6/29/2023 0 Comments Childhood nostalgia food![]() ![]() The smell and flavor triggered a flood of memories from his childhood and connected him to a moment from decades ago. The namesake of this phenomenon, Marcel Proust, vividly remembered his past after he dipped a Madeleine biscuit in tea. You may crave a return to those moments and feelings and feel joy and comfort by returning to the same food, even if your mother is no longer the person making the food.Ĭertain smells can transport you back in time because of what's known as the Proust phenomenon. When you were extremely sick as a youngster and your mother made your favorite soup to help you feel better, the smell of that soup can evoke memories of feeling loved and cared for. If something makes you feel loved, safe, or happy, your brain stores it away in your memory and connects the food to those feelings. It reminds you of the good ol' days by reinforcing cultural and familial bonds. ![]() Psychologically speaking, just thinking about food or certain flavors can trigger memories and associated emotions connected to your past. But why do certain foods trigger such strong feelings of nostalgia? How can a taste, smell, or texture bring you back to a specific moment from the past? Continue reading to find out. Memories of a particular dish, food, or flavor can provoke strong feelings of comfort and security, often evoking fond early memories of happy times spent with friends and family.Ĭhildhood classics from macaroni cheese, crispy fried fish, shepherd's pie, or a simple bowl of oatmeal smothered in syrup can ignite a sense of warm familiarity that's joyous and satisfying. In this remembering, and the recipes preserved, the many values of nostalgia cuisine are well demonstrated.ĭon’t miss out on ET Prime stories! Get your daily dose of business updates on WhatsApp.Smells can trigger strong memories and evoke more powerful emotional responses than even pictures or music.įood nostalgia is a powerful emotion that transports you back to the past, connecting you with people and places you hold dear. It���s a charming way of remembering a person, particularly women of a certain generation for whom food was one of the few ways they could express themselves. Just titled Mai���s Recipes, it is a simple, self published compilation of a mother���s recipes done by her children. Huge, heavy, lavishly illustrated and priced at a whopping Rs 3,000, with profits going to a charitable initiative of Apollo Hospitals, it���s an interesting product, though seems more aimed at demonstrating present prestige than discovering past cuisine.īut this same spirit is also resulting in other efforts like Dadimano Varso, the really valuable compilation of Palanpuri Jain cooking, and even a simple book of Mangalorean home cooking I found at my grocer���s. The most imposing form this nostalgia cuisine has taken is a book of the same name by Sucharitha Reddy, wife of Dr Prathap C Reddy of Apollo Hospitals. ![]() Piya in Amitav Ghosh���s The Hungry Tide is the second type of exile, who doesn���t consider herself as one, until almost unwillingly she is seduced into nostalgia as she sees her boatman Fokir preparing a meal: ���Even as she recoiled from the smell, she could not tear her eyes from his flying fingers: it was as through she were a child again, standing on the counter, beside a stove it was her mother���s hands she was watching.��� This rediscovered nostalgia is a potent force, driving desi kids like Padma Lakshmi and Anjum Anand to write books, present TV shows and sell merchandise that all serve up suitably updated nostalgia (like with olive oil, since ghee is taking nostalgia too far). Jhumpa Lahiri���s Mrs.Sen, in her story of the same name, is the first kind, slowly going to pieces in the loneliness of America, cooking inappropriately elaborate meals for which she goes to great lengths to get the right spices and fish, but nothing really works. Today the exiles from India are Indians themselves, of two kinds ��� the first generation, for whom the longing for the taste of home is sharp, and the second (and now third, as well) generation, for whom it is more subtle, yet still strong. ![]()
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