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As if it’s not already apparent, I love food and I love to see the world. In spite of this, the one situation where I hate both at the same time is on an airplane. Let me paint the picture. I don’t do well in cramped spaces, I don’t enjoy the smell of airplanes, and to make matters worse, I’m petrified when cabin crews wobble up and down the aisle with trolleys. The smell of food diffuses throughout the plane and the dreaded question comes along: “Chicken or beef?”. I’ve always wondered no matter what I choose, there will be some disappointment and loss of appetite after a few bites. I force myself to eat the most modest amount so that I wouldn’t be hungry, and I understand that I shouldn’t expect five-star quality 30,000 feet above ground level. Still, there must be a reason why the quality of airplane food improved only by minimal increments. I did some research and here’s what I found.
To begin, I discovered a report that says food is not only what we taste, see and smell, but things that could affect our perception of food include colour, expectations, and the mind. This is something we already know. For example, when someone tells you of a wonderful dish they had at a restaurant, you would go in expecting something delicious. Setting certain expectations, both conscious or unconsciously, would alter how you think of the food. In this case, you expect no less than a delicious meal.
This report called Effect of background noise on food perception delves specifically into how noise alters the perception of food. It basically explains that loud noises affect our ability to taste sweet and salty foods. Not only that, loud noises would mean that you can’t hear yourself chew, so foods such as chips and cookies might not appear as crunchy as they should. Therefore, this would have a negative effect on how you perceive foods that should be crisp. Would you enjoy a chip that’s not crunchy? You would likely think it’s stale.
So what are my thoughts? I think back to my dining experiences and wonder if all the happy ones are in quiet environments! In further posts on my experiences, I may add comments on crowds if something stands out on either extreme, as loud noises may detriment the dining experience and silence may benefit the situation. To be honest I question if the effect is large enough in a restaurant environment, but I’ll document as best I can and we shall see.
This study may also explain why airlines serve super salty pretzels and instant noodles. I mean, 200mg of sodium for 14g of pretzels? That’s almost eating 5-10 pretzels for 10% of the daily recommended sodium intake for the average adult. Finally, it’s research like this that will help airlines improve their food quality, with particular attention on sweet and salty items. Not only that, restaurant owners who read this study might be able to alter the sounds that customers hear to offset poor cooking! (I suppose).
P.S. The above photographs are a sample meal plan for Air Canada Tango Plus’ non-stop flight from Toronto to Tokyo. While I do notice some improvements over the years, my last flight inspired this piece. Thoughts, comments, feedback, let me know! Cheers!
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