Passengers should order popular drink to avoid plane effects

Flight attendant gives examples of what not to do on an aircraft

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Nutrition coach at OriGym Centre of Excellence, Alice Williams, explained tastebuds notably change when flying and there are some foods passengers should consume to combat this.

Alice explained: “During a flight, two main things happen to the air: the pressure increases and the humidity drops. This combination of low pressure and dryness is ultimately what makes your taste buds change.

“The dryness in a plane also reduces your sense of smell. Since smell actually makes up a large part of how we taste food, this will also affect how food tastes in the air.”

The expert suggested choosing foods full of umami flavours, “since umami is not affected by flying”.

Tomatoes are a particularly good source of umami flavour, “which is why many airlines offer tomato juice as the option of a complimentary drink on their flights,” Alice revealed.

Umami is a strong flavour in many Asian ingredients such as miso, soy sauce, oyster sauce, kimchi and shiitake mushrooms and umami-rich foods include soy sauce, tuna and cheeses such as parmesan.

The expert also explained that “sandwich fillings that are full of umami flavours will taste best in the air, such as tuna”.

For a vegetarian option, “a strong cheese and tomato sandwich will also taste good”, she suggested.

Expert in nutrigenetics, Ellie Busby, backed this up and said “the hypobaric (low atmospheric pressure) atmosphere in a cabin has been hypothesised to be the main contributing factor”.

This often results in a decreased sense of flavour, mainly due to a reduced ability to smell on flights.

She added on planes, “people have significantly decreased sensitivity to sour and salty flavours, but an increased sensitivity to sweet flavours”.

The expert said some types of food may differ in flavour, and foods that flourish in the hypobaric environment of an aeroplane, include salty, citrus and sour foods.

Passengers who have tried tomato juice on a flight have realised it tastes better than any other drink.

In fact, the German airline Lufthansa commissioned a study to prove how popular the drink was on the plane.

Their research revealed they served on average over 1.5 million litres of tomato juice on flights.

Tomato juice is not only the most delicious drink on board but is also high in vitamin C, which helps boost the immune system.

Allrecipes claimed a Bloody Mary may be a better option than other drinks and they are considered a “healthier cocktail” as they contain electrolytes, vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants from the tomato juice.

A flight attendant recently shared on social media platform Reddit: “You should try tomato juice while flying, even if you don’t normally like it.

“Science says it’s more delicious at high altitudes. Seriously, Google it.”

Many travellers commented how much they love having the drink in the air: “I always get tomato juice on planes and since almost no one gets it they give me the whole can. Please don’t ruin my secret!”

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