When we fly on board, our sense of taste changes strangely. Some of the delicious foods we used to eat become suddenly tasteless. Experts have investigated how this phenomenon is occurring and how airlines are currently working to resolve this problem.

If you think that the food provided by different airlines is tasteless and not appetizing, it is probably not their fault. "The sense of smell and taste nipples are the first senses we lose at a height of around 10000," says Ras Brown, director of food and dining at American Airline. Meter, the taste is a combination of the senses, and our awareness of what is salty and sweet is much lower inside the cockpit.

"The taste of food and drink is actually different in the atmosphere than it tastes on the ground," says Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University. "There are a number of reasons, Humidity, low air pressure, and noise associated with the flight. "

1. Drought, low pressure and noise

When entering the plane, the atmosphere within the room first affects our sense of smell. As the aircraft continues to rise at a height of 10,000 meters, the air pressure gradually decreases and humidity reaches very low levels of about 12%, less than the level of most deserts.

This is not just about taste nipples, because about 80% of what people think is a sense of tasting is actually the result of inhaling odors. We need the aromatherapy receptors in our noses to be able to do the smell that makes the food look delicious and tasty, but those receptors do not Works well in the cockpit compartment, and the result is to eat without smell or taste.

So airlines are adding a lot more salt and spices to the food on board than in any normal restaurant. "Adding the spices the right way is the key to getting good food in the air," says Brown. Where recipes are often modified with salt and spices to compensate for the loss of taste when we eat in the cabin. "We have to use vibrant flavors and spices to make meals inside the plane taste strong," says Jerry McLaughlin, a US-based chef.

As for the noise from the engines of the plane and its impact on the taste of food, psychologists have found that the ears play an important role in the creation of taste (for more explanation about this phenomenon, see this video and taste some foods) where a study found that volunteers who eat their food In places where the noise was high, they valued their food as less salty and sweet than those who ate their food in a quiet atmosphere, and the food also appeared to those who ate it in a more noisy atmosphere.

2. Meals are made in large quantities

The conditions of the flight room are not the only thing we have to take into consideration, to prepare and feed a few hundred travelers is not easy. Following safety standards, all meals must be prepared on the ground, then packaged, refrigerated, placed in refrigerators, and then overheated in the air, without losing the taste they once enjoyed. To heat the food on board, most airlines use convection ovens that use hot air and dry air to blow it out. Microwave and conventional ovens are not used on airplanes.

"The cooks on the airlines are unique," says Ras Brown. "Many times the final product is far from what they have planned in their minds for reasons beyond their control. We have to design food using ingredients and packaging, To overcome the long process between preparation and presentation. "

"Modern techniques have recently begun to cook in sealed plastic bags for long periods and at low temperatures, helping to improve the food served on airplanes," says Pam Sander Smith, president of the Global Aviation Services Association.

So, to improve the quality of the food, companies began testing in compact rooms or in real airplanes to test travelers' experience.