History Main / ComfortFood

* Ponyo in ''Anime/PonyoOnTheCliffByTheSea'' is ''obsessed'' with ham! Because it's the first human food she ever tastes and it was fed to her by the first human she ever met.

** It also helps that tiramisu often contains large amounts of two of many people's favorite food/drink: chocolate and [[MustHaveCaffeine coffee]]. There's also a fair amount of [[INeedAFreakingDrink booze]] in some versions of the dessert as well.

* In the eighth season of ''Series/AmericanIdol'' the top seven are asked what there favorite comfort foods are Lil likes chocolate chip cookies with pecans, Anoop is fond of barbecue, Matt really likes hot tea, Danny loves Puerto Rican and Mexican, food Alison loves anything with chocolate on it, Kris favors cornbread as his comfort food and Adam REALLY LOVES ice cream.

** Averted in "Killed By Death." Buffy is disappointed that no-one brought her chocolate in hospital. Then she discovers that Willow did all her homework. "Chocolate means nothing to me!"

* In the episode ''Good of the Soul'' on ''The Chew'' four of the hosts talk about their favorite comfort foods Mario wants spaghetti, Carla wants collard greens and cornbread, Daphne is always craving banana pudding and Clinton craves macaroni and cheese.

** Bill Brandy: Ice cream, particularly strawberry flavor.
** Jim Buckwheat: Apple pie.
** [[ProudToBeAGeek Ichabod Crane]]: We already mentioned chamomile tea, but his favorite childhood meal is New England clam chowder.
** [[TheMccoy Matoaka Redfeather]]: Loves her strawberry sweets. She is especially fond of the strawberry cordial [[TeamChef Minsk]] makes.
** [[GentlemanThief Edward Green]]: Mentions chicken soup as his comfort food.
** [[IntelligentGerbil Zander]]: Loves apples.
** [[EthicalSlut Kate Punda Milla]]: Has a weakness for apple cake.
** Cornelius Oolou: Mentions his love of meat loaf.
** [[CoolUncle Thomas Lanky]]: Has his tuna fish sandwiches.
** [[SilkHidingSteel Rose]]: Loves chocolate truffles.
** [[SoapboxSadie Belladonna Starchild]]: Favorite childhood comfort food is angel food cake.
** Andy Kan: Likes French fries smothered in curry sauce.
** [[TeenGenius Tipp Barrington]] has an extreme weakness for cherry pie.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bugsnax}}'': The titular bugsnax are consumed liberally by all characters, both for nutrition and as a help in dealing with their many and varied personal issues. [[spoiler: This takes an ''extremely'' dark turn towards the end of the game, when it tuns out that the bugsnax are parasitic, and once you eat one, they start prodding at your insecurities to encourage you to consume more bugsnax until your body eventually falls apart, spawning more bugsnax.]]

* Never get between an Agent of the WebOriginal/ProtectorsOfThePlotContinuum and his/her/other/its chocolate or alcohol.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBrothersFlub'', it's subtle but when Fraz isn't worried about overindulging having disastrous results, he is often seen eating starchy stuff like chips, popcorn, and bread. He also often eats cheese and guacamole and Guapo said Fraz always liked cherry pie.

* ''Manga/X1999'': Discussed. When Sorata manages to feed Kamui some of his [[SupremeChef excellent food]] after a particularly harsh BreakTheCutie deal, Arashi congratulates him and says that if Kamui is still willing to eat after all the shit he went through, it means he hasn't completely lost the will to live. [[spoiler: This also hints at Arashi's OrphansOrdeal, which included her [[StreetUrchin living in the streets]] with almost nothing to eat until the Ise Jingu priestesses took her in.]]

* In Japan, ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamago_kake_gohan Tamago kake gohan]]'' is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, raw egg on top of cooked rice. While there are specialty soy sauces and preferences on whether to use steaming hot rice, cold, or anything in between, its origin and basic form is just that, crack an egg and pour it on the rice.

A "Comfort Food" is a familiar food that a person eats because doing so relieves stress and anxiety and increases contentment and comfort (hence the name). It sparks happy memories, brings back feelings of security and safety, and thus can easily lift a person's mood.

* Nancy Reagan used to eat bananas in the middle of the night when she couldn't sleep.[[labelnote: Note]] This is actually a subversion; she didn't eat them for comfort, she ate them to ''help her fall asleep.'' (Believe it or not, bananas actually do help with that.) [[/labelnote]]

* Autistic people, even those without hypo/hypertaste, often have these, referred to in the autistic community as "samefoods" -- you could eat them over and over. They range from straight up plain rice to a very specific kind of candy you can only buy in small shops.

* In Asia, rice porridge, or ''congee'', is considered good to eat when you are sick because it has a mild taste and is easy to digest. To offset the bland taste, it can be served with other ingredients, such as soy sauce, salted duck eggs, ''youtiao'' (Chinese fried breadsticks), bamboo shoots, pickled tofu, or anything you like.

* The German word "Kummerspeck" literally means "grief bacon," so named for the weight one gains by emotional eating.

* Individuals with Bulimia will often select comfort food while on an eating binge. This is because for many people Bulimia is an unhealthy reaction to stress, depression, and feelings of helplessness. Binging provides a sense of comfort and security for many people, so selecting comfort food is a rather natural choice. Ice cream is especially popular, in part because it... Erm.... "comes up" smooth.
* Studies have shown that sugars and fats provide a dopamine rush... and that the parts of the brain that respond to this are ''exactly'' the same ones that respond when "sugars and fats" are replaced with drugs and alcohol. In fact, dieting causes a withdrawal-like response. This helps explain why people tend to ruin their hard work within the week of ending a diet- they're off the wagon.
* Autistic people, even those without hypo/hypertaste, often have these, referred to in the autistic community as "samefoods" - you could eat them over and over. They range from straight up plain rice to a very specific kind of candy you can only buy in small shops.

* In Asia, rice porridge, or ''congee,'' is considered good to eat when you are sick because it has a mild taste and is easy to digest. To offset the bland taste, it can be served with other ingredients, such as soy sauce, salted duck eggs, ''youtiao'' (Chinese fried breadsticks), bamboo shoots, pickled tofu, or anything you like.
* In Japan, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamago_kake_gohan Tamago kake gohan]] is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, raw egg on top of cooked rice. While there are specialty soy sauces and preferences on whether to use steaming hot rice, cold, or anything in between, its origin and basic form is just that, crack an egg and pour it on the rice.

* ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'': Cass Hamada: After bailing Hiro and Tadashi out of jail, she starts eating a doughnut, while lampshading it. She also encourages it in Hiro, trying to comfort or reward him with his favorite foods.

* ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'': After learning the events of the previous movie have proven to be a SpannerInTheWorks for the arranged marraige of their children, Fairy Godmother tells King Harold that he's forced her to do something she really doesn't want to do... which turns out to be cheating on her diet at the local fast food joint.

--> ''"Gus Simpson adored birthday cake. Chocolate, coconut, lemon, strawberry, vanilla--she had a particular fondness for the classics. Even though she experimented with new flavors and frostings, drizzling with syrups and artfully arranging hibiscus petals, Gus more often took the retro route with piped-on flowers or a flash of candy sprinkles across the iced top. Because birthday cake was really about nostalgia, she knew about reaching in and using the senses to remember one perfect childhood moment."''

* In ''A Planet Named Shayol'' On the BodyHorror PenalColony planet Shayol the [[UpliftedAnimal Bull-Man]] B'dikkat offers to make Mercer some fried eggs before he sends him outside because his first day will be easier if he has food in his stomach.

* In ''Literature/{{Papelucho}} en la Clínica'', Papelucho chomps on some watermelon few after [[spoiler: being operated on by mistake]] and lampshades the trope as he thinks, "oh wow, an ill person who eats won't die." [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Bad thing]], eating so soon ''after an appendix removal operation'' [[HeroicRROD backfires TERRIBLY on him]]; he passes out few minutes afterwards and, when he wakes up, he's told that he almost died.]]
* In one of the books in ''Literature/ThePendragonAdventure'', Bobby appears in modern-day Stony Brook where his {{Muggle}} friends live, and they go to their local fast-food hangout for fries.

* ''Literature/TheKingstonCycle'': The [[TheFairFolk Amaranthine]] Grand Duchess Aife [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething personally]] bakes apple bread to comfort the widow of a murder victim.
* ''When Monkey Lost His Smile'': Monkey eats bananas [[StockAnimalDiet (unsurprisingly)]] to have energy to find his smile.
* In ''Literature/TheWitchOfBlackbirdPond'', half of Hannah's cure for sad children is blueberry cake. (The other half is a [[CuteKitten kitten.]])

* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'': After exchanging herself for her father to stay as the Beast's prisoner, Belle is comforted by Mrs. Potts giving her a cup of tea. Overlaps with TeaLovingBrits since Mrs. Potts has a British accent.

--> '''Grinch''': I specifically bought enough food to last me until January. How much emotional eating have I been doing?

* Urd and Skuld in ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' can recharge their powers via the Comfort Food of their choice [[SweetTooth ice cream]] for Skuld and [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl Sake]] for Urd. Belldandy loves sodas but avoids them because one sip can get her [[GargleBlaster roaring drunk]].

* ''{{VideoGame/Bugsnax}}'': The titular bugsnax are consumed liberally by all characters, both for nutrition and as a help in dealing with their many and varied personal issues. [[spoiler: This takes an ''extremely'' dark turn towards the end of the game, when it tuns out that the bugsnax are parasitic, and once you eat one, they start prodding at your insecurities to encourage you to consume more bugsnax until your body eventually falls apart, spawning more bugsnax.]]