The coming age of comfort food

Epicurious.com

If you believe the talking heads, one of the few definite bright spots in the new economy will be manufacturers of inexpensive comfort foods. Jim Cramer, for example, has gone on air saying it's a good idea to look into companies like Campbell's and Hormel. People are always going to have to eat, no matter the state of the credit market, and they're going to be stocking up on cheap, long-lasting foodstuffs like canned soup and Spam. And does anyone think it's a coincidence that the sole gainer on the S & P 500 during the historic Sept. 29 sell-off was Campbell's?

Seriously, though, people seem to suddenly be taking an interest in making economical nostalgia foods like casseroles, mac and cheese, meatloaf, lasagna.

How about you all? Are you planning on making more inexpensive foods? What's on your slightly tattered, back-of-that-old-401(k)-fax menu?

Here's a few meals we might be seeing on the menu around my parts:

Spam sushi rolls
Turkey Sloppy Joes
Tamale pie
Frito pie (Here's a cool history of it.)
Mac and cheese
Quickie lasagna
Good ol' meatloaf
Potato casserole
Cowboy breakfast casserole
Spam, Spam and more Spam


Michael Y. Park is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. He studied medieval history as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, and journalism as a graduate student at New York University. His stories have appeared in publications including The New York Times, the New York Post, and the Toronto Globe and Mail.





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