Various studies regarding how the environment affects flavor perception have been conducted previously and a recent research just contributed another theory.
TIME reports a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance says loud noises can influence the way people taste food.
For the study, 48 men and women tasted liquid solutions of five different tastes: sour, salty, sweet, bitter and umami at different concentrations inside both environments: a room with a normal ambient noise and another one with a simulated airplane cabin noise.
Although there are no significant differences on how participants perceived sour, salty and bitter tastes, the intensity of the food's sweetness had lower rates while the umami taste was highlighted in loud rooms.
"An enhancement of umami could make foods rich in umami taste better," said study author Robin Dando of Cornell University's department of food science. "Tomato juice is packed with umami, and I've always wondered why it seems like everyone drinks it on planes; this could be a reason."
The researchers aim to help develop better food for places with loud noises like airplanes --- which aren't really classified as ideal dining environments.
"Dissatisfaction with the sensory quality of airline food is so common that it intimates a more complex underlying problem, such as the interaction we report," the researchers wrote. "These results are likely the underlying reason that the hedonic qualities of airline food are consistently rated lower than would be expected, and could offer actionable and directional guidance toward improved acceptance."
Aside from the sound of the environment, another study suggests that how our food sounds when we eat (like the crunch of an apple) also affects our food perception. According to researcher Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University, sound is the "forgotten flavor sense" that could possibly indicate food quality as well.
