SAVORY FOODS TASTE BETTER WHEN FLYING
If you're planning to
fly over the holiday, plan to drink some tomato juice. While examining how
airplane noise affects the palate, Cornell University food scientists found
sweetness suppressed and a tasty, tender tomato surprise: umami.
A Japanese scientific
term, umami describes the sweet, savory taste of amino acids such as glutamate
in foods like tomato juice, and according to the new study, in noisy situations
-- like the 85 decibels aboard a jetliner -- umami-rich foods become your taste
bud's best buds.
"Our study
confirmed that in an environment of loud noise, our sense of taste is
compromised. Interestingly, this was specific to sweet and umami tastes, with
sweet taste inhibited and umami taste significantly enhanced," said Robin
Dando, assistant professor of food science. "The multisensory properties
of the environment where we consume our food can alter our perception of the
foods we eat."
With Dando, Kimberly
Yan, co-authored the study, "A Crossmodal Role for Audition in Taste
Perception," published online in March in the Journal of
Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. The research
will appear in a forthcoming print edition of the journal.
The study may guide
reconfiguration of airline food menus to make airline food taste better.
Auditory conditions in air travel actually may enhance umami, the researchers
found. In contrast, exposure to the loud noise condition dulled sweet taste
ratings.
Airlines acknowledge
the phenomenon. German airline Lufthansa had noticed that passengers were
consuming as much tomato juice as beer. The airline commissioned a private
study released last fall that showed cabin pressure enhanced tomato juice
taste.
Taste perception
depends not only on the integration of several sensory inputs associated with
the food or drink itself, but also on the sensory attributes of the environment
in which the food is consumed, the scientists say.
"The multisensory
nature of what we consider 'flavor' is undoubtedly underpinned by complex
central and peripheral interactions," said Dando. "Our results
characterize a novel sensory interaction, with intriguing implications for the
effect of the environment in which we consume food."
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