effect is particularly pronounced among college-aged women, with only 33% reporting
healthy eating choices during times of emotional stress. For women specifically, these psychological patterns may be maladaptive.
A therapeutic use of these findings includes offering comfort foods or "
happy hour" beverages to
anorectic
An anorectic or anorexic is a drug which reduces appetite, resulting in lower food consumption, leading to weight loss. By contrast, an appetite stimulant is referred to as orexigenic.
The term is (from the Greek ''ἀν-'' (an-) = "without" a ...
geriatric
Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros ...
patients whose health and
quality of life
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
otherwise decreases with reduced oral intake.
By region
A partial list by region of comfort foods around the world.
Afghanistan
Comfort foods in Afghanistan are:
*
Aushak
Aushak (Pashto/Persian: اَشَک) is an Afghan dish made of pasta dumplings filled with chives, with a (frequently meaty) tomato sauce, topped with yogurt and dried mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating sy ...
– stuffed dumplings and sauce
*
Bolani – filled flatbread
* Borani Banjan or Borani-e-Banjan – baked
eggplant
Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.
Mo ...
with yogurt sauce
* Borani Kadoo or Borani-e-Kado – sweet and savory braised
pumpkin
A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...
with
yogurt
Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...
sauce
In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...
* Chainaki –
* Chalaw or Challow – steamed
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
with spices
*
Kabuli palaw or Qabuli Pulao – steamed rice with raisins, carrots, and lamb
* Karahai – meat cooked in a traditional
karahi
A ''karahi'' (; as, কেৰাহী, kerahi, bn, কড়া, koṛā, hi, कड़ाही, kaṛāhī, Marathi: कढई, ur, ; also ''kadai, kerahi, karai, kadhi, kadahi, kadhai'' ''sarai'', or ''cheena chatti'') is a type of th ...
pot
*
Kebab
Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...
– grilled skewered meat
*
Korma
Korma or qorma (; ; ) is a dish originating in Indian subcontinent, consisting of meat or vegetables braised with yogurt ( dahi), water or stock, and spices to produce a thick sauce or gravy.
Etymology
The English name is an anglicisation of Hind ...
Gosht or Qorma-e-Gosht – braised meat
*
Mantu – meat-stuffed dumpling
*
Naan
Naan ( fa, نان, nān, ur, , ps, نان, ug, نان, hi, नान, bn, নান) is a leavened, oven-baked or tawa-fried flatbread which is found in the cuisines mainly of Western Asia, Central Asia, Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, ...
– flatbread
* Sabzi Palu – spinach (''sabzi'') with spices
*
Sher Berinj
Shir Berenj (Persian: شیر برنج; also transliterated as "Sheer Berenj" or "Sheer Berinj") or Fereni, is a rice pudding flavored with rose water, spices such as cinnamon or cardamom and often containing almonds. It is common to many countries ...
– rice pudding
Australia, New Zealand and South Africa
![Pavlova dessert](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Pavlova_dessert.JPG)
Comfort foods in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa may include:
* Braised lamb
shanks
*
Bread and butter pudding
* Butterscotch apple
dumpling
Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, ...
s
*
Casserole
A casserole (French: diminutive of , from Provençal 'pan') is a normally large deep pan or bowl a casserole is anything in a casserole pan. Hot or cold
History
Baked dishes have existed for thousands of years. Early casserole recipes c ...
(beef or chicken)
*
Chicken soup
Chicken soup is a soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common additions are pasta, noodles, ...
*
Golden syrup pikelets
* Honey and oat slices
*
Hot chips
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operatio ...
*
Lamington
A lamington is an Australian cake made from squares of butter cake or sponge cake coated in an outer layer of chocolate sauce and rolled in desiccated coconut. The thin mixture is absorbed into the outside of the sponge cake and left to set, gi ...
s
*
Mashed potato
Mashed potato or mashed potatoes (American and Canadian English), colloquially known as mash (British English), is a dish made by mashing boiled or steamed potatoes, usually with added milk, butter, salt and pepper. It is generally served as a ...
es
*
Meat pie
A meat pie is a pie with a filling of meat and often with other savory ingredients. They are found in cuisines worldwide.
Meat pies are usually baked, fried, or deep fried to brown them and develop the flavour through the Maillard reaction. M ...
*
Pea and ham soup
*
Pie floater
The pie floater is an Australian dish particularly common in Adelaide. It consists of a meat pie in a thick pea soup, typically with the addition of tomato sauce. Believed to have been first created in the 1890s, the pie floater gained populari ...
*
Porridge
Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...
, topped with
brown sugar
Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar.
Brown Sugar may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul
* ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...
or
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
,
yogurt
Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...
,
nuts, and
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...
*
Potato wedges
Potato wedges are irregular wedge-shaped slices of potato, often large and unpeeled, that are either baked or fried. They are sold at diners and fast food restaurants. They are usually seasoned with a variety of spices, commonly paprika, salt ...
*
Pumpkin soup
* Rice custard
* Roast meat (
beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus'').
In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...
, chicken, or pork with
crackling)
*
Roast potatoes
*
Sausage and mash
*
Sausage roll
A sausage roll is a savoury pastry snack, popular in current and former Commonwealth nations, consisting of sausage meat wrapped in puffed pastry. Sausage rolls are sold at retail outlets and are also available from bakeries as a take-away food ...
*
Shepherd's pie
Shepherd's pie, cottage pie, or in its French version hachis Parmentier is a savoury dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato and baked. The meat used may be either previously cooked or freshly minced. The usual meats are beef or la ...
*
Spaghetti
Spaghetti () is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta.[spaghetti](_blank)
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridg ...
*
Steak and kidney pie
Steak and kidney pie is a popular British dish. It is a savoury pie filled principally with a mixture of diced beef, diced kidney (which may be beef, lamb, veal or pork) and onion. Its contents are generally similar to those of steak and kidney p ...
* Sticky date pudding
*
Vegemite or
Marmite on toast
Canada
![La Banquise Poutine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/La_Banquise_Poutine.jpg)
*
Butter tart
A butter tart (french: tarte au beurre) is a type of small pastry tart highly regarded in Canadian cuisine. The sweet tart consists of a filling of butter, sugar, syrup, and egg, baked in a pastry shell until the filling is semi-solid with a c ...
/
Tarte au sucre – small sweet tart-shaped pastries
*
Cake
Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate ...
*
Cheesecake
Cheesecake is a sweet dessert consisting of one or more layers. The main, and thickest, layer consists of a mixture of a soft, fresh cheese (typically cottage cheese, cream cheese or ricotta), eggs, and sugar. If there is a bottom layer, i ...
*
Chili and beans
*
Chocolate bars
A chocolate bar (Commonwealth English) or candy bar (some dialects of American English) is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily br ...
*
Cookie
A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, nu ...
s
*
Fish and chips
Fish and chips is a popular hot dish consisting of fried fish in crispy batter, served with chips. The dish originated in England, where these two components had been introduced from separate immigrant cultures; it is not known who created ...
*
Fried chicken
Fried chicken, also known as Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating o ...
*
Fried rice
Fried rice is a dish of cooked rice that has been stir-fried in a wok or a frying pan and is usually mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, seafood, or meat. It is often eaten by itself or as an accompaniment to another dish. ...
*
Ginger beef
*
Grilled cheese sandwich
*
Hamburger
A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, ...
*
Ice cream
Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...
*
Lasagna
Lasagna (, also , also known as lasagne, ) is a type of pasta, possibly one of the oldest types, made of very wide, flat sheets. Either term can also refer to an Italian dish made of stacked layers of lasagna alternating with fillings such as ...
*
Macaroni and cheese
Macaroni and cheese (also called mac and cheese in Canada and the United States and macaroni cheese in the United Kingdom BBC, RecipesMacaroni Cheese/ref>) is a dish of cooked macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly Cheddar sauce.
The ...
*
Nanaimo bar
*
Pancakes
A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying w ...
with
maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tr ...
*
Pea soup
Pea soup or split pea soup is soup made typically from dried peas, such as the split pea. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is most often greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of pe ...
*
Pierogies
*
Pizza
Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, on ...
*Potatoes such as
French fries
French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...
,
Hash browns
Hash browns, also spelled hashed browns, are a popular American and British breakfast food, consisting of finely chopped potatoes that have been fried until browned. Hash browns first started appearing on breakfast menus in New York City in th ...
,
Mashed potatoes,
Potato chips
A potato chip (North American English; often just chip) or crisp (British and Irish English) is a thin slice of potato that has been either deep fried, baked, or air fried until crunchy. They are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or ap ...
,
and
Potato salad
Potato salad is a salad dish made from boiled potatoes, usually containing a dressing and a variety of other ingredients such as boiled eggs and raw vegetables.
In the United States, it is generally considered a side dish and usually accompanie ...
*
Poutine
Poutine () is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec, in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, though its exact origins are uncertain and there are several competing claims regarding it ...
*
Rhubarb pie
*
Scrambled eggs
Scrambled eggs is a dish made from eggs (usually chicken eggs) stirred, whipped or beaten together while being gently heated, typically with salt, butter, oil and sometimes other ingredients.
Preparation
Only eggs are necessary to make scramble ...
on
toast
*
Tourtière
Tourtière (, ) is a French Canadian meat pie dish originating from the province of Quebec, usually made with minced pork, veal or beef and potatoes. Wild game is sometimes used. It is a traditional part of the Christmas ''réveillon'' and New ...
– meat pie with pork and lard
Catalonia
![Pa amb tomàquet - 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Pa_amb_tom%C3%A0quet_-_001.jpg)
Comfort foods in Catalonia include:
* ''
Pa amb tomàquet
''Pa amb tomàquet'' () ("Bread with tomato"), is a traditional food of Catalan, Aragonese and Balearic cuisine . ''Pa amb tomàquet'' is considered a staple of Catalan cuisine and identity. While considered a signature toast dish in the Catalan ...
'' (bread smeared with tomato and olive oil, and sometimes garlic)
* ''Allioli (
Aioli
Aioli, allioli or aïoli ( or ; Provençal oc, alhòli or ''aiòli'' ; ca, allioli ; es, alioli ) is a cold sauce consisting of an emulsion of garlic and olive oil; it is found in the cuisines of the northwest Mediterranean, from Andalusia ...
) (sauce which is an emulsion of garlic and olive oil. The name literally means "garlic and oil" in Catalan)
* Catalan-style cod (with raisins and
pine nut
Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), pignoli or chilgoza (), are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are trad ...
s)
* ''
Escalivada'' (various grilled vegetables)
* ''
Escudella
Escudella i carn d'olla, or shorter escudella, (; lit. "bowl") is a traditional Catalan and Valencian meat and vegetable stew and soup. Francesc Eiximenis wrote in the 14th century that it was eaten every day by Catalan people.''Totes les sope ...
i carn d'olla'' (a broth, it may be served as soup with pasta and minced meats and vegetables, or as the soup first and then the rest)
* ''Canelons'' (
Cannelloni with a bechamel sauce)
* '
* ''
Esqueixada'' (
salted cod
Dried and salted cod, sometimes referred to as salt cod or saltfish or salt dolly, is cod which has been preserved by drying after salting. Cod which has been dried without the addition of salt is stockfish. Salt cod was long a major export of ...
salad with tomato and onion)
* ''Mongetes amb
botifarra
''Botifarra'' ( es, butifarra; french: boutifarre) is a type of sausage and one of the most important dishes of the Catalan cuisine.
''Botifarra'' is based on ancient recipes, either the Roman sausage ''botulu'' or the ''lucanica'', made of r ...
'' (beans and pork sausage)
* ' (a seafood casserole)
* Savoury ''
coca
Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine.
The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, ...
''
* ' ("Sea and Mountain") dishes, which combine meat and seafood
* ''
Embotits'', a generic name for different kinds of cured
pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved ...
meat, including
fuet
Fuet (, lit. "whip") is a Catalan thin, dry-cured, sausage of pork meat in a pork gut. The most famous is made in the ''comarca'' (county) of Osona and is also known as ''Vic fuet'' (''fuet de Vic'', after the city of Vic, capital of Osona). ...
(a characteristic type of dried sausage),
''salchichón'' or ''llonganissa'' (salami) and different kinds of cold cut
botifarra
''Botifarra'' ( es, butifarra; french: boutifarre) is a type of sausage and one of the most important dishes of the Catalan cuisine.
''Botifarra'' is based on ancient recipes, either the Roman sausage ''botulu'' or the ''lucanica'', made of r ...
.
* ''
Calçot
Calçot () is a type of green onion. The name ''calçot'' comes from the Catalan language. The calçot from Valls (Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain) is a registered EU Protected Geographical Indication.
Calçots are milder and less bulbous than oni ...
'' (specially cultivated
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...
, grilled and served as a ''"Calçotada"'')
* ''
Caragols a la llauna
Caragols a la llauna (or ''cargols a la llauna'', in certain dialects, or "cargolada" in Northern Catalonia) is a delicacy of Catalan cuisine. It is a simple plate for land snails
A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live o ...
'' (cooked
snail
A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class ...
s)
* ''
Sonsos'' and many other Mediterranean fresh fish
* ''
Crema catalana
The dessert known in most of Spain as ''crema catalana'' ("Catalan cream"), but as ''crema cremada'' ("burnt cream") in Catalan cuisine, is similar to a ''crème brûlée''; the desserts have been called "virtually identical", although ''crema c ...
(custard made from egg yolks, milk, sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon)
* ''
Panellets
Panellets (, singular: ''panellet''; Catalan for "little bread") are the traditional dessert of the All Saints' Day, known as Castanyada, in Catalonia, Andorra, Ibiza and the Land of Valencia, with chestnuts and sweet potatoes. Panellets are ...
(bite-sized cakes in different shapes, mostly round, made mainly of marzipan)
United Kingdom
![Bangers and mash 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Bangers_and_mash_1.jpg)
United Kingdom comfort foods include:
* Bacon butty (
bacon sandwich
A bacon sandwich (also known in parts of the United Kingdom and New Zealand as a bacon butty, bacon bap or bacon sarnie, and in parts of Ireland as a rasher sandwich) is a sandwich of cooked bacon between bread that is optionally spread with ...
)
*
Bangers and mash
Bangers and mash, also known as sausages and mash, is a traditional British dish, consisting of sausages served with mashed potatoes. It may consist of one of a variety of flavoured sausages made of pork, lamb, or beef (often specifically Cumber ...
– sausages and mashed potatoes
*
Cauliflower cheese
Cauliflower cheese is a traditional British dish. It can be eaten as a main course, for lunch or dinner, or as a side dish.
Cauliflower cheese consists of pieces of cauliflower lightly boiled and covered with a milk-based cheese sauce, for which ...
*
Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken tikka masala is a South Asian dish consisting of roasted marinated chicken chunks ( chicken tikka) in a spiced sauce. The sauce is usually creamy and orange-coloured. The dish was popularised by cooks from South Asia living in Great B ...
*
Cornish pasty
A pasty () is a British baked pastry, a traditional variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, South West England, but has spread all over the British Isles. It is made by placing an uncooked filling, typically meat and vegeta ...
*
Cottage pie
Shepherd's pie, cottage pie, or in its French version hachis Parmentier is a savoury dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato and baked. The meat used may be either previously cooked or freshly minced. The usual meats are beef or la ...
(Shepherd's pie)
*
Custard
Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency fr ...
*
Curry
A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included.
There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in trad ...
– India-inspired stew over rice
*
Egg and chips
*
Egg and soldiers – toast sliced into approximately six to eight pieces lengthwise, to dip into soft-boiled egg yolk
*
Fish and chips
Fish and chips is a popular hot dish consisting of fried fish in crispy batter, served with chips. The dish originated in England, where these two components had been introduced from separate immigrant cultures; it is not known who created ...
* Fruit
Crumble – stewed fruit with crumbly topping
*
Full English breakfast
A full breakfast is a substantial cooked breakfast meal, often served in the United Kingdom and Ireland, that typically includes back bacon, sausages, eggs, black pudding, baked beans, some form of potato, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast, and ...
*
Lancashire hotpot
*
Pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts (pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), sweete ...
s
** Cheese pie, with potatoes or other savory ingredients
**
Fish pie
Fish pie, also known as fisherman's pie, is a traditional British dish.
Origins
According to ''Cook's Illustrated'', the dish likely was created as a dish for Lent that made use of fish scraps. John Murrell's 1615 '' A New Booke of Cookerie' ...
**
Pork pie
**
Steak and kidney pie
Steak and kidney pie is a popular British dish. It is a savoury pie filled principally with a mixture of diced beef, diced kidney (which may be beef, lamb, veal or pork) and onion. Its contents are generally similar to those of steak and kidney p ...
* Potatoes
**
Jacket potato
A baked potato, known in some parts of the United Kingdom (though not generally Scotland) as a jacket potato, is a preparation of potato. It may be served with fillings, toppings or condiments such as butter, cheese, sour cream, gravy, baked b ...
**
Mashed potatoes
*
Pudding
Pudding is a type of food. It can be either a dessert or a savoury (salty or spicy) dish served as part of the main meal.
In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, inst ...
s
**
Bread and butter pudding
**
Jam Roly-Poly –
suet pudding
A suet pudding is a boiled, steamed or baked pudding made with wheat flour and suet (raw, hard fat of beef or mutton found around the kidneys), often with breadcrumb, dried fruits such as raisins, other preserved fruits, and spices. The British te ...
rolled in a spiral with jam
**
Rice pudding
Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and other ingredients such as cinnamon, vanilla and raisins.
Variants are used for either desserts or dinners. When used as a dessert, it is commonly combined with a sweetener such ...
**
Spotted dick –
steamed pudding with dried fruit
**
Sticky toffee pudding
Sticky toffee pudding, also known as sticky date pudding in Australia and New Zealand, is a British dessert consisting of a moist sponge cake, made with finely chopped dates (optional), covered in a toffee sauce and often served with a vanilla ...
**
Treacle pudding
A treacle sponge pudding is a traditional British dessert dish consisting of a steamed sponge cake with treacle cooked on top of it, sometimes also poured over it and often served with hot custard.
The dish has been mass-produced and imported int ...
*
Roasted meat, such as
roast beef
Roast beef is a dish of beef that is roasted, generally served as the main dish of a meal. In the Anglosphere, roast beef is one of the meats often served at Sunday lunch or dinner. Yorkshire pudding is a standard side dish. Sliced roast beef ...
or
chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...
*
Scotch egg
A Scotch egg is a boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and baked or deep-fried .
Origin
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives the first instance of the name as of 1809, in an edition of Maria Rundell's '' A New System ...
– hard-boiled egg baked in sausage
*
Soup
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling soli ...
s and
stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables a ...
s
**
Beef stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and m ...
with
dumplings
Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fish ...
**
Cock-a-leekie soup
Cock-a-leekie soup is a Scottish soup dish consisting of leeks and peppered chicken stock, often thickened with rice, or sometimes barley. The original recipe added prunes during cooking, and traditionalists still garnish with a julienne of p ...
**
Lobscouse or lobscows – meat stew
** Potato, leek, and Stilton soup
*
Stottie cake
A stottie cake or stotty (Northumbrian dialect: ''stottie kyek'', IPA: ) is a type of bread that originated in North East England. It is a flat and round loaf, usually about in diameter and deep, with an indent in the middle produced by the b ...
– heavy, round bread
*
Toad in the hole
Toad in the hole or sausage toad is a traditional English dish consisting of sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter, usually served with onion gravy and vegetables. Historically, the dish has also been prepared using other meats, such as rump ste ...
– sausages baked in
Yorkshire pudding
Yorkshire pudding is a baked pudding made from a batter of eggs, flour, and milk or water. A common British side dish, it is a versatile food that can be served in numerous ways depending on its ingredients, size, and the accompanying compon ...
*
Toast
**
Baked beans
Baked beans is a dish traditionally containing white beans that are parboiled and then, in the US, baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. In the United Kingdom, the dish is sometimes baked, but usually stewed in sauce. Canned ...
on toast
**
Welsh Rarebit – hot cheese sauce on toast
*
Toastie
A pie iron—also called pudgy pie iron, sandwich toaster, snackwicher, toastie maker, that consists of two hinged concave, round or square, cast iron or aluminium plates on long handles. Its "clamshell" design resembles that of a waffle iro ...
– grilled sandwich
*
Yorkshire pudding
Yorkshire pudding is a baked pudding made from a batter of eggs, flour, and milk or water. A common British side dish, it is a versatile food that can be served in numerous ways depending on its ingredients, size, and the accompanying compon ...
Egypt
![Ful medames (arabic meal)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Ful_medames_%28arabic_meal%29.jpg)
*
Basbousa
Basbousa () is a sweet, syrup-soaked semolina cake that originated in Egypt. The semolina batter is baked in a sheet pan, then sweetened with orange flower water, rose water or simple syrup, and typically cut into diamond (lozenge) shapes or squa ...
– sweet unleavened cake
*
Falafel
Falafel (; ar, فلافل, ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter in Middle Eastern cuisine (especially in Levantine and Egyptian cuisines) made from ground chickpeas, broad beans, or both. Nowadays, falafel is often served ...
– fried bean ball
*
Fatteh
Fatteh ( ar, فتّة meaning ''crushed'' or ''crumbs'', also romanized as ''fette'', ''fetté'', ''fatta'' or ''fattah'')Patai, 1998, p. 98. is an Egyptian and Levantine dish consisting of pieces of fresh, toasted, grilled, or stale flatbread c ...
– meat soup on cooked rice with crisp flatbread with garlic sauce
*
Ful medames
Ful medames ( ar, فول مدمس, ' ; other spellings include ''ful mudammas'' and '' foule mudammes''), or simply fūl, is a stew of cooked fava beans served with olive oil, cumin, and optionally with chopped parsley, garlic, onion, lemon juice, ...
– bean stew
*
Hawawshi – pita bread stuffed with flavored meat
*
Kushari
Koshary, kushari or koshari ( arz, كشري ) is Egypt's national dish and a widely popular street food. A traditional Egyptian staple, mixing pasta, rice and brown lentils, and topped with a zesty tomato sauce, garlic vinegar and garnished wi ...
– casserole of rice, macaroni, and vegetables
*
Macarona béchamel – baked pasta dish with ground meat and béchamel sauce
*
Sahlab
Salep, also spelled sahlep or sahlab,( tr, salep, sahlep; fa, ثعلب, ; ar, سحلب, ; al, salep; az, səhləb; he, סַחְלָבּ, ; el, σαλέπι, ; Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian and Bosnian: салеп, ''salep'') is a flour m ...
– winter beverage from ''
Orchis'' flour
*
Mulukhiyah – soup or stew made with
jute mallow leaves
*
Om Ali
Om Ali, Omali, Umm Ali, or Oumm Ali ( arz, أم على), meaning "Mother of Ali", is a traditional Egyptian dessert, and is a national dessert of Egypt. There are numerous variations with different composition. The dish, which is traced back to ...
– Pastry mixed with milk, nuts and sometimes coconut flakes topped with cream or butter and baked
France
![Madeleines_de_Commercy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Madeleines_de_Commercy.jpg)
*
Crème caramel
Crème caramel (), flan, caramel pudding or caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of clear caramel sauce.
History
The origin of crème caramel (also known originally as flan) can be traced all the way back to the Roman Empire. Orig ...
– custard dessert
*
French onion soup
French onion soup (French: ''soupe à l’oignon'' ) is a soup usually based on meat stock and onions, and often served gratinéed with croutons or a larger piece of bread covered with cheese floating on top. Ancient in origin, the dish under ...
– onion soup with cheese and bread
*
Gratin dauphinois – potato slices baked with cream
*
Pâté
''Pâté'' ( , , ) is a paste, pie or loaf filled with a forcemeat. Common forcemeats include ground meat from pork, poultry, fish or beef; fat, vegetables, herbs, spices and either wine or brandy (often cognac or armagnac). It is often ser ...
– cold meat paste
*
Pot-au-feu – beef stew
*Tomates Farcies – Tomatoes stuffed with ground meat
Germany
![Frittatensuppe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Frittatensuppe.jpg)
German comfort foods may include the following foods:
*
Arme Ritter
*
Auszogne
*
Bouletten, Frikadellen, Fleischpflanzerl etc.
*
Bratkartoffeln
*
Currywurst
Currywurst () is a fast food dish of German origin consisting of steamed, fried sausage, usually pork (german: Bratwurst), typically cut into bite-sized chunks and seasoned with curry ketchup, a sauce based on spiced ketchup or tomato past ...
*
Flädlesuppe
*
Fleischsalat
*
Frankfurter
*
Franzbrötchen
*
Gaisburger Marsch
Gaisburger Marsch (German for "march of Gaisburg") is a traditional Swabian beef stew, Peter Lesniczak: ''Alte Landschaftsküchen im Sog der Modernisierung. Studien zu einer Ernährungsgeographie Deutschlands zwischen 1860 und 1930, Teil 4''. ...
*
Hamburger Aalsuppe
*
Hamburger Labskaus
*
Kartoffelpuffer
*
Käsespätzle
Käsespätzle (German for "spätzle with cheese", also called ''Käsknöpfle'' in Vorarlberg and Liechtenstein or ''Kasnocken'' in Tyrol) is a traditional dish of the German regions of Swabia, Baden and Allgäu, and also in the Austrian regions Vo ...
*
Klöße
*
Kohlrouladen
*
Leberkäse
*
Laugenbrezn, Laugengebäck
*
Maultasche
(singular ''Maultasche'' , ) are a kind of large meat-filled dumpling in Swabian cuisine. They consist of sheets of pasta dough filled with minced meat, smoked meat, spinach, bread crumbs and onions and flavored with various herbs and spice ...
n
*
Mett
*
Münchner Weißwürscht
*
Nürnberger Lebkuchen
*
Nürnberger Rostbratwurst
*
Obazda
*
Pichlstoana
*
Regensburger
*
Rote Grütze
*
Rindsrouladen
*
Sauerbraten
Sauerbraten is a traditional German roast of heavily marinated meat. It is regarded as a national dish of Germany, and is frequently served in German-style restaurants internationally. It can be prepared from a variety of meats, most often from ...
*
Saumagen
*
Schwäbische Spätzle
*
Schlachtplatte
A ''Schlachteplatte'', ''Schlachtplatte'', ''Schlachtschüssel'' (Southern German) or ''Metzgete'' (Swiss and southwestern part of Baden-Württemberg in Germany) is a hearty German dish that primarily consists of boiled pork belly (''Kesselfleisc ...
*
Schnitzel
A schnitzel is a thin slice of meat. The meat is usually thinned by pounding with a meat tenderizer. Most commonly, the meat is breaded before frying. Breaded schnitzel is popular in many countries and is made using veal, pork, chicken, mutt ...
*
Schweinshaxn
*
Spanferkel
*
Steckerlfisch
*
Schweinsbraten
Greece
*
Pastitsio
Pastitsio ( el, παστίτσιο, ''pastítsio'') is a Greek baked pasta dish with ground meat and béchamel sauce, with variations of the dish found in other countries of the Mediterranean Sea.
Name and origin
Pastitsio takes its name from t ...
*
Moussaka
Moussaka (, , ) is an eggplant- or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations.
The best-known version in Europe and the Americas is the Greek vari ...
*
Gemista
Dolma (Turkish for “stuffed”) is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine, and common in modern national cuisines of regions and countries that once were part of the Ottoman Empire. Some types of dolma are made with whol ...
*
Gyros
*
Keftedakia – meatballs
*
Koulourakia
Koulourakia ( el, Κουλουράκια, ; singular: el, Κουρουλάκι, Koulouráki), also called Koulouria ( el, Κουλούρια, ; singular: el, Κουλούρι, Kouloúri), are a traditional Greek dessert, typically made around E ...
*
Dolmadakia
*
Souvlaki
Souvlaki ( el, σουβλάκι, , ; plural: , ), is a popular Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot. It can be served with ...
Hong Kong
*Baked
Pork Chop
A pork chop, like other meat chops, is a loin cut taken perpendicular to the spine of the pig and is usually a rib or part of a vertebra. Pork chops are unprocessed and leaner than other cuts. Chops are commonly served as an individual por ...
Rice – a type of
Hong Kong-style western cuisine
*
Cart noodle
Cart noodle () is a noodle dish which became popular in Hong Kong and Macau in the 1950s through independent street vendors operating on roadsides and in public housing estates in low-income districts, using carts. Many street vendors have v ...
– an à la carte noodle dish traditionally sold using carts
*
Cha Chaan Teng
''Cha chaan teng'' (; "tea restaurant"), often called a Hong Kong-style cafe or diner in English, is a type of restaurant that originated in Hong Kong. Cha chaan teng are commonly found in Hong Kong, Macau, and parts of Guangdong. Due to th ...
– a Hong Kong style place to eat comfort food
*
Dim Sum
Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cuis ...
– small bite-sized portions of food served in small steamer baskets during
yum cha
*
Egg Tart
*
Hotpot
*
Macaroni
Macaroni (, Italian: maccheroni) is dry pasta shaped like narrow tubes.Oxford DictionaryMacaroni/ref> Made with durum wheat, macaroni is commonly cut in short lengths; curved macaroni may be referred to as elbow macaroni. Some home machine ...
in
broth
Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...
– a type of
Hong Kong-style western cuisine
*
Pineapple Bun
A pineapple bun () is a kind of sweet bun predominantly popular in Hong Kong and also common in Chinatowns worldwide. Despite the name, it does not traditionally contain pineapple; rather, the name refers to the look of the characteristic top ...
– a type of pastry that resembles a
pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
*
Put chai ko
''Put chai ko'' () is a popular snack in Hong Kong. The pudding cake is palm size and is sweet in taste. It is soft, but can hold its molded shape outside a bowl.
The cake is made from white or brown sugar, long-grain rice flour with a little ...
– a palm-sized pudding cake snack
*
Siu Mei
''Siu mei'' () is the generic Cantonese name of meats roasted on spits over an open fire or a large wood-burning rotisserie oven. It creates a unique, deep barbecue flavor and the roast is usually coated with a flavorful sauce (a different sau ...
(including
char siu
''Char siu'' () is a Chinese, specifically Cantonese–style of barbecued pork. Originating in Guangdong, it is eaten with rice, used as an ingredient for noodle dishes or in stir fries, and as a filling for '' chasiu baau'' or '' pineapple ...
) – meats roasted on spits over an open fire or in a large rotisserie oven
Hungary
![Túrós és lekváros puliszka](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/T%C3%BAr%C3%B3s_%C3%A9s_lekv%C3%A1ros_puliszka.jpg)
*
Aranygaluska – dough balls rolled in a mixture of sugar and crushed nuts
*
Goulash soup
*
Chicken soup
Chicken soup is a soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common additions are pasta, noodles, ...
*
Lángos
Lángos () is a typical Hungarian food. Today it is a deep fried flatbread, but in the past it was made of the last bits of the bread-dough and baked at the front of the brick or clay oven, to be served hot as the breakfast of the bread-baking da ...
– yeast dough deep fried in oil with various toppings
*
Madártej – meringue floating on crème anglaise
*
Chicken paprikash
Chicken paprikash ( hu, paprikás csirke or ''csirkepaprikás'') or paprika chicken is a popular dish of Hungarian origin and one of the most famous variations on the ''paprikás'' preparations common to Hungarian tables. The name is derived fr ...
* – potato stew with paprika
*
Pörkölt
Pörkölt is a meat stew which originates from Hungary, but is eaten throughout Central Europe.
In Hungary
Pörkölt is a Hungarian stew with boneless meat, paprika, and some vegetables. It should not be confused with ''Goulash'', a stew with ...
– meat stew with paprika
*
Puliszka – polenta with toppings
*
Rántott hús – a type of Snitzel; but also
fried chicken
Fried chicken, also known as Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating o ...
is called the same way
*
Tejbegríz – Semolina pudding
*
Tojásos nokedli – small, plump soft noodles with eggs
India
*
Biryani
Biryani () is a mixed rice dish originating among the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. It is made with Indian spices, rice, and usually some type of meat ( chicken, beef, goat, lamb, prawn, fish) or in some cases without any meat, ...
– Mutton, chicken, beef or lamb
*
Chaat
Chaat, or chāt (IAST: ''cāṭ)'' () is a family of savoury snacks that originated in North India, typically served as an hors d'oeuvre or at roadside tracks from stalls or food carts across South Asia in North India, Pakistan, Nepal and B ...
*
Curd rice
Curd rice, also called yogurt rice, is a dish originating from India. The word "curd" in Indian English refers to unsweetened probiotic yogurt. It is most popular in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala , Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra ...
– Rice mixed with yogurt
*
Cutlet
Cutlet (derived from French ''côtelette'', ''côte'', "rib") refers to:
# a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of mutton, veal, pork or chicken
# a dish made of such slice, often breaded (also known in various languages as a '' cotoletta ...
* Daal chawal – particularly in North India
*
Fish fry
*
Kachori
*
Kadhi chawal - curd
curry
A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included.
There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in trad ...
with rice
*
Rolls
*
Maachh-bhaat
*
Momo
*
Sambar
*
Samosa
A samosa () or singara is a fried Indian pastry with a savory filling, including ingredients such as spiced potatoes, onions, and peas. It may take different forms, including triangular, cone, or half-moon shapes, depending on the region. Sam ...
*
Puri
Puri () is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as '' ...
– Fried flatbread
*
Masala Dosa
Masala Dosa, also called Masale dosey ( ಮಸಾಲೆ ದೋಸೆ ), is a South Indian dish. It is a type of dosa and has its origin in Udupi cuisine of Karnataka. It is made from rice, lentils, Urad dal, Chana dal, fenugreek, puffed rice ...
– rice crepes, with or without a filling of potatoes and onion
*
Khichdi – Made with Rice and Legumes (lentils, mung beans)
*
Pav bhaji
Pav bhaji (Marathi : पाव भाजी) is a fast food dish from India consisting of a thick vegetable curry (''bhaji'') served with a soft bread roll (''pav''). Its origins are in the state of Maharashtra.
History
The dish originated as ...
– Curry served with buttered buns.
* Radhaballavi – Deep-fried flatbread with a filling
*
Rajma chawal – rice with beans
*
Rasam and
Curd rice
Curd rice, also called yogurt rice, is a dish originating from India. The word "curd" in Indian English refers to unsweetened probiotic yogurt. It is most popular in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala , Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra ...
– particularly in South India
Indonesia
![Bubur ayam chicken porridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Bubur_ayam_chicken_porridge.JPG)
Some popular
Indonesian foods are considered to be comfort food, usually served hot or warm, and either soupy or with a soft texture. Most of them are high in
carbs or fat, such as congee, fried rice, and noodles which are high in carbs; while meatballs and grilled skewered meats contain fair amounts of fat and salt. Comfort foods often are the kind of food that provides nostalgic sentiments, as they often called ''masakan rumahan'' (home cooking) or ''masakan ibu'' (mother's dishes). In Indonesia, the warm and soft texture of
bubur ayam
Bubur ayam ( Indonesian for "chicken congee") is an Indonesian chicken congee. It is rice congee with shredded chicken meat served with some condiments, such as chopped scallion, crispy fried shallot, celery, '' tongcay'' (preserved salted veget ...
is believed to help people to recover during
convalescence
Convalescence is the gradual recovery of health and strength after illness or injury. It refers to the later stage of an infectious disease or illness when the patient recovers and returns to previous health, but may continue to be a source of ...
.
Sayur sop or sup ayam is Indonesian chicken soup that often sought during
flu. The warm soup contains chunk of chicken, bits of potato, carrot, and common
green bean
Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean ('' Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedali ...
served in chicken stock.
Some Indonesian comfort foods are traditional Indonesian food and some are derived from
Chinese influences. For some Indonesians, especially those who are abroad, comfort food might also be a certain brand or type of Indonesian
instant noodle
Instant noodles, or instant ramen, is a type of food consisting of noodles sold in a precooked and dried block with flavoring powder and/or seasoning oil. The dried noodle block was originally created by flash frying cooked noodles, and this is ...
, such as
Indomie Mi goreng
Indomie is a brand of instant noodle produced by the Indonesian company Indofood. Indofood itself is the largest instant noodle producer in the world with 16 factories. Over 15 billion packets of Indomie are produced annually. Indomie is also ...
.
Indonesian comfort foods include:
*
Bakmi
''Bakmi'' ( jv, ꦧꦏ꧀ꦩꦶ, bakmi) or ''bami'' ( th, บะหมี่, ) is a type of wheat based noodles derived from Chinese cooking tradition. It was brought to Indonesia by Chinese immigrants from Southern Chinese provinces like Fuj ...
or
mie ayam
Mie ayam, mi ayam, or bakmi ayam (Indonesian for ' chicken bakmi', literally chicken noodles) is a common Indonesian dish of seasoned yellow wheat noodles topped with diced chicken meat (''ayam''). It is derived from culinary techniques employe ...
– noodles (''mi'') with pork (''bak'') or chicken (''ayam'')
*
Bakso
Bakso or baso is an Indonesian meatball, or a meat paste made from beef surimi. Its texture is similar to the Chinese beef ball, fish ball, or pork ball. The word ''bakso'' may refer to a single meatball or the complete dish of meatball soup. '' ...
– meatball soup
*
Bubur ayam
Bubur ayam ( Indonesian for "chicken congee") is an Indonesian chicken congee. It is rice congee with shredded chicken meat served with some condiments, such as chopped scallion, crispy fried shallot, celery, '' tongcay'' (preserved salted veget ...
– chicken
congee
Congee or conjee ( ) is a type of rice porridge or gruel eaten in Asian countries. It can be eaten plain, where it is typically served with side dishes, or it can be served with ingredients such as meat, fish, seasonings and flavourings, most ...
*
Gado-gado
''Gado-gado'' ( Indonesian or Betawi) is an Indonesian salad of raw, slightly boiled, blanched or steamed vegetables and hard-boiled eggs, boiled potato, fried tofu and tempeh, and ''lontong'' (rice wrapped in a banana leaf), served with a ...
– salad containing vegetables,
tempeh
Tempeh or tempe (; jv, ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, témpé, ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, '' Rhizo ...
and egg in peanut sauce
*
Indomie Mi goreng
Indomie is a brand of instant noodle produced by the Indonesian company Indofood. Indofood itself is the largest instant noodle producer in the world with 16 factories. Over 15 billion packets of Indomie are produced annually. Indomie is also ...
– fried noodle
*
Nasi goreng
''Nasi goreng'' (English pronunciation: ) is a Southeast Asian fried rice dish, usually cooked with pieces of meat and vegetables. One of Indonesia's national dishes, it is also eaten in Malay-speaking communities in countries such as Malaysi ...
– fried rice
*
Nasi tim – steamed chicken rice
*Sayur sop or sup ayam – Indonesian chicken and vegetables soup
*
Sate
Satay ( , in USA also , ), or sate in Indonesian spelling, is a Southeast Asian dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. The earliest preparations of satay is believed to have originated in Javanese cuisine, but ha ...
– skewered barbecue with peanut sauce
*
Soto ayam
Soto ayam is a traditional Indonesian dish which uses ingredients such as chicken, '' lontong'', noodles, and rice vermicelli. Soto ayam is popular in Singapore, Malaysia and Suriname. Turmeric is added as one of its main ingredients which makes ...
– spicy chicken soup
Ireland
*
Bangers and mash
Bangers and mash, also known as sausages and mash, is a traditional British dish, consisting of sausages served with mashed potatoes. It may consist of one of a variety of flavoured sausages made of pork, lamb, or beef (often specifically Cumber ...
*
Coddle
*
Colcannon
*
Fish and chips
Fish and chips is a popular hot dish consisting of fried fish in crispy batter, served with chips. The dish originated in England, where these two components had been introduced from separate immigrant cultures; it is not known who created ...
*
Full Irish breakfast
*
Irish stew
Irish stew ( ga, stobhach/Stobhach Gaelach) is a stew native to Ireland that is traditionally made with root vegetables and lamb or mutton, but also commonly with beef. As in all traditional folk dishes, the exact recipe is not consistent from t ...
*
Shepherd's pie
Shepherd's pie, cottage pie, or in its French version hachis Parmentier is a savoury dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato and baked. The meat used may be either previously cooked or freshly minced. The usual meats are beef or la ...
*
Soda bread
Soda bread is a variety of quick bread traditionally made in a variety of cuisines in which sodium bicarbonate (otherwise known as "baking soda", or in Ireland, "bread soda") is used as a leavening agent instead of the traditional yeast. The i ...
*
Spice bag
* 3-in-1 (egg-fried rice, chips, and curry sauce)
Italy
![Panna_Cotta_with_cream_and_garnish](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Panna_Cotta_with_cream_and_garnish.jpg)
*
Bruschetta
Bruschetta (, , ) is an antipasto (starter dish) from Italy consisting of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil and salt. Variations may include toppings of tomato, vegetables, beans, cured meat, or cheese. In Italy, brusche ...
*
Cacciucco – fish stew
*
Crostini – small toasted bread slices with toppings
*
Gnocchi
Gnocchi ( , , ; singular ''gnocco'') are a varied family of dumpling in Italian cuisine. They are made of small lumps of dough most traditionally composed of a simple combination of wheat flour, egg, salt, and potato. Variations of the dish sup ...
– small soft dough dumplings
*
Lasagne
Lasagna (, also , also known as lasagne, ) is a type of pasta, possibly one of the oldest types, made of very wide, flat sheets. Either term can also refer to an Italian dish made of stacked layers of lasagna alternating with fillings such as ...
– flat noodles (
pasta
Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, ...
) layered with meat, cheese and tomato sauce
*
Pasta all'amatriciana – pasta with
guanciale,
tomato sauce
Tomato sauce (also known as ''salsa roja'' in Spanish or ''salsa di pomodoro'' in Italian) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish, rather than as a condiment. Tomato sauces are ...
and
pecorino cheese
Pecorino cheeses are hard Italian cheeses made from sheep's milk. The name "" derives from ''pecora'' which means sheep in Italian.
Overview
Of the six main varieties of pecorino, all of which have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status ...
*
Pasta alla carbonara – pasta with
egg guanciale, and
pecorino cheese
Pecorino cheeses are hard Italian cheeses made from sheep's milk. The name "" derives from ''pecora'' which means sheep in Italian.
Overview
Of the six main varieties of pecorino, all of which have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status ...
*
Nutella
Nutella (; ; ) is a brand of sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread. Nutella is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero and was first introduced in 1964, although its first iteration dates to 1963.
History
Pietro Ferrero owned a bakery in Alba, ...
– sweet
spread
Spread may refer to:
Places
* Spread, West Virginia
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Spread'' (film), a 2009 film.
* ''$pread'', a quarterly magazine by and for sex workers
* "Spread", a song by OutKast from their 2003 album ''Speakerboxxx/T ...
of
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter an ...
and
hazelnut
The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according ...
s
*
Panna cotta – sweetened cream thickened with gelatin
*
Pizza
Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, on ...
– baked
flatbread
A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread.
Flatbreads r ...
with toppings
*
Porchetta – boneless pork roast
*
Risotto
Risotto (, , from meaning "rice") is a northern Italian rice dish cooked with broth until it reaches a creamy consistency. The broth can be derived from meat, fish, or vegetables. Many types of risotto contain butter, onion, white wine, and Pa ...
Japan
*
Curry Rice/Kare Raisu – Stewed vegetables - most commonly potato, onion, and carrot - in a mild curry sauce, sometimes with meat
*
Chazuke/ochazuke – rice with green tea
*
Miso soup
is a traditional Japanese soup consisting of a dashi stock into which softened miso paste is mixed. In addition, there are many optional ingredients (various vegetables, tofu, '' abura-age'', etc.) that may be added depending on regional a ...
– soybean-flavored clear soup
*
Mochi
is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...
– rice cake
*
Onigiri
, also known as , , or rice ball, is a Japanese food made from white rice formed into triangular or cylindrical shapes and often wrapped in ''nori''. Traditionally, an onigiri is filled with pickled ume (''umeboshi''), salted salmon, katsuob ...
– rice ball
*
Ramen
is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle di ...
– soup with thin noodles
*
Takoyaki
is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus (''tako''), tempura scraps (''tenkasu''), pickled ginger (''beni shoga''), and green o ...
– octopus balls
*
Tempura
is a typical Japanese dish usually consisting of seafood, meat and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. The dish was introduced by the Portuguese in Nagasaki through fritter-cooking techniques in the 16th century. The word ...
– battered, deep-fried pieces of meat or vegetables
*
Udon
Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...
– soup with thick noodles
Philippines
![Philippine pork adobo cooked in a kawali](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Philippine_pork_adobo_cooked_in_a_kawali.jpg)
*
Adobo – A salt and vinegar marinated meat stew, with a large amount of local and regional variations.
*
Arroz Caldo /
Lugaw – A thick, savory rice porridge, often served as breakfast, on rainy days, or when sick.
*
Batchoy – A noodle soup with a variety of meats.
*
Filipino spaghetti
Filipino spaghetti is a Filipino adaptation of Italian spaghetti with Bolognese sauce. It has a distinctively sweet sauce, usually made from tomato sauce sweetened with brown sugar and banana ketchup. It is typically topped with sliced hot do ...
- Sweet and savory spaghetti
*
Ginataan – A
coconut cream
Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food in ...
-based dessert soup with candied banana, sticky rice balls, ''sagó'' (
tapioca
Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, but whose use is now spread throughout South America ...
balls), taro, and ''langkâ'' (jackfruit).
*
Bulalo
''Bulalô'' is a beef dish from the Philippines. It is a light colored soup that is made by cooking beef shanks and bone marrow until the collagen and fat has been melted into the clear broth. It typically includes leafy vegetables (like pechay ...
– A beef
bone marrow
Bone marrow is a semi-solid biological tissue, tissue found within the Spongy bone, spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It i ...
soup.
*
Champorado – Chocolate rice porridge, sometimes served savory (as with ''
tuyô'')
*
Dinuguan - A pork blood and
offal
Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but usually excludes muscle. Offal may also refe ...
stew.
*
Halo-halo
Halo-halo, correctly spelled ''haluhalo'', Tagalog for "mixed" (the more common spelling instead literally equating to "mix-mix") is a popular cold dessert in the Philippines made up of crushed ice, evaporated milk or coconut milk, and vari ...
– A cold, crushed ice dessert dish of mixed sweets in fruits, with milk and topped with ice cream and
leche flan
Leche (Spanish: "milk") may refer to:
* Leche (surname)
* ''Leche'' (Fobia album), 1993
* ''Leche'' (Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas album), 1999
* ''Leche'', a 2010 album by Gregory and the Hawk
* Leche frita, a Spanish sweet
See also
* Lagu ...
.
*
Kare-kare
Kare-kare is a Philippine stew (''kare'' derives from "curry") that features a thick savory peanut sauce. It is generally made from a base of stewed oxtail, beef tripe, pork hocks, calves' feet, pig's feet or trotters, various cuts of por ...
– A stew of ox
tripe
Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pigs and sheep.
Types of tripe
Beef tripe
Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's ...
and
oxtail
Oxtail (occasionally spelled ox tail or ox-tail) is the culinary name for the tail of cattle. While the word once meant only the tail of an ox, today it can also refer to the tails of other cattle. An oxtail typically weighs around and is ski ...
in a peanut sauce. It is regarded as a local variant of Indian curry.
*
Lumpia
''Lumpia'' are various types of spring rolls commonly found in the Philippines and Indonesia. Lumpia are made of thin paper-like or crepe-like pastry skin called "lumpia wrapper" enveloping savory or sweet fillings. It is often served as an ap ...
– Fried or fresh spring rolls with vegetable or meat filling.
*
Lomi – A hot noodle soup with distinctly thick egg noodles.
*
Pancit – A class of noodles, almost always fried or stir-fried, and often served during birthday celebrations.
*
puto – Steamed rice cakes
*
Sinampalukan - Sour,
tamarind
Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabacea ...
-based chicken soup
*
Sinigang
''Sinigang'' is a Filipino soup or stew characterized by its sour and savory taste. It is most often associated with tamarind ( Filipino: ''sampalok''), although it can use other sour fruits and leaves as the souring agent. It is one of the mor ...
– A classification of sour soups with different configurations of meats, vegetables, and souring agents.
*
Sopas - A creamy soup (usually made with chicken) with elbow
macaroni
Macaroni (, Italian: maccheroni) is dry pasta shaped like narrow tubes.Oxford DictionaryMacaroni/ref> Made with durum wheat, macaroni is commonly cut in short lengths; curved macaroni may be referred to as elbow macaroni. Some home machine ...
.
*
Suman – Another type of glutinous rice cake
*
Tsokolate – Hot chocolate drink made with
cacao, served with or without milk.
Poland
![Pierogi z cebulką](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Pierogi_z_cebulk%C4%85.jpg)
Some Polish comfort food include:
* Soups and stews
**
Bigos – "hunters' stew"
** Barszcz z uszkami – clear beetroot soup with forest mushrooms dumplings
**
Gulasz – goulash / meat and vegetable stew
**
Kapuśniak – sauerkraut soup
**
Rosół – chicken soup with fine noodles
** Zupa grzybowa – wild mushroom soup
**
Zupa ogórkowa
Cucumber soup is a traditional Polish and Lithuanian soup ( Polish: ( sometimes simply ogórkowa). It is made from sour, salted cucumbers and potato. Occasionally rice is substituted for the potatoes.
Cucumber soup is also any soup using cucu ...
– sour cucumber soup
**
Zupa pomidorowa – clear tomato soup with rice or noodles
**
Zupa szczawiowa – sorrel soup served with boiled egg
**
Żurek – sour rye soup
* Budyń waniliowy z malinami – vanilla pudding with raspberries
*
Kotlet schabowy – pork schnitzel
*
Golonka – stewed or roasted
ham hock
__NOTOC__
A ham hock (or hough) or pork knuckle is the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot of a pig, where the foot was attached to the hog's leg. It is the portion of the leg that is neither part of the ham proper no ...
*
Kopytka
Kopytka (literally "little hooves") are a kind of potato dumpling in Polish, Belarusian, and Lithuanian cuisines. They are similar to Italian gnocchi.
Preparation and serving
The typical ingredients are boiled potatoes and flour, but may also ...
– small potato dumpling
*
Łazanki – large flat noodles with fried sauerkraut
* Makaron ze śmietaną i truskawkami – pasta with cream and strawberries
* Naleśniki z twarogiem –
pancake
A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying w ...
s with milk curd
*
Pierogi
Pierogi are filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water. They are often pan-fried before serving.
Pierogi or their varieties are associated with the cuisines of Central, Ea ...
– filled dumplings
*
Placki ziemniaczane – potato pancakes
*
Sernik – baked cheesecake
*
Śledź w oleju – pickled herring
*
Zapiekanka – toasted open-face sandwich
Puerto Rico
![Arroz-con-Pollo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Arroz-con-Pollo.jpg)
Some Puerto Rican comfort foods include:
*
Arroz con gandules – rice with pigeon peas
*
Arroz con pollo – rice with chicken
* Bistec encebollado – steak and onions
* Carne Guisada – stewed beef
* Carne mechada – Puerto Rican style meatloaf
*
Churrasco
''Churrasco'' (, ) is the Portuguese and Spanish name for beef or grilled meat more generally. It is a prominent feature in the cuisine of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. The related term '' churrascaria'' (or ''churrasquería'') is mostly un ...
– grilled flank or skirt steak
*
Cuchifritos
Cuchifritos () or cochifritos refers to various fried foods prepared principally of pork in Spanish and Puerto Rican cuisine. In Spain, cuchifritos are a typical dish from Segovia in Castile. The dish consists of pork meat fried in olive oil ...
and
Fritanga – assortments of fried appetizers (
alcapurrias, bacalaitos,
pastelitos/pastelillos,
piononos
Pionono describes different sweet or savory pastries from Granada, Spain, the Caribbean, South America, and the Philippines. It is named after Pope Pius IX's name in Spanish, .
By country Spain
Piononos are small pastries traditional in Santa ...
,
sorullos/sorullitos)
* Habichuelas guisadas con calabaza – beans stewed with pumpkin
*
Lechón asado – roast pork
* Mixta – white rice, stewed beans with pumpkin and stewed meat with potatoes and carrots
*
Mofongo and trifongo – fried mashed green plantains
* Mofongo relleno de mariscos, carne o pollo – Fried mashed green plantains stuffed with seafood, meat or chicken
*
Pasteles
''Pasteles'' (; singular ''pastel''), also pastelles in the English-speaking Caribbean, are a traditional dish in several Latin American and Caribbean countries. In Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, ...
– Puerto Rican tamales
* Pastelón de plátano maduro – ripe banana casserole with ground beef and cheddar cheese
*
Pinchos – Puerto Rican skewers
*
Tostones
Tostones (, from the Spanish verb ''tostar'' which means "to toast") are twice-fried plantain slices commonly found in Latin American cuisine and Caribbean cuisine. Most commonly known as ''tostones'', Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Cuba, Fl ...
– fried plantain slices
Russia
![Soljanka with olives](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Soljanka_with_olives.jpg)
Russian comfort foods may include:
*
Bliny
A blini (sometimes spelled bliny) ( pl., diminutive: блинчики, ''blinchiki'', dialectal, diminutive: млинчики, ''mlynchiki'') or, sometimes, blin (more accurate as a single form of the noun), is a Russian and more broadly Eastern ...
– pancakes
*
Borscht
Borscht () is a sour soup common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word "borscht" is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukrainian origin, made with red beetroots as one of the main ingredients, which g ...
*
Dressed herring
Dressed herring, colloquially known as herring under a fur coat ( rus, "сельдь под шубой", "sel'd pod shuboy" or russian: "селёдка под шубой", "selyodka pod shuboy", label=none), is a layered salad composed of diced p ...
– layered herring salad
*
Golubtsy – cabbage rolls
*
Kasha
In English, kasha usually refers to pseudocereal buckwheat or its culinary preparations. In various East-Central and Eastern European countries, ''kasha'' can apply to any kind of cooked grain. It can be baked but most often is boiled, either ...
– buckwheat porridge
*
Kotlety – meatballs
*
Kholodets – savory gelatin
*
Kvass
Kvass is a fermented cereal-based low alcoholic beverage with a slightly cloudy appearance, light-brown colour and sweet-sour taste. It may be flavoured with berries, fruits, herbs or honey.
Kvass stems from the northeastern part of Europe, ...
– fermented drink made with bread
*
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
– layered pastry
*
Okroshka
Okróshka (russian: окро́шка) is a cold soup of Russian origin and probably originated in the Volga region.
The classic soup is a mix of mostly raw vegetables (like cucumbers, radishes and spring onions), boiled potatoes, eggs, cooked ...
– cold vegetable soup
*
Oladyi
Oladyi (russian: оладьи pl., diminutive: оладушки, ''oladushki'', sg. оладья, ''oladya'') are small thick pancakes or fritters common in Russian cuisines. The batter for oladyi is made from wheat or (nowadays more rarely) bu ...
– small thick pancakes or fritters
*
Olivier salad
Olivier salad ( rus, link=no, салат Оливье, salat Olivye) is a traditional salad dish in Russian cuisine, which is also popular in other post-Soviet countries and around the world. In different modern recipes, it is usually made with ...
– vegetable salad
*
Pelmeni
Pelmeni (russian: пельмени—plural, ; pelmen, russian: пельмень, link=no—singular, ) are dumplings of Russian cuisine that consist of a filling wrapped in thin, unleavened dough.
It is debated whether they originated in Ura ...
– meat-filled dumpling
*
Pirozhki
Pirozhki ( rus, пирожки́, r=pirožkí, p=pʲɪrɐʂˈkʲi, plural form of ; uk, пиріжки, ''pyrizhky'') are Russian and Ukrainian baked or fried yeast-leavened boat-shaped buns with a variety of fillings. Pirozhki are a popular str ...
– buns with various fillings
*
Rassolnik – pickled soup
*
Shashlik
Shashlik, or shashlick (russian: шашлык ''shashlyk''), is a dish of skewered and grilled cubes of meat, similar to or synonymous with shish kebab. It is known traditionally by various other names in Iran, the Caucasus, Eastern Europe and ...
– skewered and grilled cubes of meat
*
Shchi
Shchi ( rus, щи, p=ɕːi, a=Ru-щи.ogg) is a Russian-style cabbage soup. When sauerkraut is used instead, the soup is called sour shchi, while soups based on sorrel, spinach, nettle, and similar plants are called green shchi (russian: зел ...
– cabbage soup
*
Solyanka
Solyanka (russian: соля́нка, initially ''селя́нка''; in English "Settlers' Soup") is a thick and sour soup of Russian origin that is common in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and other states of the former Soviet Union and certain part ...
– spicy and sour soup
*
Syrniki
Syrniki ( be, сырнікі; russian: сырники) or syrnyky (Ukrainian: сирники) are fried Eastern Slavic Tvorog pancakes. In Russia, they are also known as tvorozhniki (творо́жники). They are a part of Belarusian, Russ ...
–
cottage cheese
Cottage cheese is a curdled milk product with a mild flavor and a creamy, non-homogeneous, soupy texture. It is made from skimmed milk by draining the cheese, as opposed to pressing it to make cheese curd—retaining some of the whey and keep ...
pancake
A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying w ...
s
*
Ukha
Ukha ( rus, уха) is a clear Russian soup, made from various types of fish such as bream, wels catfish, northern pike, or even ruffe. It usually contains root vegetables, parsley root, leek, potato, bay leaf, dill, tarragon, and green par ...
– clear, fish-based soup
*
Vareniki
Pierogi are filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water. They are often pan-fried before serving.
Pierogi or their varieties are associated with the cuisines of Central, East ...
– filled dumplings (pierogi)
South Korea
![Seolleongtang](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Seolleongtang.jpg)
*
Tteokbokki
(), or simmered rice cake, is a popular Korean food made from small-sized (long, white, cylinder-shaped rice cakes) called (; "rice cake noodles") or commonly (; " rice cakes").
* Eomuk (fish cakes), boiled eggs, and scallions are some comm ...
–
rice cake
A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten and are particularly preval ...
s in spicy chili stew
*
Shin Ramyun
Shin Ramyun is a brand of instant noodle (including cup ramyeon) that has been produced by the South Korean food company Nongshim since 1 October 1986. It is now exported to over 100 countries, and is the best-selling instant noodle brand in S ...
– instant noodles by
Nongshim
*
Kimbap – cooked rice rolled in seaweed and stuffed with vegetables or meat
*
Samgyeopsal
''Samgyeopsal'' (; ), ''samgyeopsal-gui'' ( ), or grilled pork belly is a type of ''gui'' (grilled dish) in Korean cuisine.
Etymology
Directly translated from Korean, ''samgyeop-sal'' () means "three layer flesh," referring to striations of ...
– roasted pork belly
*
Mandu – dumplings with various fillings
* Soups and stews
**
Kimchi jjigae – spicy stew made with
kimchi
''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including '' gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), ...
**
Haejang-guk – vegetables and meat in beef broth
**
Sundubu-jjigae – soft tofu stew
**
Seolleongtang
''Seolleongtang''
* () or ox bone soup is a Korean broth tang (soup) made from ox bones (mostly leg bones), brisket and other cuts. Seasoning is generally done at the table according to personal taste by adding salt, ground black pepper, red ...
– ox bone soup
**
Budae-jjigae – "army stew" with noodles,
Spam
Spam may refer to:
* Spam (food), a canned pork meat product
* Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages
** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages
** Messaging spam, spam targeting users of instant messaging ...
, vegetables and other ingredients
**
Kalguksu – soup with handmade noodles
Spain
![Churros con Chocolate en San Sebastián](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Churros_con_Chocolate_en_San_Sebasti%C3%A1n.jpg)
* ''Castañas asadas'' –
roasted chestnuts
* ''Chocolate con churros'' –
hot chocolate
Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate ...
drink with
fried dough
* ''Cordero asado'' – grilled
lamb
Lamb or The Lamb may refer to:
* A young sheep
* Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep
Arts and media Film, television, and theatre
* ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut
* ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...
* Fried seafood, such as ''boquerones fritos'' (fried
anchovies
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...
) and ''calamares fritos'' (fried
squid
True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fittin ...
)
* ''
Gazpacho
Gazpacho (; ) or Gaspacho (), also called Andalusian gazpacho, is a cold soup and drink made of raw, blended vegetables. It originated in the southern regions of the Iberian peninsula and spread into other areas. Gazpacho is widely eaten in Sp ...
'' – cold vegetable soup
* ''
Jamón serrano
''Jamón'' (, pl. ''jamones'') is a kind of dry-cured ham produced in Spain. It is one of the most globally recognized food items of Spanish cuisine. It is also regularly a component of tapas.
Most ''jamón'' is commonly called '' jamón serran ...
'' – Serrano ham
* ''
Paella
Paella (, , , , , ) is a rice dish originally from Valencia. While non-Spaniards commonly view it as Spain's national dish, Spaniards almost unanimously consider it to be a dish from the Valencian region. Valencians, in turn, regard ''paella'' ...
'' – rice with saffron, cooked in a shallow pan
* Sausage, such as ''
chorizo
Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from Portuguese ) is a type of pork cured meat originating from the Iberian Peninsula.
In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, ...
'', ''
morcilla
A blood sausage is a sausage filled with blood that is cooked or dried and mixed with a filler until it is thick enough to solidify when cooled. Most commonly, the blood of pigs, sheep, lamb, cow, chicken, or goose is used.
In Europe and the A ...
'', and salchichón
* ''Sobao'' – sweet bread
* Stew, such as ''cocido madrileño'' (Madrid stew)
* ''Tarta de Santiago'' – almond cake or tart
* ''Torreznos'' – bacon
* ''Tortilla española'' or ''tortilla de patata'' – potato-onion omelet
Taiwan
![Tan Tsai Noodle of Tu Hsiao Yueh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Tan_Tsai_Noodle_of_Tu_Hsiao_Yueh.jpg)
* Beef noodle soup
* Dan zai noodles – noodles and prawn with broth
* Minced pork rice
* Oyster omelette
* Red bean soup
* Small sausage in large sausage – grilled sausage in a rice casing
* Tangyuan (food), Tangyuan – filled rice dumplings in sweet syrup
Turkey
![Mantı](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Mant%C4%B1.jpg)
Some Turkish comfort foods are:
* Manti (dumpling), Mantı – spicy meat dumpling
* Kuru fasulye – bean and tomato stew
* Pilaf, Pilav – rice dish
* Lentil soup, Mercimek Çorbası – a soup based on lentils
* Börek – baked filled pastries, a wide variety of regional variations of börek exists
* Menemen (food), Menemen - commonly eaten for breakfast
* Sarma (food), Yaprak Sarma - stuffed grape leaves
* Gözleme - a stuffed flatbread , commonly stuffed with spinach,minced meat and potato mash
* Lahmacun
* İçli Pide, Pide
* Tarhana, Tarhana soup
Ukraine
Ukrainian comfort foods include, but aren't limitied to:
*
Borscht
Borscht () is a sour soup common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word "borscht" is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukrainian origin, made with red beetroots as one of the main ingredients, which g ...
— beetroots soup, also there are few variants:
** Green borscht
** White borscht
** Cabbage borscht
* Potato pancake, Deruny — potato pancakes with sour cream
* Cabbage roll, Holubtsi — small, medium or large rolls with prepared rice
** Cabbage roll
** Grape leaves roll
*
Kasha
In English, kasha usually refers to pseudocereal buckwheat or its culinary preparations. In various East-Central and Eastern European countries, ''kasha'' can apply to any kind of cooked grain. It can be baked but most often is boiled, either ...
— kind of porridge
* Kholodets —
* Kolach — sweet, round shaped pastry
* Mlyntsi, Mlynci — pancakes.
** Nalysnyky — pancakes with fillings
* Pampushka, Pampushky — small savory or sweet yeast-raised bun
* Pyrizhky — baked or fried small donuts with different (mostly fruits or meat) fillings.
* Syrniki, Syrnyky — fried Quark (cheese), quark
pancake
A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying w ...
s, garnished with sour cream
* Varennia — jam
* Varenyky — Filled dumplings cooked at boiling water
* Vinehret — Beans and potato salad colored with beetroots
United States
![Original Mac n Cheese](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Original_Mac_n_Cheese_.jpg)
American comfort foods may include the following foods:
* Apple pie
* Stew, Beef stew
* Biscuits and gravy
* Burritos
*
Cake
Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate ...
*
Casserole
A casserole (French: diminutive of , from Provençal 'pan') is a normally large deep pan or bowl a casserole is anything in a casserole pan. Hot or cold
History
Baked dishes have existed for thousands of years. Early casserole recipes c ...
s
* Chicken and dumplings
* Chicken fried steak
*
Chicken soup
Chicken soup is a soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common additions are pasta, noodles, ...
* Chili con carne, Chili
* Chili mac
* Chocolate chip cookies
* Chowders: Clam chowder, Prawn soup, Shrimp chowder, Corn chowder, etc.
* Cornbread
* Bacon and cabbage#Corned beef and cabbage .28USA.29, Corned beef and cabbage
* Cupcakes
* Fluffernutter
* French fries
French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...
* Fried chicken
Fried chicken, also known as Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating o ...
* Green bean casserole
* New Mexican cuisine#Foods and dishes, Green chile stew
* Grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup
* Grits
* Hotdish
* Ice cream
Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...
* Lasagna
Lasagna (, also , also known as lasagne, ) is a type of pasta, possibly one of the oldest types, made of very wide, flat sheets. Either term can also refer to an Italian dish made of stacked layers of lasagna alternating with fillings such as ...
* Macaroni and cheese
Macaroni and cheese (also called mac and cheese in Canada and the United States and macaroni cheese in the United Kingdom BBC, RecipesMacaroni Cheese/ref>) is a dish of cooked macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly Cheddar sauce.
The ...
* Mashed potatoes
* Meatloaf
* Peanut butter
* Pepperoni rolls
* Pizza
Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, on ...
* Pot roast
* Red beans and rice
* Tamale pie
* Tuna casserole
See also
*Diet food
*Dish (food)
*Emotional eating
*Food group
*Food presentation
*Haute cuisine
*List of foods
*List of nutrition guides
*Outline of food preparation
*Portion size
*Whole food
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
{{Lists of prepared foods
Eating disorders
Food and drink terminology
Nostalgia
Obesity
Psychological stress