The New York Times City Room blog is tossing around the idea that comfort-food preferences may be influenced by gender:
Research out of Cornell University suggests that females tend to prefer snack-related comfort foods (candy and chocolate) while men prefer heartier comfort foods (pasta or casseroles). The researchers speculate that the gender differences may relate to upbringing. Men may have been conditioned to prefer hot or labor-intensive meals (conjuring up memories of their mothers taking care of them) while women seek convenient comfort foods (a form of self-indulgence).
Renzata of Serious Eats isn’t really buying the study, since she’s a woman who prefers heartier fare—but she also admits that macaroni and soup are less comforting when she has to make them for herself.
This raises another question: Is food that is prepared for you by another person (be it a chef, a friend, or a family member) more comforting than food you’ve cooked yourself? And does the answer to this question vary along gender lines?
My mother, who is an escellent cook, has said this a thousand times: “Food just tastes better when someone else makes it”.
I think that this is especially true when you are the one who cooks, not for you, but the whole family. You are, at least, slightly exhausted by the time all the food is on the table.
On the comfort food bias stuff: I thought that a few studies came out some years ago showing the brains reaction to things like chocolate. And, that women had a greater reaction to that particular food than men.
I know sandwiches taste better when others fix it for me.
I agree about the exhaustion bit with the above commenter.
I completely disagree! I am a woman who prefers hearty, savory comfort food and doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth…and I’m totally a kitchen control freak who thinks everything tastes better if I make it myself. Because, you know, I make it “the right way.”
If I make myself a PBnJ (guava only please), it’s just a sammich. If my mom made it for me with the crusts off and sliced diagonally, it was comfort food.