WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Why Doesn't Airline Food Taste Good?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Lauren vocal Bomb, and today's episode is a classic

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<v Speaker 1>from the vault. This one has to do with the

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<v Speaker 1>science of flavor perception and just how much flying in

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<v Speaker 1>an airplane or a spaceship for that matter, can muck

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<v Speaker 1>it up. Stuff really does taste different when you fly.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vocal Bomb. Here, the next time

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<v Speaker 1>your taste buds revolt at the first bite of an

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<v Speaker 1>in flight meal, try holding your tongue. Not literally, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>but instead of grousing about airlines and the food they serve,

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<v Speaker 1>the blame for poor tasting fair may rest squarely in

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<v Speaker 1>your mouth and the way your senses respond to the noise, pressure,

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<v Speaker 1>and altitude associated with air travel. It's a lesson Julia

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<v Speaker 1>Buckley learned firsthand. A United Kingdom based travel journalist and

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<v Speaker 1>frequent Transatlantic flyer, Buckley was selected by British Airways to

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<v Speaker 1>help choose a new on board tea. She told us

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<v Speaker 1>via email, I was one of the judges for the

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<v Speaker 1>final stage when it was down to three potential teas

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<v Speaker 1>on a flight. We blind tasted four teas at various

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<v Speaker 1>stages of the flight. I was convinced I was selecting

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<v Speaker 1>the same one throughout as my favorite, but actually my

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<v Speaker 1>choices were changing with every tasting. Later, Buckley learned that

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<v Speaker 1>the tea she'd liked best on the ground had been

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<v Speaker 1>the one that became unbearably acidic halfway through the flight.

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<v Speaker 1>She was surprised and a little mortified. She said, I

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<v Speaker 1>hadn't realized how much taste changes in the air. The

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<v Speaker 1>two teas that felt overpowering on the ground were the

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<v Speaker 1>most palatable in the air within an hour of the flight,

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<v Speaker 1>whereas the most delicate one suddenly lost its flavor and

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<v Speaker 1>brought the acidity to the forefront. It's a phenomenon researchers

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<v Speaker 1>at Cornell University witnessed as they gauged the reactions of

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<v Speaker 1>forty eight people to flavors under different conditions. They gave

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<v Speaker 1>the participants liquids designed to mimic one of our five

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<v Speaker 1>taste sensations sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami or savory.

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<v Speaker 1>As participants sampled the solutions, they did so under two

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<v Speaker 1>different scenarios, first in silence, and second while listening to

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<v Speaker 1>the sound of an eighty five decibel jet engine. The

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<v Speaker 1>results showed the participant's sense of salty, sour, and bitter

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<v Speaker 1>remained about the same whether or not conditions were noisy. However,

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<v Speaker 1>these same inflight sounds dulled sweet tastes and enhanced umami

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<v Speaker 1>tastes like tomato juice, which may explain why tomato juice

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<v Speaker 1>and bloody mary cocktails are so popular at altitude. By

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<v Speaker 1>the way, alcoholic drinks don't actually become more potent on planes,

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<v Speaker 1>but they can feel that way because altitude restricts your

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<v Speaker 1>body's oxygen intake. It seems that multiple sensory properties of

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<v Speaker 1>our environment can change how we perceive food and drink,

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<v Speaker 1>and it isn't only air travel that can have an effect.

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<v Speaker 1>Shanti salibert, al, Los Angeles based senior writer for Modern Hiker,

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<v Speaker 1>spent several weeks at ten thousand feet that's about three

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<v Speaker 1>thousand meters above sea level as she traversed the Pacific

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<v Speaker 1>Crest Trail. She told us, as I crept higher in

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<v Speaker 1>our higher I noticed my appetite changed drastically. I found

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<v Speaker 1>my palette swaying to the extremes. I craved boatloads of

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<v Speaker 1>salt and the sugariest sweets I could find. These yearnings

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<v Speaker 1>for salty and intensely sweet flavors fall right in line

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<v Speaker 1>with the findings at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics.

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<v Speaker 1>At an airline's request, the institute set out to study

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<v Speaker 1>passengers perceptions of sweetness and saltiness and discovered that both

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<v Speaker 1>dropped by up to thirty percent during arid simulated flight conditions.

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<v Speaker 1>It's something to keep in mind the next time you

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<v Speaker 1>fly and opt for a promising tomato based entree and beverage.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article mile Blah Club,

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<v Speaker 1>Why airline food doesn't Taste good on HowStuffWorks dot Com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Laur L. Dove. Brain Stuff is production of

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<v Speaker 1>by Heart Radio in partnership with houstuffworks dot Com and

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<v Speaker 1>is produced by Tyler Plang. Four more podcasts for my

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite show.