WEBVTT - Why Doesn't Airline Food Taste Good?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff Works. Hey, brain stuff, Lauren,

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<v Speaker 1>vocal bomb Here. The next time your taste buds revolt

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<v Speaker 1>at the first bite of an in flight meal, try

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<v Speaker 1>holding your tongue. Not literally, of course, but instead of

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<v Speaker 1>grousing about airlines and the food they serve. The blame

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<v Speaker 1>for poor tasting fair may rest squarely in your mouth

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<v Speaker 1>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 onboard t She told us via email,

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<v Speaker 1>I was one of the judges for the final stage

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<v Speaker 1>when it was down to three potential teas on a flight.

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<v Speaker 1>We blind tasted four teas at various stages of the flight.

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<v Speaker 1>I was convinced I was selecting the same one throughout

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<v Speaker 1>is my favorite, but actually my choices were changing with

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<v Speaker 1>every tasting. Later, Buckley learned that the t should liked

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<v Speaker 1>best on the ground had been the one that became

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<v Speaker 1>unbearably acidic halfway through the flight. She was surprised and

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<v Speaker 1>a little mortified, she said, I hadn't realized how much

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<v Speaker 1>taste changes in the air. The two teas that felt

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<v Speaker 1>overpowering on the ground were the most palatable in the

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

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<v Speaker 1>delicate one suddenly lost its flavor and brought the acidity

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<v Speaker 1>to the forefront. It's a phenomenon. Researchers at Cornell University

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<v Speaker 1>witnessed as they gaged the reactions of forty eight people

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<v Speaker 1>to flavors under different conditions. They gave the participants liquids

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<v Speaker 1>designed to mimic one of our five taste sensations sweet, salty, bitter, sour,

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<v Speaker 1>and umami or savory. As participants sampled the solutions, they

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<v Speaker 1>did so under two different scenarios, first in silence, and

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<v Speaker 1>second while listening to the sound of an eighty five

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<v Speaker 1>decipel jet engine. The results showed the participants sense of salty, sour,

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<v Speaker 1>and bitter remained about the same whether or not conditions

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<v Speaker 1>were noisy. However, these same in flight sounds dulled sweet

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<v Speaker 1>tastes and enhanced umami tastes like tomato juice, which may

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<v Speaker 1>explain why tomato juice and bloody mary cocktails are so popular.

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<v Speaker 1>At altitude. By the way, alcoholic drinks don't actually become

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<v Speaker 1>more potent on planes, but they can feel that way

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<v Speaker 1>because altitude restricts your body's oxygen intake. It seems that

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<v Speaker 1>multiple sensory properties of our environment can change how we

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<v Speaker 1>perceive food and drink, and it isn't only air travel

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<v Speaker 1>that can have an effect. Shanty Celibert, al Los Angeles

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<v Speaker 1>based senior writer for Modern Hiker, spent several weeks at

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<v Speaker 1>ten thousand feet that's about three thousand meters above sea

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<v Speaker 1>level as she traversed the Pacific Crest Trail. She told us,

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<v Speaker 1>as I crept higher and higher, I noticed my appetite

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<v Speaker 1>changed drastically. I found my palate swaying to the extremes.

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<v Speaker 1>I craved boatloads of salt and the sugariest sweets I

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<v Speaker 1>could find. These yearnings for salty and intensely sweet flavors

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<v Speaker 1>fall right in line with the findings at Germany's frown

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<v Speaker 1>Hoffer Institute for Building Physics. At an airline's request, the

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<v Speaker 1>institute set out to study passenger perceptions of sweetness and

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<v Speaker 1>saltiness and discovered that both dropped by up to thirty

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<v Speaker 1>percent during arid simulated flight conditions. It's something to keep

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<v Speaker 1>in mind the next time you fly and opt for

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<v Speaker 1>a promising tomato based entree and beverage. Today's episode was

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<v Speaker 1>written by Laurie L. Dove and produced by Tristan McNeil.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and lots of other savory topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com