The Comeback of Comfort Food

There are meals that impress people.

Then there are meals that make you feel better.

Comfort food doesn’t need to be complicated, fashionable or beautifully presented. Sometimes it is simply the food you remember from growing up, the meal you make when the weather turns miserable or something you crave after a long day.

And after years of complicated recipes, trendy ingredients and food delivered straight to our doors, simple comfort food is having something of a comeback.

Perhaps we’ve finally realised that sometimes you just want a plate of something familiar.

The classics never really disappeared

For many British households, comfort food means dishes that have been around for generations.

Sausages and mash.

Shepherd’s pie.

Toad in the hole.

Fish pie.

Bangers and beans.

Steak and kidney pie.

Macaroni cheese.

They’re not particularly complicated, but that’s part of the appeal.

You know exactly what you’re getting.

The power of a roast dinner

Few meals have the ability to turn an ordinary Sunday into an occasion quite like a roast dinner.

Crispy roast potatoes, vegetables, stuffing, gravy and your choice of meat.

And then there’s the argument about who makes the best roast potatoes.

Everyone has an opinion.

Nobody is changing their mind.

Pie and mash still hits the spot

There’s something reassuring about a proper pie.

Whether it’s steak and ale, chicken and mushroom or a homemade shepherd’s pie, pastry and gravy have a remarkable ability to make a miserable day seem considerably better.

Add some mash and peas and you’ve got a meal that feels like a hug on a plate.

Beans on toast deserves respect

It may not sound glamorous, but beans on toast has saved countless breakfasts, lunches and late-night snacks.

It’s cheap, quick and filling.

And everyone has their own preferred method.

Cheese on top?

Worcestershire sauce?

Butter under the beans?

The arguments can get surprisingly serious.

Pasta has become comfort food too

Macaroni cheese is perhaps the ultimate example.

It’s simple, creamy and filling, and it works just as well as a family dinner as it does as something to eat while watching television.

And unlike some fashionable food trends, nobody is going to tell you that you’re eating it incorrectly.

What about a proper pudding?

Comfort food doesn’t stop with the main course.

Rice pudding.

Sticky toffee pudding.

Apple crumble.

Jam roly-poly.

Bread and butter pudding.

Custard.

These are desserts that remind many of us of school dinners, grandparents’ kitchens and Sunday lunches.

You can keep your tiny portion of something decorated with three leaves.

Sometimes you want a bowl of crumble with enough custard to require a spoon.

Soup is having its moment too

A big bowl of homemade soup can be one of the simplest ways to make yourself feel better.

Tomato.

Leek and potato.

Pea and ham.

Vegetable.

Chicken.

Serve it with crusty bread and you’ve got a lunch that feels both comforting and sensible.

Why are we returning to simple food?

Perhaps part of it is nostalgia.

For a Gen X audience, food can be closely connected to memories.

The smell of something cooking when you came home from school.

The meals your parents made because they were affordable and filling.

The puddings that appeared after Sunday lunch.

The takeaway you were allowed as a special treat.

Food isn’t just about taste.

It can take you straight back to another time.

Comfort food doesn’t have to be unhealthy

The phrase “comfort food” can sometimes make people think of enormous portions covered in cheese and gravy.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

A bowl of homemade soup, a baked potato, scrambled eggs on toast or a simple vegetable stew can be comforting without being particularly indulgent.

The important ingredient is familiarity.

Sometimes we just want something we know

Food trends come and go.

One year it’s a particular ingredient.

The next it’s a complicated cooking technique.

Then everyone discovers a new way of serving something we’ve been eating perfectly happily for years.

But there’s a reason traditional meals survive.

They work.

They taste good.

They’re often affordable.

And they remind us of home.

Bring back the comfort

Maybe the comeback of comfort food isn’t really a comeback at all.

Perhaps these meals never went anywhere.

We just occasionally forget how good simple food can be.

So next time you’re wondering what to cook, you don’t necessarily need to find a new recipe or order something exotic.

Get the potatoes on.

Put the sausages in the oven.

Make some gravy.

And enjoy a meal that doesn’t need to impress anyone.

Sometimes the best food is simply the food that makes you feel at home.