鈥淐omfort food鈥� is a ubiquitous term, but its definition is anything but standard. To some, it鈥檚 a slice of greasy pizza or a warm, gooey cookie. To others, it鈥檚 a tuna croquette, fried chicken cutlet, or a pile of saucy noodles.
There鈥檚 a complex answer to why a particular food is so satisfying during times of sickness, stress or celebration. And a lot of it has to do with smell.
鈥淭here is a real neuro-anatomical link between smell and emotion and emotional memory that doesn鈥檛 exist between any of our other senses,鈥� said , a neuroscientist who teaches at both Brown University and Boston College and is the author of 鈥淲hy You Eat What You Eat.鈥�
Herz explained that the areas in the brain where smells are processed are the same places where emotions and emotional memories are processed and stored.
鈥淪o we have this really unique neuro-anatomical connection between smell in the brain and emotion and emotional memory and learning,鈥� she said.
鈥淲hen we experience a smell in conjunction with something going on around us, the way that we learn what it is has to do with the meaning of the situation of what鈥檚 going on and the emotions that are involved. So smells can literally become proxies for emotions. So when we smell them again, we immediately feel the emotion that was connected to them when we first experienced them.鈥�
That helps explain why the smell of mom鈥檚 chicken noodle soup gives you the warm and fuzzies, and why a whiff of grandma鈥檚 most beloved recipe puts you back in the kitchen with her.
One can also find comfort in compounds. Herz said people tend to gravitate toward foods high in carbohydrates, fat, salt and sugar when they need a pick-me-up, and this is because these compounds release neurochemicals in the body that make one feel good.
For this miniseries, we interviewed three D.C.-area chefs on their favorite comfort foods, and how the tastes, smells and experiences from their childhoods influence how they cook and eat today.
David Guas still remembers his first Cuban sandwich. It was with his grandfather, who would often take him to a family-run Cuban restaurant in New Orleans.
鈥淎nd I remember going in there with my grandfather and him just yapping with the butchers for like 30 minutes. And here I am, 7, 8 years old and he鈥檚 going on and on and on, and the guys have blood all over their aprons and stuff. I just thought it was so cool,鈥� said Guas, a chef and New Orleans native.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e going on and on in Spanish and they鈥檙e like buddies and hugs and handshakes and he鈥檇 get special cuts of meat from them, and then in the meantime we鈥檇 order a Cuban sandwich to split. So that was my first memory of that [dish].鈥�
And it鈥檚 a dish that Guas still makes every Wednesday at his Arlington, Virginia, restaurant, 鈥� complete with homemade pickles and po’boy bread.
Growing up in New Orleans in a Cuban-American family, Guas said he was 鈥渄efinitely eating things that other kids weren鈥檛鈥� by the age of 5. Dinner might be his mom鈥檚 chicken liver one night and his grandmother鈥檚 croquettes another.
鈥淪he made these tuna ones that I can still taste today, and of course, I鈥檝e made them since. She would just serve them with a lime wedge and some salt and toss them in generic breadcrumbs and throw them in her little FryDaddy in her little tiny kitchen, next to her ashtray,鈥� Guas said.
鈥淏ut I remember that. I remember her cooking them, I remember her prepping them, and I remember devouring them, and that is a memory that sticks with me.鈥�
Then, there were the snacks in his grandfather鈥檚 pantry 鈥� guava paste, sliced right out of the can with a piece of sharp cheese on Cuban crackers.
鈥淛ust very strange things that I find on occasion at Latin markets and [they] just immediately send me back there,鈥� Guas said.
Southern cuisine has been the main focus of Guas鈥� culinary career. Bayou Bakery鈥檚 menu is stacked with gumbo, braised collards and a muff-a-lotta sandwich. But Guas, who recently traveled to Havana with his dad to learn more about his family鈥檚 history and culture while 鈥渃hasing some of the memories鈥� from his father鈥檚 childhood, also keeps a close check on his Cuban roots.
He also offers a Cuban menu weekly at Bayou Bakery with pastelitos con carne, picadillo with plantains and yucca, and yes, the Cuban sandwich.
However, even chefs have a guilty pleasures, and when Guas comes home after a long day in the kitchen, he heads straight to the freezer for a box of frozen Double-Stuf Oreos. H盲agen-Dazs vanilla ice cream is also at the top of his preference sheet, and Guas blames his mother for both of his go-to comfort foods.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something I picked up from her. She鈥檇 hide her candy in the freezer 鈥� and I definitely have that sweet tooth from her,鈥� he said.
