There’s a dichotomy at work on the American palate. Times are tense, with the economy still in the doldrums and a 40-hour workweek considered the epitome of luxury. The result often is an irresistible urge to relieve the accumulated pressures with that classic salve, food—and not just any food, but comfort food.
After all, it’s called comfort food for a reason. Ah, but here comes the fly in the cream of onion soup au gratin: The pressure also has been turned up high on eating healthy. Of course, that creates guilt when it comes to classic comfort recipes, such as mac ‘n’ cheese, meat loaf, apple pie or any of the foods associated with a safe psychological haven. But, there’s another force impacting comfort foods: global ingredients. In this manner, comfort foods, which almost got the boot in the high-trend molecular 2000s, are getting the big re-boot for the 20-teens.