Hannibal Lecter used to recommend traveling by plane with your own lunch box because he believed that what was served in this mode of transport could not be called food. This is probably the only culinary statement from actor Anthony Hopkins’ character that many people can relate to. In general, airplane food has a bad reputation: What if it’s tasteless, what if it’s straight up bad, or not very nutritious at all? In any case, some airlines have been working to remove this seal in recent years.
Although you can order food from the crew on virtually all flights, menus for all passengers are usually reserved for longer trips. Shortly after takeoff and before landing, the cars usually leave with trays of food heated on the plane. These options are usually offered by catering companies and although some airlines usually aim to offer healthy options, Generally, the goal is for meals to be delicious.like in a restaurant.
In any case, it is not easy to prepare menus for use at altitude. Those who prepare these meals must expect that their dishes will have to be reheated over and over again, that they will have to appeal to a very diverse audience, and that they may not even have the same taste as on land. For this reason, They do not always present us with the menu that our doctor or nutritionist would recommend.. If we generally eat a healthy diet, these options do not have to have any negative effects on our health.
One of the most common snacks on airplanes are sandwiches or empanadas, both hot and cold, which usually come in a small box On many occasions they remind us of those who spit out the machines. Vending machines. Even if you are served a so-called vegetable, these foods are not considered healthy, but rather highly processed. Like the rest of the packaged sandwiches, these breads contain refined flour and oil and even sugar.
In reality, these sandwiches are more like fast food than a healthy meal. This is because bread makes up a large portion of the product Additionally, they contain sauces, cold cuts that are themselves highly processed, and an anecdotal amount of vegetables. In short, they are foods with a high energy value that promote weight gain and are not the most nutritious option.
Sugary desserts
Airplane meals are usually rounded off with a dessert that will please those with a sweet tooth: slices of cake or very sugary mousse. That’s no secret No doctor would recommend that we put our teeth in one of these, although they do not make us bitter from time to time. These desserts are very high in calories and therefore help us increase our body weight. However, beyond that, they don’t contribute much to the body.
The main ingredient is usually sugar and other simple carbohydrates. This means that once this sugar reaches our digestive system, it is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. This increase in glucose forces the body to release a large amount of insulin to counteract it.. This measure increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes due to insulin resistance.
The sauces
Although it may sound unbelievable, food on Earth doesn’t taste the same as it does in the air. And the catering companies that prepare the aircraft menus also know this. There are several studies that indicate that changes in altitude and pressure alter our perception of taste. To the point that salt is perceived 30% less and sugar 20% less. This is what the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics says. For this reason, airplane food can sometimes seem boring.
How can this problem be solved? Well, on many occasions more sauces are used and some of them even contain more fat, which adds flavor. While this balances the mouthfeel, These ingredients are usually not particularly good for the body.. In any case, the pressure of the plane can also favor other foods, such as tomato juice. This drink is usually more popular on planes than on the ground.
