The 3 Pillars of Perfect Comfort Food

Everyone has comfort foods they adore, those small snacks or meals that we have a special place for in our hearts. No matter how simple, basic or cheap it is to prepare, comfort food can be rich, delicious and wonderful. Often, comfort foods also help us remember our childhoods fondly, such as when a grandparent made us oats and honey for breakfast, or when smelling the beautiful cookies waiting for us at the end of a school day.

The beauty of comfort food is in its indulgence, in how it soothes you, and doesn’t require anything of you to have a good time. Outside of following a recipe, strict requirements like “portion control” or “perfect flavor profiles” shouldn’t really come into play when enjoying comfort food. It’s not that you don’t care for creating a great meal, or aren’t interested in its quality, rather you shouldn’t have to constrain yourself in this instance. 

As such, comfort food should be reserved for those comforting, quieter moments, those that help you feel relaxed without having to justify yourself. In this post, we’ll discuss the three pillars of comfort food to help you develop your own:

Easy, Flexible Foods

Comfort foods shouldn’t take a great deal of effort to put together. In fact, they should be relatively peaceful to make, too. A little indulgence here and there, like pouring honey, can always be a nice addition. For instance, crating a beautiful southern style hoe cake from scratch can be lovely to eat with breakfast or when mopping up sauces as part of your evening meal. 

Rich Flavors, Indulgent Tastes

Comfort foods are often best when they use simple tastes that allow you to feel relaxed. You don’t need to be thinking overtime about your food to enjoy it, rather it should be easily identifiable, and tasty. For instance, you might find a food processor and use plenty of fresh broccoli, peas and a little cream to make a delicious seasoned soup. That can be enough, with the rich taste of the greens being all you need to enjoy a tasty and delicious meal. Comfort food shouldn’t confuse, but should feel like an old friend giving you a hug.

Your Own Calming Recipe

Comfort food can be a little indulgent, even if you want to switch up a recipe into something you prefer most of all. So for example, our previous oats recipe might not be enough for you, instead of honey you might enjoy a cinnamon stick or two, or perhaps some frozen berries you can gently bring up to temperature as you warm the milk. You may decide on oat milk as opposed to dairy, to further enhance the profile, or maybe almond milk for that nutty taste. This says something about your personality worth celebrating too, because if you can’t express that in your cooking here, where can you?

With this advice, you’re sure to implement the three perfect pillars of comfort food, simplicity, good flavors, and personality. Just be sure to save us some!