Time . Travel

What is it about ‘comfort food’ that makes us feel so good? Is it the actual food or the emotional connection that that particular food evokes? 

I think that the story we have connected with the food invokes feelings of warmth, love, nostalgia and comfort. And it is these feelings we try to relive.

My mother had a dish which she ate that took her back to her early years. It was just after the war and her family were poor yet the simple meal must have connected her to the love and support she felt at the time. Very much ‘village’ food, the dish consisted of warmed milk, broken up pieces of stale bread with a sprinkling of sugar on top. Warm, filling and sweet - a perfect combination!

Having been introduced to the dish as a young girl myself it is something that I too have - maybe once every couple of years or so. Immediately it transports me to my childhood and to a special connection wth my mum. Even though I know that the food has no nutritional value at all (or very little) it nonetheless warms me from the inside out as I take those few minutes to once again remember and reflect on my mum and our time together. 

Undoubtedly, food is surely one of the most common conduits of remembrance, connection and ultimate time travel.