That first bite of your favorite meal is a feeling unlike anything else. It’s a source of stability and comfort on a plate, and it often comes with a flood of great memories, too. Those ingredients combine to make something much more meaningful than just a dish — it’s a human experience.
But why do your favorite foods hold such great meaning to you? The answer isn’t quite black and white. Here are a few of the contributing factors that make the intersection of your comfort foods and fond memories so special.
Food Engages Multiple Senses
Your five senses are a large reason why you experience the world around you the way you do. Your eyesight lets you take in your surroundings, and your hearing is critical in communication. Your sense of touch can identify textures and temperatures. Smell serves to alert you to danger and connect with people. And taste enriches your nourishment experience when fueling your body.
When it comes to eating, smell and taste are the two most involved senses. However, they’re not the only ones engaged in the process of devouring your favorite comfort foods. Your hands touch the food itself or utensils to make eating possible. Your eyes take in the colors and textures of the ingredients combined on the plate. Your ears can hear the clanging of silverware against a dish and the crunchy chewing noises as you eat.
Combined, these elements create the dining experience and make eating a hub of comfort and memory-building. That’s exactly why food is also at the center of sympathy gifts, proving to be an impactful way to show love and care in times of need. And it’s why there’s something so unique about having your favorite foods and thoroughly enjoying them.
Meals are Memories
Spending time with loved ones gathered around a kitchen table or sitting in a great restaurant are core memories for many people. Birthday gatherings, milestone celebrations, and even everyday dining experiences allow you to bond with people. The food you eat and the conversations you have prove to play a big role in relationship dynamics and development.
There’s a reason big days in your life — like graduations and weddings — have some element of food involved more often than not. It’s not just because they’re taking place during mealtimes, it’s because food represents bonding to many. You can share your culture and passion through dishes during life’s greatest moments, enhancing your experience with them.
So, it’s really no wonder comfort foods are intimately integrated with memories. You’re feeding your soul and your body simultaneously. Of course, that isn’t to say that the meals themselves don’t matter. But the context around how you’re enjoying them definitely holds weight.
Cooking is Personal
Anything you do every day makes up a big part of your life. Meals may feel like a chore, a necessary means to an end of fighting hunger. But when you really think about it, cooking and creating dishes is much more personal than that.
Your grandmother’s handwritten recipe for her famous cake or a concoction you threw together that turned out perfectly leaves an impact. These experiences are more than meets the eye of combining ingredients and following a list of recipe steps. They’re memories and joy and celebration that can be passed down for generations.
Even everyday dishes are a personal endeavor. What ingredients you have available and what you’re in the mood to eat play a role. How much time you have to prepare your meal and how many people will be eating are factors. These and more elements come together to make the dish you’re compiling much more than just a meal. It’s an intimate, personal experience at its core.
Food and Culture Intertwine
Around the world, food has its own personality. Different families make meals that matter the most to them, but so do entire cultures of people. And these traditions date back centuries in many instances, making them particularly impactful.
One of the exciting parts of travel is experiencing the different dishes international countries are known for. Diving into the way those meals came to be and the historical significance of each element of the dish is enlightening. You can better understand a culture through its food because of how closely connected these elements are. If you’re visiting a country you or your family is from, it’s even more meaningful. The food is part of your culture and, in some cases, even your identity.
Culture isn’t created overnight and requires a lot of consistency to come to fruition. But the memories associated with culturally significant practices, like food, are strong. They’re staples of many people’s best days and mean more than simply elements of a dish. So, the next time you’re trying a new meal in a new place, take a minute to appreciate its impact. And consciously document memories of your own to take with you for years to come.
Meaningful Meals
Every meal you consume won’t provide a rush of emotions and fond memories to look back on. Some are simply a way to energize your body for your day ahead. However, being able to take advantage of times when comfort foods and memories come together is a worthwhile endeavor. If only because it reminds you of some of the best parts of your life.