I can’t help but wonder: am I the only person who love airplane food?
I’ve taken all types of trips, from quick short hauls with Ryanair and easyJet to premium economy trips with Virgin Atlantic to the US and even some luxury business class flights with British Airways, Qatar and EVA Air.
I have also been able to serve first-class food at the British Airways training school, so I know airplane food intimately, from its creation to its service and, of course, its consumption.
I’ve eaten airplane food of every caliber, and yet I constantly hear others complain and complain about how disgusting it is.
I can’t help but disagree.
Sophie Foster defends her love for in-flight meals and describes them as “nectar” (file image)
I’ve had an illicit love affair with inflight food since my first flight: from soft paninis to preheated kormas.
It’s easy to enjoy business class food, whether it’s EVA Air’s midnight ramen bowls and fried crab bites, beef cheeks with rich sauce at dinnertime on European flights, or delicious mezze plates. from Qatar.
However, I’m also a big fan of reheated metal trays of heavy pasta, plastic cups filled with couscous and indeterminable topping and, perhaps surprisingly to some, even those £6 ham and cheese toasties served at a temperature similar to that of magma.
I admit that my love for the dreary English breakfast, often served in a metal tub, might come from my memories of flying as a child.
Sophie Foster, Deputy Travel Editor
I do know that airplane food is unhealthy unless you opt for fruit or salad and that maybe I should avoid it… but I won’t.
Our senses are dulled when we fly in a pressurized cabin, so tasting food is more difficult than when we are on the ground.
According to research by the Fraunhofer Institute for Lufthansa, Artemis Aerospace noted in a blog post, at high altitude salt is perceived 20 to 30 percent less intense and sugar 15 to 20 percent less intense, and in total almost 70 percent less intense. the passengers’ sense of taste is lost.
To compensate for this, meals are packaged with added salt and sugar to ensure passengers can taste them.
According to some studies, the average airplane meal has between 360 and 400 calories per meal (that’s about 1,500 calories total) and high amounts of fat, salt, and sugar.
Sophie admits her love of “a sad breakfast served in a metal tub” could stem from nostalgic memories of flying as a child.
Peter Jones, retired professor of travel catering at the University of Surrey, said: “Airlines don’t worry too much about nutrition because they consider that one meal eaten by a passenger will not make the slightest difference to them among thousands of meals.” they consume.’
Other ways to add flavor to food on board include adding spices; nasal and astringent flavors such as wasabi and mustard; and the fifth taste (after salty, sweet, bitter and sour), umami, which is found in foods such as tomatoes, mushrooms, seaweed and sausages.
Perhaps it’s my deep love of umami and salt that means flat food tastes like nectar to me – I’ve never been much for sweet things, so salty and spicy pasta, a rich beef curry or even a mushroom risotto stuffed with mustard is much more. more to my taste.
My other theory is that my appetite for in-flight meals is partly a relief from boredom.
I look at it this way: when you’re stuck at 35,000 feet, there’s not much to interrupt the trip.
That’s where airplane food comes in, in all its glory.
About an hour after take-off, you are offered a selection of dishes, served hot drinks and finally, the tray is placed on the table for you to unwrap and discover the treasure hidden under the aluminum foil.
It makes an hour feel like minutes as you happily gorge before your tray is taken away and you’re bored again (and wishing there was another plane meal to come).
Sometimes, on very long flights, there is! What a joy.
“But it’s so dull,” I hear you scream. ‘And the bread is dry and the meat… mysterious.’
Well, I’ve never thought about it, especially if you’ve ever tried the options offered when flying long distances away from home.
I admit that my love for the dreary English breakfast, often served in a metal tub, may also stem from my memories of flights as a child and a misplaced nostalgia for family holidays.
But I doubt many would turn their noses up at Thai Airways’ Thai basil chicken, Emirates’ in-flight vegetable crepes, or VietJet’s crab and shrimp glass noodles.
You may not agree with me, but at the end of the flight I am always full and happy.
Plus, you can always pass me your tray and I’ll finish it off too.
Admit it…I can’t be the only person who loves airplane food.
