Why
does food taste different on airplanes?
We have all at in point in time complained about
the bland, sometimes disgusting food on an airplane. Many people think that it’s
due to the low cost food that the airline provides, but recent studies suggest
that might not be the case at all. Ever noticed how your ears pop when you
reach a high altitude? Well, that’s not the only thing that changes in your
body. Your taste buds change when you take off too! This is due to low air
pressure so it can affect the way things taste? Also sense of smell and
background noise can effect flavor perception.
Your sense of smell is directly related to the
humidity in the cabin. This means that when you take off and air pressure
decreases, so does humidity. At worst the air can be drier than the desert,
causing your taste buds to be less sensitive to sweet and salty foods, whereas
bitter, spicy and sour foods are not
changed that much. Also, smell can affect how a food tastes. Smell relies on
nasal mucus, but in a dry plane there is less, which affects the smell of the
food. Ultimately what you smell is what you taste, so the taste of the food can
be perceived differently. Airlines try to combat this problem by using more
salt, sugar and spices to food (this is often why airline food is not the
healthiest) so foods such as curry can be more flavorful in the air. Just
remember this the next time you fly:
having slightly less salty, sweet or flavorsome food is a very small price to
pay for being able fly across the globe so quickly and if you really can stand
airplane food, wait until the flight has ended and your taste buds have gone
back to normal before enjoying a meal!
SJS
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