Take Comfort This January ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏  | Take Comfort Even we can’t do anything about grey days, dark nights and sub-zero temperatures, but we can keep you company with a plateful of something delicious until they pass. Get cosy and read on for a dose of Comfort Food with Fortnum’s.
Food and comfort have always been at the very heart of Fortnum’s and we’re firm believers that certain dishes have an intangible emotional value far beyond nourishment, particularly those we turn to in times of stress or sadness. These recipes are often some of the simplest and require very little in the way of culinary skill; homemade bread and a pot of fresh soup, sausages and buttery mashed potato, anything covered with melted cheese. But in our opinion, all comfort foods share three essential ingredients:
| | | | 1. Nostalgia | | Whether it’s the recipe your mother made when you were poorly, the after-school cakes with your grandparents or the one dish you always asked for at birthdays, food memories can be incredibly powerful and, although largely determined by wider social and cultural factors, associations anchored in childhood mean comfort food is a term unique to each of us. | | | | | 2. Ritual | | For many people, the act of baking a cake or preparing a dish is a form of relaxation; completing a recipe step-by-step is a satisfying experience in itself, and the perfect apple pie that emerges from the oven afterwards is a delicious bonus. The comforting feeling of following a culinary ritual goes a long way towards explaining banana bread’s extraordinary rise in popularity during the pandemic: amidst the chaos of that period, taking the time to bake provided some much-needed calm and comfort.
| 3. Satisfaction | | There is no right and wrong when it comes to comfort food and if a leafy green salad is what you crave after a long day in the depths of winter, then bon appétit. But typically, comfort food dishes feature dairy and, crucially, some form of starchy carbohydrate, which combine to release serotonin in the brain, regulate mood and create a sense of calm and stability. In other words, a bowl of Macaroni Cheese soothes the soul in a way the humble celery stick could only dream of. | | | | Recipes To Warm The Soul |  | Cheese & Pear Sandwich | | | | |  | Our Truffle Mac & Cheese | | | | |  | Fortnum's Welsh Rarebit | | | | | | | The Perfect Products |  | The Cook Book Written by Tom Parker Bowles, The Fortnum's Cook Book brings together recipes from all three centuries of our history. Cover-to-cover comfort with all the Fortnum’s classics. | | | | |  | Potted Welsh Rarebit This potted welsh rarebit uses the same recipe that’s been used at Fortnum’s for decades – cheddar cheese mixed with mustard, Worcestershire sauce, egg and a drop of Fortnum's Ale. | | | | | | | Come In From The Cold With a sugar-free baking masterclasses, traditional Burns Night supper and winter immunity session featuring recipes to ward off a cold all coming up, our events are designed to comfort the mind, body and soul this January. | | | | |  | | | |  | #Fortnums is Made for Sharing Every day is a delicious adventure with Fortnum's.
Follow our journey and share your own. |  | | |   |
