Comfort Food | gastronomy | entertainment

According to Wikipedia, comfort food, or comfort foodSince this concept was born or popularized in the United States, it is called a food that brings a nostalgic or sentimental value to a person, which is distinguished above all by its simple preparation. Nostalgia can be specific to the individual or it can apply to a culture. Thus, an American’s comfort food will be very different from an Ecuadorean food, but the sense of comfort and nostalgia it will produce is similar. It’s as if they made his soul happy in one bite.

The term appears to have come into use in the 1970s, when it was Palm Beach Post He published an article listing a study of how adults with severe stress search for simple food related to their childhood.

This gastronomic concept adheres to a simple, homemade, That is, through traditional recipes passed down from generation to generation in the family, in the grandmother’s house, those that last a lifetime. It’s a return to basics, to its origins. In doing so, he reclaims the identity of the gastronomy and recipe book that has been passed down within every family for decades.

A study conducted at a North American university divided students into four groups and presented them with comfort foods, prepared foods, “arrogant food,” rich in sugars and fats, and “healthy food,” and concluded that eating different foods was a determining factor in modifying their state of mind. Somehow. This is how important gastronomy is.

For the Spaniard, it can be potato omelette, garlic soup, chickpea stew or stew. In my case, I must admit that cheese soup and egg broth are probably the dishes that comfort me the most. But what will these dishes be for Ecuadorians?

At the Mercado del Río, a survey was conducted for a week, a random selection of about a thousand diners. The question they were asked was: What do you think of the three famous gaiaku dishes? The one that a typical Guayaquil carries in his heart. The survey included a selection of fifteen dishes, three of which should be marked.

The responses were very interesting. Results:

The first three were onions, bologne de verde and guateta. What’s impressive is not only that the onion got three times more votes than the second round, but also that it was one of the three that was always picked in over 90% of the poll, thus taking the undisputed and overwhelming number one spot.

The first two, subject to modification, date back centuries. Onions from Valdivia culture, bolon, pre-colonial. It is possible that we inherited Guatemala from Spain, where it was prepared six centuries ago. And you, what’s your comforting dish?