Comfort food is, almost by definition, idiosyncratic: Everyone has their own sources of comfort. But I was left scratching my head at a recent article in The Guardian that posits white bread – plain, ordinary Wonder-type bread – as a resurgent comfort food.
The Guardian is, of course, a British publication, and the bread they have in mind is called Kingsmill. But the photo accompanying the article leaves no doubt that this is what Americans know as Wonder Bread: the soft, white stuff ubiquitous in kids’ lunches – and nowhere else.
Think about it. When was the last time you had a sandwich made with Wonder Bread? On purpose, I mean?
But apparently in England, they can’t get enough of the stuff. Waitrose, a leading British grocer, has seen sales of soft white bread rise 17% over the past year. According to the Guardian article, this is because bad times in general are making people reach for the foods of their childhood: “When the chips are down, humans have a habit of reaching for nostalgia. So that means lovely, bland, flat sandwiches and...loads of deep-fried food.”
Well, color me dubious, about the sandwiches at least. There are many things – foods, clothes, choices in entertainment – that I was enthusiastic about when I was little but would not spend a second on today. I have to put Wonder-type bread in that category.
Deep-fried food, on the other hand...
Pan Demetrakakes is a Senior Editor for Food Processing and has been a business journalist since 1992, mostly covering various aspects of the food production and supply chain, including processing, packaging, distribution and retailing. Learn more about him or contact him
