Aeroplane Food Might Not Be as Bad as You Think!

If you’ve got a a flight booked that includes a meal, you’ll already know not to expect fine dining. Unless you’re shelling out for a first class ticket, it’s unlikely that you’ll get anything particularly appetising – and even then it might not be all you expect.

While people have made calls for years for airlines to improve the food they serve, it seems that no matter what they dish up for you while you’re off on your holidays, it still wouldn’t taste great.

This is because research has found that the low air pressure in the cabins of planes actually stops our taste buds from working like they do normally. The higher your plane flies, the less your taste buds work. This means that while something may taste amazing when your feet are on the ground, it probably won’t knock your socks off in the air.

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Not only can this affect the food you eat, it can even change how your drinks taste, with delicate wines being quite bitter. Luckily, the effect doesn’t last long once you land, but it can mean you’re stuck having to eat food that doesn’t taste great when flying.

However, professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University, Charles Spence, told The Times that there are ways to counter the negative effects of low air pressure.

He suggested that adding monosodium glutamate (MSG) could help foods to taste better, giving flavours a lift that will ensure they are still delectable while you’re 35,000 feet in the air. However, MSG can increase the calories in a meal and is often now removed from foods to make them healthier.

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Alternatively, Professor Spencer suggested wearing noise-cancelling headphones to drown out the noise of the engines and allow your senses to focus on your food. While this may not mean it tastes as great as when you land, it could at least stop it from tasting truly terrible.

Of course, you could always just avoid the risk of getting bad aeroplane food and pack your own meal. Just be sure to pay attention to airline rules or you could end up going hungry.