I'm going to be escorted off my next flight in a Donald Duck rage the next time I hear that tomato-scented crack of a V8 can opening.
Am I extraordinary?
Sure, come at me that tomatoes are a fruit. Still not drinking them.
I always have some in my fridge. What's wrong about tomato juice? What bothers me on planes is that they don't provide some oregano to season it with.
It's not that they're different, I've asked for tomato juice while the plane's departure was delayed for a technical problem, and it tastes as regular tomato juice.
If I can find the scientific article I’ve read, I’ll add. Currently I’m in no position to search it.
I fly a lot and I've never actually seen anyone order a tomato juice.
I love the imagery you laid out, it's a funny scene.
TL;DR it tastes better at altitude.
> <-- what my SO said
The answer from my SO is:
> I just like tomato juice. I sometimes drink it on the ground. I happen to know they have it on the plane and over time I guess you form the association (like popcorn at a cinema). But in terms of why tomato juice specifically may be more popular, I think it may be because certain aspects of your senses are reduced at high altitudes. Tomato juice is often quite high in salt, so has a stronger flavour which may be why people tend to order it. Maybe there’s also another reason?
After a Google by querying "tomato juice on a plane" my SO found:
“The dry cabin air messes with our odor receptors, and since things taste differently when our sense of smell is impaired—think about eating when you have a cold—food tastes blander on a plane than it does on the ground. That same principle is what makes tomato juice taste better in the air.”
> Googling it quickly it seems I am right!
I then got the following in my messaging app from my SO:
“In 2015, Robin Dando, a physiologist at Cornell, found that exposure to loud noises, like that of a jet engine, dulls sweet flavours but intensifies the umami taste present in tomato juice. “
“Researchers from the Fraunhofer Society found people enjoyed it more on planes because our taste and smell receptors are less sensitive at altitude, which means people enjoy the freshness of the juice without the earthy, mulchy taste.”
“It’s more likely there is a psychological basis for the popularity. Choosing a drink on a flight is an unusual situation: you have to decide when the trolley comes to you whether you’re thirsty or not. The beverage is normally free – meaning you want to extract as much value as possible. Tomato juice hits an odd sweet spot: it’s the only drink on the trolly that feels healthy, extravagant and unusual – plus you’ve seen so many other people order it, it becomes a tradition, the same way you eat popcorn at the cinema or hotdogs at a baseball game.”
> Source: https://www.google.nl/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
> Literally what I was saying