Conditional love · Eat Your Books

There are some foods that I will happily eat almost anywhere, anytime. Tacos and ice cream are two that immediately come to mind. Even when they're 'bad' they are good, and I love them without reservation. On the other hand, some foods I only appreciate under certain circumstances. I do not like chicken noodle soup 99% of the time, but when I'm laid low with a bad cold (as I was this week), suddenly chicken noodle soup sounds like the best thing ever.

Homemade chicken noodle soup with spinach from The Yellow Table by Anna Watson Carl

I wonder why I have conditional love for this soup. Is it because of its reputation for being a healing food, does it stem from a forgotten childhood experience, or does chicken soup indeed have magical medicinal properties? While I may never know the answer, there is little doubt that I will turn to this soup when I am under the weather. Otherwise, no thank you.

Chicken noodle soup isn't the only food I eat under specific conditions. If I am at a fair or festival, I must have a corndog (preferably a Pronto Pup, IYKYK), but I do not want them any other time. I only like to drink beer during the summer. Mornings require something sweet before I eat anything heavy or savory. I think this may come from a childhood full of sugary cereal as the main breakfast food, but nevertheless it has stuck with me.

For me, conditional food love isn't just about circumstance: some foods demand a particular accompaniment that I do not pair with other foods. A grilled cheese sandwich requires baby dill pickles and ketchup. The only time I drink cola is when I am eating pizza or popcorn. The list goes on. What foods do you love conditionally, whether driven by circumstance or pairing?

4 comments

FuzzyChefFebruary 8, 2026

I'll only have gazpacho when it's above 80F, but I'll eat ice cream year round.

tmjellicoeFebruary 8, 2026

I love Maui onion chips, but only in Maui. I tried them at home one year when I was excited to see a bag at Costco and it just wasn’t the same. Sadly, I get to go Maui this month and won’t be able to eat them due to orthodontic implements on my teeth, too crunchy. That also goes for chocolate covered macadamias.

JimCampbellFebruary 8, 2026

"Conditionally" is the key word here. I think we carry forward traditions and wisdom from our childhood, and traditions and folklore from the society we live in. The example of chicken soup is almost universal.

It may sound funny for a California person, but pork and sausage cassoulet is a must for me in the deepest rainy months of winter. Yes, with pig's feet.

GenieBFebruary 26, 2026

I like ice cream in the summer, but rarely, if ever, eat it in the other seasons.

I don’t really like chicken noodle soup, maybe too much Campbell’s as a kid. I stopped eating chicken, but I make a facsimile of chicken and rice soup with soy curls or garbanzo beans.