Does tomato juice taste better on a plane? There’s science behind it — try it next time

▲In-flight tomato juice (Photo / Wikipedia)

By Rita

Frequent flyers may have noticed that many people choose to drink tomato juice onboard. Tomato juice isn’t a common beverage at ground level, so why do so many people order it at high altitude? There’s actually a reason.

According to a report by Business Insider, there is scientific reasoning behind this. Mainly,it’s due to the effects of cabin pressure on the human body, which causes our sense of taste to decrease by about 30% for sweetness and saltiness. In other words, our taste perception weakens at high altitudes.

At ground level, tomato juice may not be very popular, as passengers often find its flavor unappealing. But at high altitude, due to changes in taste perception, tomato juice takes on a refreshing quality with a tangy flavor. This is because our sense of sourness remains largely unaffected at high altitudes.