PLANE food is one of people’s favourite things to complain about – but it may
be us, not the quality, which is the problem.
Experts say they know the reason why meals are nearly always bland,
unappetising affairs – and it is down to our overly keen senses.
According to research, eating is a multi-sensory experience, so exposure to
the constant loud noise experienced on a flight can reduce passengers’
enjoyment of food on board.
US psychologists studied the influence of noise during a flight on the five
basic tastes – sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami (a “pleasant,
savoury taste”).
A total of 48 participants rated them on a scale from “barely detectable”
to “strongest imaginable” – while they were tested against
different noise levels ranging from a normal room to 85 decibels.
Noise level had no influence on intensity ratings for salty, bitter, and sour
tastes – but taste was suppressed for sweet and enhanced for umami in air
cabin noise conditions.
Study co-author Kimberly Yan, of New York’s Cornell University, said: “These
results suggest that enjoyment of airline food may be rated consistently
lower than would be expected.
“The loud ambient noise dampens perception of pleasurable sweet flavours.
“However, the results also suggest that this could be ameliorated by
focusing on the sought-after taste quality of umami, which was not just
immune to the effects of loud noise, but enhanced by it.”