Culture

How Cooking In The Age Of Corona Has Made Comfort Food Cool Again

Low stakes, a high sense of achievement, and baked goods at the end? Count us in.

by Rachael Conaghan  8 April 2020
bread

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If you’re one of the people who have spent the last few weeks in isolation perfecting your banana bread recipe, you’re not alone in your newfound baking obsession.

Amidst a rollercoaster of lockdown emotions there are very few things capable of soothing the soul — but following a simple recipe (with low stakes, but a high sense of achievement) is working a treat for many.

Unless you’re planning to singlehandedly prop up the UberEats business model, chances are you’re spending more time in the kitchen and more money on groceries than you’re used to.

Combine that with the fact that trips to the supermarket have to be limited — and that many of us are now working with smaller budgets — food wastage is front of mind.

In this week’s Frugal Forever podcast episode, hosts Katie Cunningham and Josie Parsons talk cooking in the time of COVID-19 with the help of special guest chef Jess Dennison.

Jess is also the author of Tin Can Magic, a cookbook full of easy, delicious recipes using pantry staples — so basically, she’s been the expert on coronavirus cooking since before we’d even heard of coronavirus.

Jess talks Katie and Josie through cooking simply and frugally, with tips on building meals around what’s already in your cupboard, her favourite tinned staples, and some super cheap and basic meals.

As Josie says, there are few joys to be had at this time — and eating food is one of them.

That’s partly what has made chefs like Alison Roman explode in popularity recently. Her cookbook Nothing Fancy is full of exactly what people want right now — a set of instructions for something that we can control, and be pretty certain will turn out alright. The thousands of Instagram photos bearing her hashtag is proof of that.

Of course, in theory now is a great chance to be a little more creative than you’d normally be — but let’s be honest, it’s also not the time to be running around town hunting for obscure ingredients.

That’s where our simple, classic and indulgent comfort foods come in.

In Jess’ cafe in Edinburgh, 27 Elliott’s, butterbeans are the unsung hero that makes up one of the most popular dishes — basics like chopped tomatoes, chickpeas, sweet corn, lentils and tinned fish are some of her other staples.

If you’re really looking to go down a rabbit hole, many old wartime recipes turned into classics for a reason (bread and butter pudding may not be the most exciting dish, but it’s stood the test of time for a reason).

It could be a soup, a crumble, a hundred thousand cookies (try freezing the dough to save for later if you want to avoid eating them all in one go) — right now, simple and delicious are the only expectations.

Besides, if we’re in need of anything right now, it’s a bit of comfort from wherever we can get it.

To hear more about cooking simply, mindfully and frugally you can listen to the rest of the podcast here or on Spotify.