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The real reason plane food tastes so bad

If there’s one thing we dread about flying it has to be the plane food we inevitably have to pick on when we just can’t ignore the hunger pangs any longer.

The tray of always seems to be served just as you’re finally managing to doze off and your body clock is craving dinner not the dismal breakfast awaiting you.

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However if you thought it was the chef’s fault the meal behind the plastic cover always looks so unappetising then think again, because it turns out it has nothing to do with how it was prepared.

This is the real reason why airplane food tastes so bad. Photo: Getty
This is the real reason why airplane food tastes so bad. Photo: Getty

According to experts in the field, the real reason the food tastes like it’s been sitting in the fridge at home for weeks is all down to the altitude at which it’s served.

“At 35,000 feet, the first thing that goes is your sense of taste," Grant Mickels, the executive chef for culinary development of Lufthansa's LSG Sky Chefs, told Conde Nast Traveler.

Likewise, Charles Spence, professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University, told the BBC that our taste buds are to blame for the food being bland in the skies.

“Food and drink really do taste different in the air compared to on the ground,” he said.

“There are several reasons for this: lack of humidity, lower air pressure, and the background noise.”

However it also doesn’t help that everything is reheated, causing it to dry out.

Of course, cruising at such an altitude, it would be very difficult to freshly prepare meat dishes and that’s why they are pre-prepared on the ground.

It turns out it's all down to our tastebuds. Photo: Getty
It turns out it's all down to our tastebuds. Photo: Getty

And if you were wondering why the dishes are usually heavy, sauce-based one, it’s to try and counteract how drying it can be to reheat the meal at 35,000 feet.

Speaking to The Times, Food scientist Charles Spence, professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University, said that the one trick passengers need to remember is to bring a sachet of salt with them to make their meal bearable.

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