Out of curiosity...

Introduce Yourself to the community. Chat with other members, tell us what's currently on your mind! Got a food question? someone will be around to help you out.

Moderator: Admin-RZ

Felix4067
Posts: 3167
Joined: Sat Oct 15, 2011 7:24 pm

Out of curiosity...

Post by Felix4067 » Tue Jan 08, 2013 11:33 am

Why is it that so many people automatically label something called a "casserole" to be "comfort food"? Can't it just be a one-dish meal? Does it have to be comfort food? I don't find most casseroles to be particularly comforting...to me, that distinction is for foods that make me feel better when I'm depressed or feeling ill, not for a meal that doesn't require multiple serving dishes.

Just curious, really.

Shadows1
Posts: 7216
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 3:41 pm

Re: Out of curiosity...

Post by Shadows1 » Tue Jan 08, 2013 2:32 pm

Maybe because the person posting the casserole finds it to be comforting, therefore Comfort Food. Everyone has different tastes and definitions.

elsie
Posts: 1193
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:37 pm

Re: Out of curiosity...

Post by elsie » Tue Jan 08, 2013 2:39 pm

Good question. I don't think I have ever thought about casseroles as being comfort food. Because….depending on the casserole which is being made, it takes a lot of time, prep work, and dishes/pots/pans/whatever to make a casserole at my house. The final result is a mighty fine tasty meal, yes indeed! But comfort food? No. There is the mess and all the dishes to do. That’s not comforting. :lol:

Comfort food to me is macaroni and cheese eaten straight from the cooking pot. :oops: Or a serving of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, in which case at my house means when the spoon hits the bottom of the carton. :lol:

Felix4067
Posts: 3167
Joined: Sat Oct 15, 2011 7:24 pm

Re: Out of curiosity...

Post by Felix4067 » Tue Jan 08, 2013 3:33 pm

Mostly I ask because every time I post a picture of a casserole, virtually every response mentions it being comfort food. I didn't call it that at all, but everyone else seems to think it is. My thoughts are more along the line of Elsie's. :lol:

Chocolatl
Posts: 512
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2011 5:33 pm

Re: Out of curiosity...

Post by Chocolatl » Tue Jan 08, 2013 3:58 pm

That's a good question. I believe it was M.F.K.Fisher who invented the term comfort food, in a magazine article entitled "Cold Mashed Potatoes at Midnight." (Although I could be wrong; that was the first time I encountered it.) She was talking about the type of mushy kiddie food (like milk toast) that people are sort of ashamed to eat, but do because it makes them feel good.

Food writers started to apply the term to any traditional family-type food, even things like tacos. I don't think they really understood what Fisher was trying to say--and Felix, I think you do. What she meant by "comfort food" was something that gives you a physical or emotional lift.

Kchurchill5
Posts: 16044
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2011 11:55 am

Re: Out of curiosity...

Post by Kchurchill5 » Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:15 pm

Comfort food isn't the type of food I eat when I'm sick or under the weather.
Me, comfort food is something that is stick to your gut, good homey, food grandma used to make, family recipes. It can be anything.

It isn't necessarily a casserole for me; but, it might be.

It might be meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas
Chicken and dumplings
Scalloped potatoes, ham and broccoli (casserole)
Mac and cheese with ham
Chili or a pot of soup

But, I think the term comfort food for me means:
1. simple, foods, classic recipes
2. nothing fancy or too unique
3. good down home cooking, and stick to your gut type of food
4. I guess something that just makes me feel warm, happy, and content.
-------------------------------------

But yes, everyone has different tastes and different ideas of what they call comfort food.

Maybe because a casserole is usually a 1 pot dish and it is comforting that make, bake and serve. It also has cheese, potatoes, rice or noodles, and meat; so maybe that is why it gets it's name.

invictus
Posts: 546
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2011 10:06 am

Re: Out of curiosity...

Post by invictus » Tue Jan 08, 2013 5:45 pm

To me casseroles are comforting!

HeatherFeather
Posts: 2558
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2011 6:07 am

Re: Out of curiosity...

Post by HeatherFeather » Tue Jan 08, 2013 6:11 pm

To me, comfort foods are often casseroles, but not exclusively - warm, home cooked, hearty, stick to your ribs fare if what comes to mind for me.

I think of chicken & dumplings, hot chicken soup with homemade noodles, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, meaty main dish casseroles, etc all to be comfort food for me. The sort of food that I want when I want to feel warm and homey and don't give one seconds thought about calories or health - just yummy, warm, filling food that would make me feel good or that i might bring to a sick friend to cheer them up.

TXChick
Posts: 45
Joined: Thu Jul 05, 2012 5:53 pm

Re: Out of curiosity...

Post by TXChick » Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:15 pm

Me to! casseroles are definately comfort food, I grew up eating them my mom made them all the time and some really great one too. Comfort food is different to different people, some people may find a T-Bone steak comforting :lol:

Deepster
Posts: 1402
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2012 1:42 pm

Re: Out of curiosity...

Post by Deepster » Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:44 pm

I think "comfort food" has a lot to do with where a person, regionally or nationally, grew up. Growing up in the South, comfort food to me is a plate full of beans cooked with a ham hock(that I will devour with the meal), and biscuits, or better yet corn bread....perhaps a side of some type of green, hearty and rich.

I cannot imagine that most people growing up in the mid-west, or the west coast, finding this particularly comforting....yet there are some who will.

As kids, we also ate things like chocolate "gravy" over hot buttermilk biscuits, peanut butter mixed with Grandma's Molasses, "sopped" up with biscuits, and red eye gravy over toast or biscuits or rice....these were breakfast foods, perish the thought in todays world, but to me, they mean "comfort".

We are a diverse nation. Amen! :shock:

Post Reply