We all have them, foods we reach for not because they’re exciting or impressive, but because they make us feel a little better. Comfort foods tend to show up when we’re emotionally worn down, stressed, or right on the edge of getting sick. They don’t fix anything, exactly, but they do make us feel better. And sometimes that’s enough.
For me, it’s almost embarrassingly specific: egg salad sandwiches. Not the fancy kind. The simple ones you find in Japanese konbini — soft white bread, mild egg salad, nothing clever going on. There often isn't even egg salad in the entire sandwich, just the part pressed up against the package — a nasty trick the convenience stores use to save money. I didn’t even eat egg salad as a kid, which makes it stranger. And yet, somewhere deep in my lizard brain, those sandwiches clearly connect to something safe and familiar. I have no memory to point to, but the feeling is there all the same.
They’re not especially healthy (though not too terrible) but that white bread definitely puts them in the “occasional indulgence” category for me. I usually avoid them. Usually. But every now and then, I just give in.
Outside of Japan, my comfort food shifts to something far less mysterious: pickleloaf sandwiches with American cheese. That one I can explain. I grew up with it. I suppose many of us kids of the 80s in The US did, or at least the American cheese part. I think bologna was more common than pickleloaf for the other kids. Anyway, it’s pure childhood nostalgia, wrapped in processed meat and plastic-wrapped cheese slices. Zero sophistication. Maximum comfort.
Comfort food isn’t really about taste or nutrition. It’s about memory, habit, and reassurance. It’s food that whispers, You’ve been here before. You’ll be fine.
So how about you — what’s your comfort food, and do you know why it is?
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| David is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Bluesky. |