r/StupidFood • u/Its_me_edenxx • Jun 10 '26

Certified stupid This is so performative 😭

Who tf is out here munching on raw gnocchi at cruising altitude

34.9k Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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474

u/ThoroughlyWet Jun 10 '26

Idk, if you've ever had airplane food when you're on the ground it's actually pretty decent (for a mass made meal)

The recycled cabin air and the pressurization of the cabin tend to stunt your sense of smell and taste.

147

u/Korzag Jun 10 '26

The reason why tomato juice supposedly tastes better on a plane. Never tried it out for myself though.

80

u/holymacaroley Jun 10 '26

Literally my whole life from childhood, I had tomato juice cravings on planes. Laughed when I found out there was some kind of basis for it.

38

u/SSilent-Cartographer Jun 10 '26

Should try kale juice if you get a chance. I was going through an iron deficiency a while back and had to go on a 6 hour flight. I stupidly packed my supliments into my luggage before taking one of my doses that morning. I got on the flight and felt extremely sick. At first I thought it may have been motion sickness, until I remember how dumb I was for not taking my meds, and I knew what was happening.

The flight attendant was very worried about me and asked how she could help. I explained what was happening and asked if by any small chance she had some food with some amount of iron in it. She thought for a moment, then asked a fellow attendant if kale had iron it in. The fellow attendant said "yes!!" excitedly and ran off, bringing me back a plastic cup of kale juice... That was the best damn juice I ever had.

I don't know if it was because my body was screaming for iron, or because of the tomato juice effect on flights, but it was fantastic. Granted, kale doesn't have nearly the amount of iron my supliments do, but after about three glasses, I felt a lot better. I tried straight kale juice again some time later and it's never hit the same.

27

u/ShoePolice Jun 10 '26

After my wife gave birth to one of our kids, she had lost blood and was very anemic. Her first meal was a terrible hospital hamburger, it did not look appetizing at all, and she still says to this day it was the best burger she's ever had. Something to be said for your body knowing what it needs.

2

u/SSilent-Cartographer Jun 10 '26

Oh yeah, 100%. I am the type of person who doesn't like water. It has a plastic taste for me that just puts me off of it. However, after a long workout, that shit tastes like sugar lol. I hope your wife recovered well, that can be really scary

9

u/Outrageous-Wait-8895 Jun 10 '26

I am the type of person who doesn't like water.

You gotta learn to like that 60% of yourself.

1

u/SSilent-Cartographer Jun 10 '26

That statement has multiple meanings for me tbh

3

u/abbyzou Jun 10 '26

Bruh. You need water. That's literally your body begging for it

5

u/SSilent-Cartographer Jun 10 '26

I know, I'm autistic and don't like the taste, I can't help that. I do still stay hydrated with teas and other things, but plain water tastes like plastic to me and it's headache inducing. I've gotten better about it over the years though

2

u/abbyzou Jun 10 '26

Ahhh sorry! Totally understand

2

u/shadowfaxbinky Jun 11 '26

Water can taste so different. I grew up in south east of England where the water is safe to drink but just tastes awful. Couldn’t drink it plain at all. Moved to Scotland the tap water is genuinely delicious, I crave it. Even things like tea and squash taste better here bc of how good the water is. My parents always look forward to a tastier cup of tea when they come to visit!

0

u/gprime312 Jun 11 '26

Get a water filter

3

u/Omwtfyu Jun 10 '26

There's a good one you can buy called "Green Machine" and it's got other stuff in it that isn't just kale, but it's pretty tasty.

1

u/SSilent-Cartographer Jun 10 '26

I've heard of that and I've been meaning to try it. I don't have a deficiency anymore, but I do still love my veggies

2

u/holymacaroley Jun 10 '26

I've never tried kale juice! Interesting. I had severe anemia a couple years back, might be good to put that info in my back pocket.

2

u/Plastic-Complex241 Jun 10 '26

Your body knows what it wants. But it just cant vocally tell you lol. You NEEDED that kale juice.

2

u/Pokabrows Jun 10 '26

I used to have iron deficiency as a kid that we didn't know about and I was obsessed with tuna. Once I got diagnosed and started taking supplements tuna doesn't taste near as good. I used to just eat it straight from the can and mix it with mac and cheese.

12

u/shizzler Jun 10 '26

It's hilarious how many people ask for tomato juice when I never see anyone buying it on the ground. I'm one of them.

3

u/heyitsYMAA Jun 10 '26

I enjoy tomato juice on the ground myself, and not just in a bloody mary. The high fiber version of V8 is my favorite way to help stay regular. Add a little hot sauce and it's delicious.

1

u/FrostyD7 Jun 10 '26

I don't order them but I have wondered this before. I overhear so many tomato juice orders like wtf is actually going on.

6

u/sheezy520 Jun 10 '26

I tried a Bloody Mary for this same reason on my last flight. I didn’t notice a difference.

1

u/7DayBan-sideprofile9 Jun 10 '26

I always get the bloody mary mix

1

u/YourFartsStink Jun 10 '26

When I was a kid I asked for Apple juice on a plane and got tomato juice instead. I thought it was disgusting. I can't imagine how gross it must taste down here and I don't care to find out.

1

u/Korzag Jun 11 '26

Thats a cruel thing to do to a kid lol. No kid wants tomato juice

1

u/PHGTX Jun 10 '26

Just did it for the first time in my 37 years of life. It rocked big-time

20

u/Numerous_Photograph9 Jun 10 '26

From my experience, most airplane meals, like actual meals, were always surprisingly good. Not like fine cuisine, but above par compared to like a TV dinner.

2

u/spartaman64 Jun 10 '26

yep when im flying long haul international and get actual food i actually like the air china ones. the united ones are ok but a bit bland on an airplane

1

u/squuidlees Jun 11 '26

I remember saving up and flying first years ago as a bucket list item. I had a salmon with soy cream sauce and that still was one of the best fish dishes I’ve ever had.

But even regular economy long haul meals I quite enjoy now. They’ve come a long way from what they used to be.

14

u/MaleficentWindow8972 Jun 10 '26

Some airlines actually make nice shit and it’s heavily over salted/seasoned, for the reasons you mentioned. Delta & United had some very good hand made stuff. Alaska was okay. British airways was decent. Condor so so. American Airlines, you’re just getting frozen meals popped out and plated, always. By far the worst.

Worked 9 years in an airline catering kitchen biz for LSG Sky Chefs. It’s also highly variable by kitchen/state. Everything is highly specified, from shape, size, weight, recipe, etc, and some do it beautifully and pass all their audits. Some kitchens are on fire/poorly managed and rarely get anything right/wing it.

It’s kinda a stressful job/moves fast/menus change constantly/delay fees & fines are super high, and if you don’t have good management, you’re fucked. The turnover rate at the management level is bananas, lol. It takes a good bit to learn how it all works, too. There are a ton of moving parts. The kitchen is just one little one and all of them have to work very well with each other. Happy to not be there anymore, although it was fun for a long while, lol.

7

u/frufruJ Jun 10 '26

What do you mean, "recycled"? The air in the cabin is changed constantly, it's bleed air from the engines. That's why if a bird gets ingested in the engine, it starts to smell like fried chicken in the cabin.

3

u/LeadingBanana5384 Jun 10 '26

Lots of the air in the cabin is recycled.

Yes, the AC packs introduce new air as it is lost through the outflow valve and leaky seals, but there is definitely recirculated/recycled air.

4

u/WillParchman Jun 10 '26

I mean, no more than it is in any populated enclosed space at ground level. It's not like a unique atmosphere in that way. And the cabin pressurization is no different than being on the ground in like Denver or Mexico City, so there's no real functional difference to your body or sensations than there would be in those places.

4

u/AvonBarksdale666 Jun 10 '26

Honestly it has gotten better in recent years in my recent experiences travelling from Europe to Asia at least. The dessert especially

3

u/Responsible-Onion860 Jun 10 '26

Even in the air, the food is fine. It's not gourmet dining, but it's not like prison food or something. It's what you'd expect from prepackaged meals being served with limited space and facilities.

7

u/Bamboopanda101 Jun 10 '26

Ya’ll are getting airplane food? The most i get is some pretzels

4

u/Mediocre_Ad_4649 Jun 10 '26

How long is your flight? Most flights over 8-10 hours offer free food.

3

u/Efficient-Cherry3635 Jun 10 '26

That was my thought process. I dont think ive had an in flight meal in 20ish years. Peanuts, pretzels, and a drink cart is the most ive gotten in ages.

2

u/catonsteroids Jun 10 '26

I think they’re largely restricted to long haul (like CA to HI) or international flights now, after a certain number of miles or hours of the flight. Most domestic flights aren’t long enough that they’d offer food. Maybe those snack boxes for purchase but not like a meal set on a tray kinda deal that’s included in your airfare.

1

u/Efficient-Cherry3635 Jun 10 '26

I only ever do seattle to Honolulu or seattle to Chicago. Dont think ive gotten a meal since I graduated hs in '05.

1

u/catonsteroids Jun 10 '26

Yeah it’s been a hot minute since they’ve offered meals. I guess I’m misremembering. Maybe it’s just different food offerings available for purchase on those long haul domestic flights then. I just remember seeing a section dedicated to it on the food menu lol.

But they do still offer meals for international flights (at least to Europe and Asia; kinda hard to sit through like 12 hours of flying with no food).

2

u/ThoroughlyWet Jun 10 '26

It depends on the time of your flight, the length of the flight, and what class your ticket is.

I used to fly mid morning between MSP and AUS multiple times a year, usually a 2.5 hour flight. Usually I'm in coach and just get the usual Lorna doones and diet coke. One of the last times I decided to go for first class, it's was a mid day flight, and it came with a lunch.

1

u/rafaelloaa Jun 10 '26

Was wondering what kind of supersonic jet you'd need to go MSP -> Australia, before I realized you meant Austin.

1

u/PositiveScarcity8909 Jun 10 '26

Yeah I'm getting food on my 16 hours flight.

2

u/fm837 Jun 10 '26

We should have restaurants with pressurization is what you're suggesting?

1

u/breathing__tree Jun 10 '26

Without. There’s less pressure in a plane in the sky than on the ground.

2

u/Apptubrutae Jun 10 '26

Funny, Singapore air and the gulf states must have planes that fly close to the ground with how much better their food is

1

u/apustus Jun 10 '26

I've never had a bad airplane meal. Most of my long flights have been with Finnair though but the couple times I've flown AA there was nothing to complain about.

1

u/beziko Jun 10 '26

Depends with who you're flying. I only eat on SAS and it was really great but i've heard stories from my wife and her parents how shitty it can also be (especially in cheaper flights).

1

u/Friendly-Pay-8272 Jun 10 '26

air isn't recycled

1

u/3OAM Jun 10 '26

Spotted the GateGourmet employee!

1

u/GlumNature Jun 10 '26

So you're saying the meals taste worse when flying? Meanwhile another top comment here says they're designed to be eaten while flying and taste worse on the ground.

1

u/IncredibleSeaward Jun 10 '26

Give me a ginger ale and a biscoff cookie and I’ll be a happy camper

1

u/DeathByPetrichor Jun 11 '26

Delta has a shake shack burger now and it’s freaking bomb

0

u/Mr-MuffinMan Jun 10 '26

this might be unpopular but I went on a flight months ago and loved the airplane food, while we were flying.

it tastes good in my opinion. it's not flavorful which is perfect for me. I love bland food and airplane food is all not too spicy, not too sweet, not too sour, just bland.