Why Airplane Meals Taste So Bad

Written By Buddy! Magazine
IMG_5178.jpg

Jenna Leung (G11)

What’s up with airplane meals always being so nasty? Whether it’d be a solid block of tasteless egg or an amalgum of slimy veggies and mystery meats, airplane meals succeed at vanquishing appetites. Luckily, Jenna will be analyzing the underlying reasons for this phenomena, from production to the customers’ mood!

Gordon Ramsay, whom we’re all familiar with, swears that he would never eat airplane food in his life. As someone who’s worked with airlines for 10 years, Ramsay knows more than anybody on how and where the food gets made and how long it takes before it actually gets served on board. I think most of us can agree that he’s got a point, because airplane meals are, indeed, not that appealing (maybe unless you’re flying first class).

HOW ARE THE AIRPLANE MEALS MADE AND PREPARED?
Airplane meals are often made on the ground in catering facilities near the airport and then delivered to the aircraft. The meals are refrigerated, and when it comes time for the food to be served, flight attendants heat it up. The trays of food are sent into convection ovens for about 20 minutes, in which the fan in the oven pushes hot air into the food. You can probably bet the hot meals will most likely be a disturbingly colored curry or some type of stew with a sad amount of meat.

Airlines work with catering companies who are responsible for menu design and the mass production of meals. The caterers alter recipes to make the served food somehow more appealing in the air because we taste food very differently in the air than on the ground. How the food is prepared, the environment onboard the food is served in, and the flight conditions that day all affect how the meals taste.

(Courtesy of Travel CNN)

(Courtesy of Travel CNN)

HOW AND WHY ARE THE FOODS MODIFIED?
In the air, the combination of low pressure, dry air, and loud noises of the engine greatly affect passengers’ ability to smell and taste. The low pressure of the cabin decreases the level of oxygen in our blood, and our olfactory receptors, responsible for detecting air-borne odor molecules, become less sensitive, ultimately weakening our sense of smell. In addition to that, the dry air in a flight cabin is found to be one of the suppressing factors to our sense of smell. Higher humidity in the air traps odors, allowing them not only to travel further but also to last longer. In contrast, the dryness of the cabin dries out our nasal passages, and our taste buds become less perceptive. Even loud noises can affect how we taste food. A 2010 study found that loud noises suppress the flavor of foods as well, with almost up to a 30% reduction of passengers’ sensitivity to sweetness and savoriness.

(Courtesy of Jenna Leung)

(Courtesy of Jenna Leung)

Airline caterers recognize this problem and have to modify recipes to accommodate our taste in the air. They would often add more flavor profile in their meals by adding ingredients and seasonings such as salt, pepper and sugar. However, even these things would only help enhance the flavor to an extent (many of the meals I’ve come across were all pretty bland). Airlines also discovered that ingredients such as curry, garlic, ginger, and cinnamon maintain their taste even in the air. Some airline catering companies would choose to use naturally intense flavors, such as fruit and vegetable concentrates and oils which help to reduce the need for salt in the food. Others, like Delta Airlines, have also doubled their amount of fresh herbs in sauces and reduced the amount of acidity in salad dressing, to enhance the aroma to passengers. Since 2013, British Airways has been introducing more umami-rich food items to their menus, for example, replacing flavorless cheeses with stronger ones such as goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes (Gajanan). Ever wonder why tomato juice is always one of the beverage choices? It’s because tomato juice has a more savory flavor than a sweet flavor, known as umami, a category of taste in food (besides sweet, sour, salt, and bitter). In the air, umami reverses our taste buds and its flavor is enhanced, explaining why airlines always seem to serve tomato juice.

(Courtesy of Dreams Time)

(Courtesy of Dreams Time)

Next time you’re asked if you want pasta or chicken by the flight attendant and it doesn’t end up tasting the best, you should try to understand the struggles of airline caterers. Maybe you could also give the tomato juice a try - it might be surprisingly good. And hey, not all airplane meals taste so bad - I’ve had a few meals that were actually pretty good (good enough to which I finished mine and stole a few bites of my brother’s).

Buddy! Magazine
Previous

Kiss, Marry, Kill: Sin, Cos, Tan