Proust Blog Post

            A madeleine, while called a cookie by Proust, is actually a sponge cake made in a special baking pan which causes it to have a unique shell shape. While it is compared to a sponge cake, it uses a batter that is lighter, called génoise cake batter. Often, nuts, especially almonds, and a lemon or lime flavoring is added to the batter, and through this one-of-a-kind taste and shape, suddenly a memory can “[reveal] itself” by simply taking a single bite of this cake. In an excerpt from Proust, the taste of it again after many years causes the narrator to remember the “lime-blossom which [his] aunt used to give [him].” This memory came from a “dead moment” but resurfaced many emotions and memories. From this bite, he begins to vividly remember how “richly sensual” the madeleines from his aunt were. These descriptions from the excerpt shows the power that food has over people and memories. A comfort food can be considered a comfort food because the dish has the ability to connect you to pleasant memories and feelings of happiness. For this reason, eating a comfort food is an extremely personal moment, and it is exactly what the readers see unfold with the narrator.