Johannesburg - Flying does funny things to people. It can cause you to lose your manners, to lose your marbles (crying babies, whingy children, snoring neighbours) and to lose all inhibitions in the face of a free-flowing supply of alcohol.
But if you think flying messes with people’s heads, you should see what it does to their taste buds. It’s long been recognised that your perception of taste changes when you’re a few thousand metres above ground so it’s hardly surprising that airlines give a lot of thought as to how they can combat these effects to make your journey just that little bit more pleasant and enjoyable.
So how do your taste buds change at higher altitudes? Our bodies adapt to different air pressures in different ways, but the most important change when it comes to food and wine is that our sense of smell decreases.
Our nasal passages become drier, making it harder to smell and since 80 percent of taste is associated with smell, this has an effect on what we eat and drink.
As the plane climbs, the pressure gets greater and has a drying effect, which severely reduces our ability to taste two food attributes – salt and sweetness.
Airlines have been aware of this for a number of years following numerous complaints about boring, bland food, which tasted perfectly good when on the ground. They’ve increased the levels of salt and sugar in their dishes and increased the spice element. Have you wondered why you get offered so many curries on planes? Well now you know – it’s to ramp up the flavour factor and make sure your somnolent taste buds are awake and tingling. There’s been heavy investment in improving airline food with some airlines even involving celebrity chefs.
A huge amount of time and effort goes into selecting the wines on board an airline. I recently went on a trip with Emirates to look at some of their wine partners in Bordeaux and Champagne and they actively choose wines for their economy class which have soft tannins and a touch of sweetness to counteract the altitude.
Reduced sensory perception can lead to wines tasting bitter and overly dry or acidic so buyers look for the opposite when they’re choosing in-flight wines.
They’ve also made it possible for all Emirates flights to operate at cabin pressures closer to those on the ground – if you drink on an Emirates plane, it’s the equivalent of having a glass of wine in the Cederberg mountains – so the worst of the effects of altitude are overcome before the plane leaves the ground.
Altitude is a great leveller and even if you pay more for your ticket and upgrade to business or first class, you’re still going to feel the effects.
I flew back business class with Emirates, but also got a chance to have a nose around first class and try their wines. Emirates do things slightly differently in their posher cabins; they cellar most of their premium wines before they add them to wine lists so the tannins have naturally softened with age which make them better for mid-air enjoyment.
If you’re in first class, you’ll be sipping wines especially matched to meals created by Michelin-starred chefs who have a taste for the rigours of air travel.
l www.thewinecentre.co.za
Saturday Star