Why food taste different on a jet?
This is an important aspect that VIP flight attendants should always take into consideration when preparing and plating food on a Private Jet.
Let’s see why!
The main factor is humidity.
During the cruise, the airplane is fully pressurised.
In short it means that the airplane recreates the same pressure as you can find on ground.
This is essential for humans’ survival at high altitudes where the oxygen concentration is lower.
But, together with the pressurisation comes also the direness.
In fact, the main down side is the lack of humidity that dries up your mouth, your nose and the rest of your body.
To give you a clear idea… have you ever been to a desert?
Imagine an environment more than 10 times drier than that…
This is what you have when you are on board a Private Jet.
Nowadays, the aircraft manufacturers became very sensitive to this topic and studied different and very valuable solution in order to reduce this problem.
Back to our body…
Well, when the environment is dry, the taste buds on our tongue are incapable to catch all the different shades of taste.
At the same time, the nasal receptors don’t work well (because the mucuses dry up) and the result is that we find the food served on a jet bland in taste and smell.
The cherry on top of the cake is that the noise of the engines creates a soft but constant vibrations on the eardrum that may affects the nerves nearby, that connect the nose to the ear.
Which tastes are particularly affected?
For sure the savoury and the sweet needs a buster (extra salt and extra sugar).
The good news is that there is one extra sense of taste, called umami.
Surprisingly enough, this can be intensified by the background noise.
You can describe umami as that rich, full, slightly sour, savoury taste you can find in wasabi, tomatoes, seaweeds, soy sauce, tabasco, worcestershire sauce and mushrooms.
The perfect treat and drink for Private Jet Customers
To propose a tomato juice or a Bloody Mary on board a Private Jet as aperitivo before the meal can help in stimulating the buds on the tongue.
As a consequence, they will be ready to received more taste-imputes when eating the meal.
Moreover, to offer a nose spray composed by thermal water helps to “clean” and hydrate the nose.
You can put a little bottle by the seat.
After this treatment, your customers can more likely re-conquer the ability to sniff the delicious scents of your perfectly plated dish!