Monday, December 7, 2015

有趣的味觉知识 Interesting Facts about Taste Buds




科搜研之女15 第7集 Kasouken no Onna 15 Ep7

   

In the above link: a video on Forensic Science!

This episode shared interesting facts of Taste Buds and how Altitude or inside the confine of an airplane can alter taste of food!

Reference: 

http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2014-04-03/why-airline-food-tastes-so-bad

Extract:

Namely: That the food's not really the problem here.

In a mock aircraft cabin, researchers tried out ingredients at both sea level and in a pressurized condition—and the differences in taste were startling.

The tests revealed that the cabin atmosphere—pressurized at 8,000 feet—combined with the cool, dry cabin air "makes your taste buds go numb, almost as if you had a cold," explained Mickels. 

In fact, our perception of saltiness and sweetness drops by around 30 percent at high altitude. 
It also doesn't help that the decreased humidity in the cabin dries out your nose and dulls the olfactory sensors essential for tasting the flavor of an ingredient or dish.

Though your muted taste buds are the main reason behind your unpalatable airline food, its journey from the catering kitchen to your plate admittedly doesn't help, according to Harold McGee, a scientist and the author of On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. 

After the food is prepared, it's chilled and stored until it’s time to load it onto a truck and, finally, onto the plane where it's served to passengers—which could be hours later.

"When food gets warmed up to room temperature or above, it starts to deteriorate, and once it crosses a threshold—160 degrees for meat, 140 degrees for fish—it is going to be dry and tough, no matter what you do," McGee explained when I interviewed him for an article on celebrity chefs a few years ago.

Still, don't write off airline food yet—Lufthansa and Mickel are doing something to fix it. Read about it here.
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Hahaha!

Food on board aircrafts to most of us are really tasteless.

Mushy too! :)

But I found that some meals served by airlines are quite palatable and some are in fact very saltish too!

A recent meal on board Air France was delicious! :)
Its duck and noodles! 
Only portion too small! 

Still can remember the taste of the duck and the noodle :)

Why saltish?

I am used to using little or not salt in my cooking, and also I use only rock or mineral salt for the past few years.
Most rice or noodles meals served on board have too much gravy and little rice or noodles.

Anyway, can please everyone though. 

The next time you want to blame the food on board or at high altitude, please "Hold Your Fire"!


Cheers all


Om Guru Lian Sheng Siddhi Hom
Lama Lotuschef


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