The Science Behind why Plane Food Tastes Bad

           Why does airplane food taste so terrible? That is the question that many have asked for decades, never being satisfied when they take a bite aboard an aircraft. Believe it or not, there is actually a scientific explanation for why this is. No, it’s not that airline companies are cheap and buy the least expensive food possible. There is actually quite a bit more to it than that, something that no airline company can avoid—atmospheric pressure and humidity.

            Our senses of smell and taste are very much tied into conditions within our nose. Have you ever had a stuffed up nose and were not able to smell or taste anything as a result? The reason for this is a pressure buildup in the nasal cavities. Indeed, pressure plays a huge part in our perception of taste and smell. Differences in pressure within the nasal cavities cause our nose and mouth to be incapable of registering certain flavors. Though your nasal cavities may not be inflamed or congested while aboard an airplane in flight, there is still a change in the pressure within the plane, and therefore within your body. Although pressure at high altitudes is lower, not higher—such as is the case of a stuffed up nose—the nose/mouth responds much as it does to high pressure.

            Humidity plays a substantial part in taste, as well. The nasal cavities need the presence of moisture in the air in order to work properly. When this moisture is absent, so is the nose’s ability to efficiently smell. When the nose can’t smell at full capacity, the tongue can’t taste very well, because the sense of taste is 80% dependent on the sense of smell. At 35,000 feet, humidity is at 7%, which is incredibly low, lower than that of most deserts. Thus, this further hinders the tongue’s ability to taste.

            Not convinced? Well, scientific studies have actually been done on this subject. In 2010, Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics did tests to investigate the matter. They reduced the air pressure of their laboratory to the level that it would be in a plane at 35,000 feet. They also lowered the humidity to 7%, and conducted tests in which subjects would go in and eat various foods. The result? Somewhat as expected, but with surprises. It was revealed that the sense of taste was only reduced for certain kinds of flavors. Namely, sweetness and saltiness. Thus, any food that relies upon either sweetness or saltiness (which most foods do) will taste drastically blander to us at 35,000 feet than it does on the ground. Interestingly though, no other flavors, such as spiciness, bitterness, or sourness are affected. Some foods actually taste better in the air. For some reason, the sugar called L-glutamate, which is common in many vegetables and also in tomatoes, has a more intense taste up high. Thus, tomato juice actually tastes really good on planes, supposedly, and orders of tomato juice and Bloody Marys are drastically higher in the air than anywhere on the ground. Other foods with L-glutamate that taste better in flight include sardines, mushrooms, seaweed, and soy sauce.

            So next time you fly, remember that the sweet or salty food you’re craving is probably not worth it. Instead, be adventurous. Try tomato juice, if you never have. There’s no better place to drink it than in the sky!