Inflight meals have a reputation for being bland and unappetising yet as airlines ramp up their capacity post-pandemic, they’re seeking new ways to lure passengers aboard, starting with their tastebuds.
Bottomless Persian caviar for Emirates’ first-class fliers, an amuse-bouche of paua saucisson (sliced abalone sausage) for Air New Zealand’s business premier class passengers, and lobster medallions in Air France’s best seats are among the latest inclusions on mile-high menus.
Even in economy, the rolling out of revamped menus, and the expansion of specialist consultants like ‘air sommeliers’ and ‘celebrity chefs’ are other signs that the battle for customers is becoming a food fight.
“Some of the airlines continue to work with the star chefs … although my sense is that it never really seems to deliver.”
Charles Spence
Yet when it comes to creating a palatable, or even delectable, airplane meal, the odds may be stacked against even the Matt Morans and Neil Perrys of this world.
“Some of the airlines continue to work with the star chefs … although my sense is that it never really seems to deliver,” says Charles Spence, a gastrophysicist and the author of Gastrophysics: The new science of eating (Penguin Viking, 2017), who spoke to Cosmos via Zoom from his office at the University of Oxford.
“It’s not clear to me how many how many of the chefs actually try things out in the air.
“To me it’s always really disappointing and, ‘Why did you bother?’”
Researchers are still trying to figure out why food tastes so ordinary in the air and, more importantly, what can be done about it.
A big part of the puzzle is the way in which high altitude environments incapacitate our sense of smell and taste, and thus our perception of flavour, says Heather Smyth, a sensory scientist working within the Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) at the University of Queensland.
Researchers are still trying to figure out why food tastes so ordinary in the air and, more importantly, what can be done about it.
At a cruising altitude of 36,000, cabin air pressure is roughly what you’d experience on a mountain that’s between 6,000-8,000 feet – say, the peak of Mount Kosciuszko, at 7,310 feet (2,228 metres) – according to Honeywell Aerospace.
Smyth says that cabin pressurisation inhibits the ability of odour molecules to leave the food and enter the air, or to enter your nasal cavity and connect with your olfactory system.
“So, you’re disconnected from the molecules of smell in the plane,” she says.
Low humidity of between 5-15 per cent, which some have likened to a desert, also contributes towards dull inflight dining experiences.
“It’s incredibly dry on a plane … (which) prevents the solubilisation of those molecules onto the patch of skin at the back of your throat,” Smyth says.
“You need a wet mucosal layer there to allow those molecules to get through to the receptors, but if it is really dry, that doesn’t happen very well.”
Something about the cabin microclimate also knocks our sense of taste about, though scientists aren’t entirely sure why this happens, and opinions are mixed as to which types of taste (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami) are most affected, Smyth says.
One of the earlier studies conducted by Lufthansa in 2010 involved taste testers entering the front portion of an on-the-ground Airbus A310 in which the air pressure, humidity and temperature were manipulated to simulate in-flight conditions.
“Something about the cabin microclimate also knocks our sense of taste about, though scientists aren’t entirely sure why this happens, and opinions are mixed as to which types of taste (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami) are most affected.”
Heather Smyth
They were then fed a series of dishes, including tomato soup and bread rolls, poultry with rice and a chive sauce, Thai curry and mango creme dessert, which they’d already sampled on the ground.
Researchers found that the taste testers preferred about 15-30 per cent more salt at low pressure conditions, 20 per cent more sugar and anywhere from 20-50 per cent more seasoning.
Read more: Why salt makes things taste so good – or does it?
Another less obvious culprit behind poor mile-high dining experiences is the cabin noise from engines, airflow and airconditioning systems.
Even in the quietest aircraft, the Airbus A380, the noise at cruising altitude ranges between 69.5 and 83.7 decibels, according to a study published this year in the journal Applied Acoustics.
Again, researchers aren’t clear on why background noise comprises our sense of smell and taste.
However, Smyth suspects it might be due to our sensory systems being “overloaded and struggling” in the air, particularly when we’re stressed.
Another less obvious culprit behind poor mile-high dining experiences is the cabin noise from engines, airflow and airconditioning systems.
Then there’s the pure “ick” factor that comes from being amid the economy class crush.
Without singling out any airline in particular, Smyth recalls a recent red-eye flight to Melbourne in which she was served a hot zucchini slice in a box, sans cutlery, and in the absence of any way to sanitise her hands as we’ve all been conditioned to do during COVID-19.
“There was nothing to eat it with but my fingers,” she says. “It was a lovely piece of food but my ability to interact with it (was nil).”
Indeed, some of the consulting work Spence is currently undertaking with European airlines suggests that the food in the pointy end of the plane tastes better, at least in part, because it is served on proper plates rather than in foil tins, accompanied by traditional silver- and crystal-ware rather than plastic ‘sporks’ and paper cups.
“There’s been a shift in focus from the light weight to acknowledgement of the value of the weight and the material and the quality of the plate wear to the food experience,” he says.
Aside from shelling out for a more expensive ticket, there are a range of things passengers can do to boost their enjoyment, or at least endurance, of an on-board meal.
For example, British Airways’ first class customers dine on bone china crockery designed by William Edwards, accompanied by contemporary OLIVE cutlery by Studio William.
Aside from shelling out for a more expensive ticket, there are a range of things passengers can do to boost their enjoyment, or at least endurance, of an on-board meal.
One method suggested to increase nasal air flow is by applying something like a ‘Breathe Right’ strip familiar to snorers, but Spence says there is little research evidence to back this.
He much prefers the idea of sprinkling one’s food with an “umami or fifth taste shake”.
Read more: Sweet, salty and a little bit saucy: the science of why bad things taste so good.
These have existed in Japan for decades, but they have been slow to take off elsewhere because of what Spence calls “Chinese restaurant syndrome”, or the (unfounded) fear that we’ll be laid low following the consumption of monosodium glutamate (MSG).
That doesn’t change the fact that spicy and umami-rich flavours stand up well at altitude, so sources agree that if you have a choice, it can be wise to go for Asian cuisine.
For instance, Singapore Airlines has developed dishes based on traditional hawker fare, including laksa, chicken satays with peanut sauce, and prawn noodle soup, which are also a form of “comfort food” for Singaporeans, says in-house chef Richard Neo.
That doesn’t change the fact that spicy and umami-rich flavours stand up well at altitude, so sources agree that if you have a choice, it can be wise to go for Asian cuisine.
The preparation method usually involves some tweaks – there are naturally no open flame woks in the air – but a host of innovations aim to replicate the street stall experience.
For example, calamansi (citrus) jelly which melts when heated takes the place of just-squeezed juice in Mee Siam, a sour spicy noodle dish.
“It keeps your hands clean … while still mostly delivering the same flavour profile that you would have on the ground,” Neo says.
Spence recommends bringing noise-cancelling headphones or, better still, filling up before boarding the plane.
Smyth suggests foods that are crispy, crunchy and crackly can also turn a mundane meal into something more: “It won’t fix your smell and taste, but it will certainly increase your enjoyment of that eating experience.”
Spence recommends bringing noise-cancelling headphones or, better still, filling up before boarding the plane.
“Don’t even try up there, though I guess if people are bored, that’s one of the things they have to look forward to … so they probably won’t take the advice,” he says.
Qantas and Virgin Australia were approached for comment but did not respond within the requested time frame.