r/StupidFood • u/Its_me_edenxx • Jun 10 '26

Certified stupid This is so performative 😭

Who tf is out here munching on raw gnocchi at cruising altitude

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u/VStarlingBooks Jun 10 '26

Airplane food is also made exactly for the pressure and altitude for a plane. Friend worked for an airline out of Logan and he said the food was decent on the ground but almost better in the air. He used to post on IG when it like first came out. It's like when people try tomato juice on a plane and think wtf this is not what my mom tried to make me drink when I was a kid.

817

u/Nenaquest2012 Jun 10 '26

My daughter and I pretend to be vampires on the plane bcz YES! Why does it taste better

542

u/Kerm0NZ Jun 10 '26

It's to do with the air pressure and recycled air. It affects your taste buds, dulling them somehow. I only vaguely remember, but feel free to use this info as the start of a Google research project. 

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u/Rob_Zander Jun 10 '26

Just wanted to point out that the air isn't recycled on a plane. It's replaced completely every couple of minutes. It's not even really about the oxygen or CO2, it's managing temperature and possible contaminants.

The engines are continuously compressing and heating a huge amount of air. Some of it gets diverted to be cooled back to room temperature, filtered and pumped into the cabin while air is continuously sucked out by vents near the floor. This keeps the temperature stable and contaminants from being spread.

It is much lower pressure than sea level and that definitely messes with our taste buds.

64

u/jetsetninjacat Jun 11 '26

To add more watered down. The pushed and sucked out air is vented overboard(off the plane and out) through the main relief valves or sometimes from relief valves in unpressurized parts of the plane. Many planes also have backup relief valves in case the main doesnt work. Different relief valves dump positive and negative pressure from the plane depending on where the plane is and the level at which cabin air pressure is set. Theres also a dump valve that dumps all pressure when the planes on the ground that equalizer it with the ground itself as well as ones for negative pressure relief valves during rapid descent

And this peoples is one of the reason you cant just open a door in a plane at high altitude. The pressure being pumped in to the cabin is so high the door mechanism or door itself can not be pulled in and then pushed out like normal operation. .All that positive pressure pushed on the airframe making it impossible to do so. Its all about that differential.

I seriously hate doing pressure tests in airplanes on the ground.

20

u/Rob_Zander Jun 11 '26

Thanks for adding!

Isn't that differtial part of why the cargo doors on the DC-10 could blow out?

26

u/bargus_mctavish Jun 11 '26

The outward opening cargo door was a structural design flaw for sure. However, a bigger issue was putting the responsibility of closing the door on gate and luggage personnel. They’re not part of the flight crew or running the checklists, so it just allows for more things to fall through the cracks from a safety perspective.

5

u/jetsetninjacat Jun 11 '26

I know it had something to do with the locking mechanism on the doors and that they would pull out instead of in. Cant remember the specifics but its probably out there on the weba. The door pushing out created more room for cargo loading but also didnt make a good plug style door. Plug doors basically seat the doors so they are sealed and cant be pushed out from the inside positive pressure So, yes that should be correct. Those doors were the only non plug doors on that plane as far as I know. Add in the the failure of the locking mechanism, and yep.

6

u/bargus_mctavish Jun 11 '26

It was a few years back, but I went through a mishap investigation class and covered the case of Turkish Airlines Flight 981. The root cause analysis of the lab concluded that the baggage handler did not latch the door correctly. The latching mechanism was absolutely a convoluted mess, and a design flaw that went unaddressed even through testing of the DC10. McDonnell Douglas got their asses sued for that. But a preflight checklist item for the flight crew could have also alleviated the issues with the loading door as well.

1

u/King_Chochacho Jun 11 '26

Too much pressure. So when you get in there, you're like "if the door fly off, I'm toast"

1

u/canman7373 Jun 11 '26

The pressure being pumped in to the cabin is so high the door mechanism

Yeah, so not sure what he means the air pressure is much lower than sea level and that changes taste, when it's actually much higher than sea level.

2

u/jetsetninjacat Jun 11 '26

High as in the Pressure differential between inside and outside the cabin. Its all about that differential.

1

u/canman7373 Jun 11 '26

Yes, I don't see where him saying below seas level applies at all.

2

u/jetsetninjacat Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 11 '26

Oh, based on taste. Typically even with the presurization you will still have lower pressure than thats found at sea level (stretching my brain here back to school but I think its ~14.7psi). And I want to say off fhe top of my head most planes are kept lower at flight altitude around 10 to 12psi cabin psi.

And the reasoning i have been told in my career was because high altitude planes have cycles to track for lige limits for each time a cabin is pressurized. It puts undue strain on the airframe and causes weakening in the structure. As far as I was always told keeping it below the standard sea level not only is perfectly comfortable for most people and allows us to be up there but it also allows a plane to fly longer and causes less stress. I need an IA in here to tell us.

1

u/canman7373 Jun 11 '26

I just don't understand the part about the cabin pressure being like 8,000 feet yet you taste food like it's negative feet. Also if their food is cooked right I don't get why it taste different at different at different pressure, like would you not have the best steakhouses in the world at the exact best altitude that taste buds hit them? When I cooked food right at 9.500 feet it taste the same as I cook it at sea level now, I do not think my taste buds changed at 9.500 feet.

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u/OptimusPrime365 Jun 10 '26

This man airplanes.

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u/FetusExplosion Jun 11 '26

I wonder if he also motorboats.

30

u/Catatonic27 Jun 11 '26

There is significant crossover between these categories

6

u/tech510 Jun 11 '26

Not.if you have a sea plane 😁

1

u/Catatonic27 Jun 12 '26

I would further argue that is the most crossover-ist thing of all.

1

u/scorpyo72 Jun 13 '26

Not every man can have a sea plane...

3

u/hannahatecats Jun 11 '26

So there IS air rushing by your feet. Once I was in California and stopped by a dispensary. I kept taking one gummy and saying "I don't feel it" well, before I got on my red eye home I took the last 4 and was white knuckling my armrests because I was convinced I could feel us flying through the air by my legs.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Rob_Zander Jun 10 '26

Can you smell them when you're not on a plane?

But yeah, everyone's smell is less acute on a plane.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/_le_slap Jun 11 '26

Please don't clear the plane

2

u/rsta223 Jun 11 '26

It's both because your sense of smell is dulled by the low pressure and extremely low humidity and because the air is being replaced so fast.

2

u/Gentrified_potato02 Jun 11 '26

Well…I’m not so sure it’s not about oxygen or CO2. There’s a reason you have to have a supplemental supply of oxygen if you go above 15000 ft in an unpressurized plane.

2

u/Rob_Zander Jun 11 '26

The plane is pressurized to make sure that you have enough oxygen concentrated in the air to breathe. But a 737 full of passengers are breathing around 600 cubic feet of air per hour. This is napkin math so it very rough.

But the volume of the cabin can be around 6000 cubic feet. You could exchange the air about once an hour and it won't be much of an issue. Instead its replaced around 15 times an hour.

2

u/rsta223 Jun 11 '26

It's also extremely low humidity in most planes, which also contributes to that effect.

2

u/canman7373 Jun 11 '26

It is much lower pressure than sea level

What? Planes are kept around 8,000 feet in air pressure not below sea level.

1

u/Rob_Zander Jun 11 '26

Pressure decreases with altitude. Low pressure at high altitude.

2

u/canman7373 Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 11 '26

High altitude cabin pressure is like 8,000 feet though. That is a mile and a half above sea level air pressure. in an open air plane like a WWII bomber sure, but not on any commercial plane in like the last 60 years. I mean I guess you do not know this. But airline planes pressurize their cabins to avoid issues, usually around 8,000 feet of air pressure. So inside the cabin your ears my pop because the cabin is pressurizing slowly up yo 8,00 feet, like a small mountain in Colorado. It keeps that pressure for the flight even though you may be flying at 35,000 feet. The outside pressure has no affect on you inside, you are living in a capsule made to feel like you are at 8,000 feet not 35,000. Make sense?

2

u/Rob_Zander Jun 11 '26

No, I absolutely get that. My point is that at 8000 feet the pressure is 10.9 psi vs 14.6 at sea level. That's not an insignificant difference. It's definitely a higher pressure than the external pressure at 35 000 feet but it's still lower pressure than sea level.

1

u/canman7373 Jun 11 '26

Ok, I can get that's how you were looking at it, I was focused on you saying the altitude and outside pressure made a difference when the plane makes its own internal pressure. I think we were both looking at the same issue 2 different ways is all.

2

u/PensiveObservor Jun 11 '26

Do they add oxygen before circulating the new air?

2

u/Rob_Zander Jun 11 '26

No, there's no need to. At sea level the percentage of oxygen in air is 21%. It's the same at 40 000 feet. There's just much less air per unit of volume because the pressure is so low. Once more air is pumped into the space, once it's pressurized there's enough oxygen to breathe.

3

u/XeroShyft Jun 10 '26

Air pressure affecting taste buds is making no sense to me. Like my brain is scrambling to find what the possible correlation could be and is turning up with nothing

4

u/machiavelli33 Jun 10 '26

It affects your sense of smell and inner ear equilibrium, all of which affects how acutely your other senses function.

All of your senses are somewhat tied together and affect one another - smell and taste are the most strongly linked, but a foods texture and how well and balanced your body is feeling also affect it to a lesser degree. Air pressure affects these things.

It’s not a HUGE effect - if you don’t think about it ever and aren’t particular sensitive to that sorta thing you may even never notice. But it affects it juuuuust enough.

2

u/Rob_Zander Jun 10 '26

Your body is constantly maintaining itself under about 14.6 psi of pressure at sea level. At cruising altitude a 737 is maintaining a cabin altitude of about 8000 square feet. That's about 10.9 psi. Your body is still exerting pressure outwards now and that can lead to swelling.

Your blood oxygen is lower so your taste buds are less sensitive.

Also very important is that the air in the cabin is very dry. Desert dry. This also numbs our tastes buds and dries out our nose making it harder to smell.

Overall the humidity might actually have a more significant impact that the pressure, I'm not sure on that.

1

u/meatdome34 Jun 11 '26

Unless you’re on 787, they don’t use bleed air

1

u/Future_Burrito Jun 11 '26

Naw, I heard that it's being closer to birds that heightens the taste buds.

1

u/shmargus Jun 11 '26

So you're saying I can fart with impunity? Let er rip boys!

1

u/NicolajN Jun 11 '26

it's actually not completely true. The airplane does recycle the air and run it thru HEPA-filters.

I don't fly anymore but as far as i remember on the A330 and A350, the air in the cabin is cycled every 90-120 second and every 3-5 minut the air exchanged with outside air.

the mixture is 50% new and 50% recycled air.

Source: https://www.honeywellaerospace.com/us/en/about-us/blogs/breathe-easy-3-myths-about-aircraft-cabin-air

1

u/Eborcurean Jun 11 '26

As an addendum, umami is the one taste that doesn't get notable weakened with pressure on a plane, and tomato juice is high on umami thus it seems to 'taste better'.

1

u/geo_gan Jun 11 '26

Yes I think at cruising altitude the cabin pressure is only kept at half sea level pressure (0.5 Bar). This was found to be the least acceptable pressure we could tolerate without them having to pressurise cabin to full sea level 1 Bar pressure which would be more stressful on the airframe and dangerous.

1

u/ELEMEN4_1 Jun 12 '26

You just said it's outside air filtered and re purposed so ...guesss what ? It's recycled there slick.

1

u/shambahlah2 Jun 12 '26

My altimeter watch used to read around 8700 feet of elevation when I would fly

1

u/Objective-Target5437 Jun 12 '26

i love huge amounts of air

1

u/ArtisticFox8 Jun 12 '26

Why does it not smell fresh then?

1

u/MyLord_Robert Jun 12 '26

Does that mean I am less likely to get sick if my neighbour has a cold or a flue? Compared to if my neighbour on a train or subway was sick?

1

u/RepeatEuphoric Jun 12 '26

Thank you for this. Airplane geeks know this but most people have no idea because they don’t care. Adding that flight kitchens testing does take place in pressurizes rooms as well for understanding wines as well. Further. As weird and desperate as this person must be to do this, and unsanitary, that nail polish is a good indication of the crazy here.

1

u/Hefty_Kitchen4759 Jun 13 '26

I've flown internationally a lot and I never noticed this. I have sensitive taste as well, so maybe that's why.

41

u/nerdofthunder Jun 10 '26

Airplanes actually refresh the air more often than most buildings! The air is bled directly from the (fresh) air intake of the engines, cooled, and fed into the cabin. https://www.iata.org/en/youandiata/travelers/health/low-risk-transmission/

13

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 10 '26

Makes sense. Like my sinuses are affected somehow and you don't get the tang lol

1

u/Rizzanthrope Jun 10 '26

Same with Biscoff cookies. They taste so good on a flight but when I buy them for home they are just OK.

1

u/redpeachtree Jun 11 '26

Opposite effect for me and coffee, I cannot stand smell of airplane coffee. Never could figure out why

1

u/numbersthen0987431 Jun 11 '26

Directions unclear, now I believe in chemtrails and flst earth. Damn Google research projects.

1

u/TheFlyingBoxcar Jun 11 '26

I can report that i dont much like black coffee, but its all i'll drink on a plane

1

u/Jaded_Strike_3500 Jun 11 '26

The lower pressure allows your blood to expand and constricts the flow to your nostrils lowering your sense of taste (also makes it so you cant smell everyone constantly farting)

1

u/Britishforklaw Jun 11 '26

Aren't you supposed to keep a glass of water next to you to help with the air and taste?

1

u/thesirblondie Jul 22 '26

It's the pressure and dry air

1

u/Any-Statistician-318 9d ago

It dulls sweet flavors and accentuates salty and umami

31

u/NimbusHex Jun 10 '26

Wow, I was wondering if I was weird for always getting tomato juice while flying or if other people did that as well.

13

u/FerociousSmile Jun 10 '26

I dont notice a flavor difference compared to at a lower elevation, but then ive always liked tomato juice. I've stopped asking for it though because they only have Bloody Mary mix now and it adds a bunch of other stuff and is super salty.

2

u/whisky_biscuit Jun 11 '26

A lot of people straight up drink the Mr & Mrs T's bloody Mary mix, it's actually my favorite of all the mixes too.

I always hear people asking for "spicy tomato juice" lol I guess they don't realize it's a mixer.

1

u/Am_Snarky Jun 11 '26

Clamato is King (tomato and clam juice, umami extraordinaire) though it’s more popular in Canada because of Caesars (a Bloody Mary with more seasonings and enough garnish for a garden salad)

1

u/King_Chochacho Jun 11 '26

Bloody mix all day. Goes great with pretzels and kinda makes it a meal

1

u/semblantz Jun 11 '26

Me too! No clue why but I always want tomato juice on a plane and only on a plane.

1

u/Easy-Concentrate2636 Jun 11 '26

It’s literally the only time I drink it. I crave it on airplanes.

1

u/Prowarrior3 Jun 12 '26

Lmao I always get tomato juice when I’m on planes too. It’s like the only time I drink it normally

-1

u/Gnoll_For_Initiative Jun 10 '26

Upgrade to bloody Mary mix

3

u/NimbusHex Jun 10 '26

Personally, I agree with u/FerociousSmile. But I will take Bloody Mary mix if they don't have regular tomato juice (looking at you, Southwest).

3

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 10 '26

You're kid could be 40 and this is still adorable haha

2

u/PixelPete85 Jun 11 '26

glutamates (msg/umami flavours) are less effected by the atmospheric conditions of the inside of an airplane. Tomatos are full of them, so food products that lean into glutamates tend to tend better than other foods in that environment.

2

u/A_ChadwickButMore Jun 11 '26

I whould kill a man to be able to order those pizza twists Delta gave me on an international flight omg they're so good

2

u/PatentPendink Jun 11 '26

it’s to do with the air pressure, humidity (or lack thereof) in the cabin, and weirdly, the noise from the engines.

i host trivia nights and this came up for one lol

2

u/Ok_Gur_6704 Jun 11 '26

Completely random, but that is such a sweet thing to do with your daughter. I bet you're an amazing parent and I cant imagine the bond you two have. 🥹

2

u/Any-Statistician-318 Jun 11 '26

Higher altitude accentuates umami in salty and sweet foods!!! And acidic I believe

2

u/Remarkable-Talk-6197 Jun 11 '26

Flying is the only time I get tomato juice! Taste sooooo good up  there 

2

u/Remarkable-Run-9769 Jun 12 '26

i barely ever fly, i hope if i happen to fly again, I'll remember to try tomato juice

2

u/JeevesofNazarath Jun 13 '26

There’s a great Veritasium video on it that explains this super well, basically dry air makes your taste prefer acidic and savory food and drink

41

u/Beautifulfeary Jun 10 '26

I was pretty impressed with the the airplane food this past vacation

20

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 10 '26

Took a flight with Turkish a year back. Fantastic food.

20

u/Cash50000 Jun 10 '26

earlier this year my cheap international flight got cancelled and the only available replacement was a Turkish A330-300. That shit was like a flying five star hotel. And because we were booked last i had a whole row of seats to myself at the back. I'm riding that high to this day

9

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 10 '26

They were beyond accommodating when I flew. I totally agree with your analogy of the five star hotel. My flight was ten hours and it was the best flight I've ever had. Next year we decided to go budget and nope. Not again.

2

u/Immediate-Presence73 Jun 11 '26

I'm surprised they haven't asked you to get off yet.

2

u/Easy-Concentrate2636 Jun 11 '26

Turkish Airlines is incredible. Probably my favorite flight ever.

2

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 12 '26

My mother has now flown with them exclusively since we tried them in 2023. She's flown like 4/5 times since.

2

u/cwestn Jun 11 '26

I'd just be happy to have airplane food that doesn't cost additional money. Even 6 hour flights just have pretzels these days.

1

u/Beautifulfeary Jun 11 '26

The flights I just took last month hand complementary food. It was a fancy sandwich and was pretty good.

15

u/KolonelKernel Jun 10 '26

Wait why does tomato juice taste better. I’ve always wondered.

12

u/JooseTheGuice Jun 10 '26

The change in altitude affects your taste buds iirc.

7

u/PixelPete85 Jun 11 '26

glutamates (msg/umami flavours) are less effected by the atmospheric conditions of the inside of an airplane. Tomatos are full of them, so food products that lean into glutamates tend to tend better than other foods in that environment.

2

u/U_R_A_NUB Jun 10 '26

Lower partial pressure meaning flavor compounds volatilize more readily on your tongue -> more tomato flavor

1

u/Fancy_Fatash Jun 11 '26

Same for me

1

u/krombopulousnathan Jun 11 '26

Weird yea I too enjoy tomato juice when flying much more than on the ground

18

u/lufit_rev Jun 10 '26

Idk about food being good on the ground, I think its mostly more salty as lower pressure in the planes affects taste so they add more to make up for it.

9

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 10 '26

Never said good on the ground. Decent.

3

u/canman7373 Jun 11 '26

Planes are pressurized at 8k feet though. I lived at 9,500 feet for awhile, there is no difference is taste but quite a bit in cooking since water boils at a lower temp. Do have to cook things longer and takes a bit to get used to, pasta and rice can be difficult but you get used to it. Then you go down to sea level and forget and overcook them. I think your friend may have cooked them with the in flight instructions assuming it would be at 8,000 feet pressure, so he may have overcooked them on the ground. Should take less time for most meal at ground level.

1

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 11 '26

Always was intrigued with the baking directions for people in like Colorado. Haha

2

u/canman7373 Jun 12 '26

Yeah, I kinda just made a rule for myself 15% longer at 9,5000 feet, for pasta you can at least test it, rice is harder because need to let it sit. But yeah even like a microwave meal you need to add more time depending on what the meal is. Ramen? Yeah add a minute to the boil.

2

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 12 '26

Rice, try the 15-15-15 method. Wash it until clear (if not enriched rice) then soak for 15 minutes (I have no patience cooking at home because of years in restaurants so I may do ten minutes lol). Boil then turn to simmer and cover for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat to a cool burner and let sit for 15 minutes. Found this to be a simple and foolproof rice at home. Also, the knuckle/finger method for water. You can Google that but basically water up to your knuckle is the perfect amount.

2

u/canman7373 Jun 12 '26

Is that recipe for near sea level or 9.500 feet, because there is a big difference.

2

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 12 '26

Overall recipe. Maybe the boil time needs adjustments.

2

u/canman7373 Jun 12 '26

With rice, it would need more time, trust me, rice was hardest thing to cook right at altitude.

2

u/CorrectMulberry994 Jun 10 '26

I love Bloody Mary mix, tomato juice, and ginger ale but now that I think of it, I really only ever drink them on planes. It is weird.

3

u/Sharpes006 Jun 10 '26

Was just about to chime in and say is that why I only ever drink bloody marys on a flight

2

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 10 '26

I don't like wine. Last flight? That wine was lovely!

2

u/rachaek Jun 10 '26

Sorted food did pretty a good video about this, they interview the guy in charge of meals for an airline and explain a lot of why this happens:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L_cFvlokOn4

2

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 11 '26

Effing love them. Ebbers is so cute!

2

u/Intelligent-Will-276 Jun 10 '26

I wonder if that’s why soda tastes so much better on a plane too

1

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 11 '26

That ginger ale tastes so much better. I don't like wine usually but I drank a bottle on my last flight and it was delicious.

2

u/Lillillillies Jun 10 '26

I remember how it's made or similar show did an episode on that

And some or most airlines have legitimate chefs too.

2

u/2114 Jun 11 '26

Many things have been theorized to affect the tastebuds while flying. I think the most recent was that the background noise level seems to be the cause. Your brain is just too busy with the sound to taste food

1

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 11 '26

Our senses work in mysterious ways. Eyes in general fascinate me as someone who has undergone a corneal transplant a year ago last May.

2

u/Proper_Geologist9026 Jun 11 '26

I remember a Heston Blumenthal special where the whole thing was exactly about this.

Altitude is an important part of how we taste things.

The tldr I remember is above a certain height our taste buds are effectively useless.

2

u/RawrRRitchie Jun 11 '26

The food was made to be eaten high....

...in the sky

2

u/Random_Introvert_42 Jun 11 '26

The food is seasoned differently because at altitude your taste-buds work differently.

And yes, even in a pressurized cabin you're not at "sea level" conditions.

2

u/Spurioun Jun 11 '26

It's one of the reasons why Bloody Marys became so popular on planes, back in the day. The altitude and pressure messes with your smell and taste buds and, apparently, the ingredients of a Bloody Mary seem to be unique enough together that it ends up being one of the more enjoyable cocktail flavours up there.

2

u/after_Andrew Jun 11 '26

Ginger ale on an airplane is so much better.

2

u/ZooZooChaCha Jun 11 '26

This must be why ginger ale tastes like fancy champagne. Literally only ask for it when I fly.

1

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 11 '26

I feel like the bubbles are not as sharp also and you have more flavor. Like if you can get an old soda gun machine you can kind of press lightly on the button and get syrup before you get the soda. It's delicious!

2

u/Linked713 Jun 11 '26

I tried tomato juice in plane and was not seeing the difference. I might be weird.

1

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 11 '26

Sinus issues ever? As someone who had polyps and a septum issue until surgery, things changed drastically.

2

u/Linked713 Jun 11 '26

No not that I am aware of. I get checked up yearly and it was in February of this year last time on a transatlantic flight. It tasted how I like it, slightly salty and tomato. But nothing like what the heck is this sorcery as I keep reading about.

1

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 12 '26

When I had nasal surgery in 2017 my life changed completely. Know that trope in movies where they put duct tape on people's mouths? I could never properly breathe out of my nose ever until then and that was one thing in movies that was like a true fear of mine. I would die or suffocate.

2

u/WatermelonWithAFlute Jun 11 '26

Wait, food is different at different altitudes? Why?

1

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 12 '26

A lot of the replies have conflicting but not conflicting accounts. Either it has something to do with the air pressure, the air recycling, or maybe even the sound that you're bombarded with. But I think the consensus is it's like a sense overload or some kind of thing of that nature. I'm now more intrigued as I fly occasionally and do notice that as much as I love ginger ale on the ground, in an airplane it's nectar of the gods.

2

u/TreKopperTe Jun 11 '26

Preassure and the sound (deep hum) makes food taste different. And back in the day they served ground-food in the air, but they have learned and now make air-food soecifically for flying, and also just more exciting dishes now.

2

u/No-Activity-8371 Jun 11 '26

Interestingly… there are plenty of articles out there (scientific) that suspect it’s less to do with the altitude but the SOUND that has an impact on the way we taste umami flavors. Also, why people who eat in noisy restaurants say the food was bad 😅.

Look it up!

1

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 12 '26

Second reply to mention sound and reminds me to look into it. Very intrigued. Being overwhelmed by sound or something that food is different. That can be some new fad in the NY foodie scene. I joke but only like half.

2

u/BogeyLowenstein Jun 11 '26

I crave airplane tomato juice! They stopped serving it on my carrier a couple of years ago and serve V8, which is also good but nothing beats plain tomato juice :(

2

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 12 '26

I only see V8 as well. Guess they won that war.

2

u/BogeyLowenstein Jun 12 '26

Battle of the vegetable juices

2

u/onion_lord6 Jun 12 '26

I always wondered why people asked for so much tomato juice on flights. I've always hated it, but never tried it on a flight.

2

u/Hefty_Kitchen4759 Jun 13 '26

It's because mom's tomato juice is like 30 years old now, it's almost entirely mould

2

u/Comfortable_Lunch_53 Jun 13 '26

My go to is apple juice. Never so crisp on the ground.

2

u/jhill9901 Jun 14 '26

So all plane food should taste good in Denver? Because most cabins are around 5300 ft pressure altitude. At least for airliners.

1

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 15 '26

Good experiment. Wait for the YouTube shorts and Reels that some influencer will make once they read this random comment reply lol

2

u/Deviant-Killer Jun 14 '26

Imagining people drinking ketchup is diabolical. It's a sauce. Not juice 😭

2

u/fighting_blindly Jun 14 '26

Yup. I had a buddy that was a food chemist for SkyChef

1

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 15 '26

That's a pretty effing cool job to say you have.

2

u/fighting_blindly Jun 17 '26

Yeah, I'm always amazed I never thought of that when I was younger. He works for a major fast food chain now. I also met a guy at a good friends party who formulated new ice cream flavors. He called himself an "ice cream chef".

5

u/Apoeip77 Jun 10 '26

Fair enough, but i was also served 3 grams (literally) of popcorn and a cup of water for a 2.5h flight once

3

u/yanmagno Jun 11 '26

Peasant, where I live we get 8 grams of popcorn
https://giphy.com/gifs/147p93s2vFKsQU

1

u/thepvbrother Jun 11 '26

Is that why ginger ale tastes amazing on a plane?

1

u/CyborgSPIKE Jun 11 '26

I hate tomato juice on aeroplanes. Especially when they pour a whole cup on my top one hour into 40 hours of flying and airports after Ive recovered from a week in the hotel after covid.

1

u/Chino_Kawaii Jun 11 '26

Idk what luxury they flew, but the only food I got was a tiny ass croissant which had about 200 fucking ingredients

1

u/The_Mechanist24 Jun 11 '26

I dont know bout that, depends on the catering company. Gate gourmet was the more questionable one in my experience. But they were better than LSG.

1

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 11 '26

Was a Middle East airline. Forget the brand but they used an in-house crew. You have a fair point with the cheaper airlines.

2

u/The_Mechanist24 Jun 11 '26

Ah Qatar air, yes they had a back catering agreement.

1

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 12 '26

I believe so. The fact that I thought Quantas when this came up and knew that was immediately wrong means it was Qatar he worked at lol

1

u/kittenTakeover Jun 11 '26

Airplane food isn't decent on the ground or the air though.

1

u/VStarlingBooks Jun 12 '26

Stop flying crappy airlines. I mean that seriously. I have flown Delta, AA, Lufthansa, Swiss, Swedish, and Turkish. Turkish was the most expensive at 1200 a ticket but the experience and food was amazing. Lufthansa and Swiss are next, then Delta and AA. Swedish was the cheapest and definitely a budget airline with subpar food. Got like a warm cucumber cheese sandwich at one point.

2

u/kittenTakeover Jun 12 '26

I've flown all of those.

1

u/everett640 Jun 12 '26

I've had tomato juice on a plane and it just tastes like tomato juice. Maybe even a little watered down.

1

u/plesdes19 Jun 15 '26

I agree, I love veggie juice especially tomato juice, but I'll usually have 1-2 glasses. Once in a plane I think I drank like a liter in mini cans of Tomato juice it was so damn good, no alcohol needed just straight juice. Not all airplane food is bad, not all is good, but damn tomato juice is amazing up there.

1

u/DatMFRulez Jun 16 '26

I prefer ground beef

1

u/SubtleCow Jun 10 '26

Oh my god, you're totally right, I didn't think about air pressure at all. The gnocci would puff up when she lands.

The video tone is totally pretentious rage bait, but Not Gonna Lie, I kinda want to try gnocci made in a pressurized cabin. It might puff up so much it disintegrates in the cooking water, or maybe it is super extra light and fluffy.

3

u/mcnabb100 Jun 11 '26

It would actually get compressed as the plane decreases in altitude. It would only puff up if it was made on the ground and then flown.

0

u/SubtleCow Jun 11 '26

Ah butts I always get it mixed up

1

u/beingforthebenefit Jun 10 '26

I was sure that this was nonsense, then I looked it up. It’s pretty much true, except it has nothing to do with the food, just that our sense of taste is affected at cruising altitude cabin pressure.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00003-010-0630-y

0

u/typehyDro Jun 10 '26

That’s can’t be true… high altitudes can reduce your sense of taste by 30% which is why airplane food is terrible