Why in-flight meals taste like they do, and which foods really don’t work in the sky.
The history of in-flight meals
Sandwiches or fruit? They were the options offered 100 years ago for the first ever in-flight meal, which was served up on a Handley Page Transport flight from London to Paris.
Dining in the skies has changed somewhat since 1919 and, although the reputation of in-flight meals is still iffy, things have improved sufficiently for the meals to eaten on land too. Malaysia-based airline AirAsia recently opened a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur that sells its in-flight meals. But what makes what you eat in the skies so different?
Why does it taste so bad?
Before you blame the chef, it might be an idea to take a look in the mirror. A significant part of the issue is that the human ability to taste is significantly reduced at altitude – studies reckon our perception of saltiness and sweetness are 30% lower.
Cabin conditions play a part too – the pressurisation and lack of humidity leads to nasal passages drying up, and everyone’s effectively eating with a minor cold.
Even noise plays a part – with the loud cabin environment, biting into crunchy food doesn’t provide the same aural satisfaction.
Why all the sauce?
In-flight meals tend to skew towards curries, stews, ratatouilles, gravies and anything else that can be slathered in sauce. That’s due to the dehydration factor, both for the food and the people eating it.
Reheat a chicken breast while inside a dry cabin, and it is going to come out pretty shrivelled, devoid of moisture and tenderness, unless it is covered in something sufficiently wet.
It’s partly a flavouring thing, too. When the tastebuds and olfactory system aren’t working quite as well, being able to bung extra seasoning in or ramp up the salt can be the difference between bleakly bland and tasting pretty good.
Which foods really don’t work?
There’s a reason why bread rolls are usually served straight out of the oven – bread goes stale very, very quickly in-flight. You’re also much more likely to get rice than chips, as fried food is hard to stop from going grimly soggy.
Fattier cuts of meat are usually used, too, as they’re more moist and tender to the dehydrated mouth.
Some wines don’t work as well, either. Earthier, tannin-heavy wines can taste like dirt in the air, whereas more aromatic varietals and fruitier, sweeter drops work much better with the sky high palate. Rieslings and shirazes tend to be a decent bet.
Are the meals cooked on board?
Nope, and for fairly obvious reasons of time, space and safety. They’re designed and made in often vast factories near the airport.
Singapore Airlines’ facility in Singapore has around 1,200 chefs and 19 kitchens producing more than 80,000 items a day. It even has a simulated cabin to replicate the pressurisation for tasting when experimenting with new recipes.
What might be more surprising is that this great machine isn’t creating frozen meals that are then popped in a microwave on board the plane.
The aim is to keep things as fresh as possible, so meals are cooked and cooled on the ground as close to departure as possible, then wheeled on board and heated up in the galley ovens. Cabin crew have instructions, but a perhaps surprising amount of leeway in following them.
What if I have special dietary requirements?
The old “beef or chicken?” scenario no longer applies – well, at least on medium and long-haul flights with full-service airlines, anyway. British Airways offers 14 different special meals, including those compliant with Hindu, Jain, Jewish and Muslim religious beliefs, plus low calorie, gluten free, diabetic-friendly, low fat, low salt and low lactose options. Not all are automatically carried on board, so if you want a special meal, you’ll have to ask for it in advance.
This article was originally written for National Geographic Traveller UK.
More air travel
Other air travel articles on Planet Whitley include:
