Cornell University researchers have drawn attention to the impact which 'environment' apparently has on taste perception in humans.

In a rather delectable study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, researchers from Cornell University have proved that it is not just the sensory inputs related to what we eat or drink that influence our taste perception, but also the environment in which we consume such food.

Researchers established a link between the noise levels on a flight and the consequent effect it had on human palate. They found that when flying at about 30,000 feet, our taste buds behaved differently. They noticed that jet noise considerably boosted 'umami' taste, the one found in tomato juice.

According to Robin Dando, assistant professor of food science at the university, 'Our study confirmed that in an environment of loud noise, our sense of taste is compromised. Interestingly, this was specific to sweet and umami tastes, with sweet taste inhibited and umami taste significantly enhanced'.

Umami, a savory taste, is one of the five basic tastes, together with sweet, sour, bitter and salty. A loanword from the Japanese, umami can be translated as 'pleasant savory taste'.

The findings of the present study are akin to ones concluded by the Munich-based research organization, The Fraunhofer Institute, which was approached by the German airline Lufthansa last year, after passengers reportedly consumed as much tomato juice as they did beer on their flights.

For this, simulated conditions were created, wherein subjects were made to sit in an airbus A310 fuselage, with the exact air pressure, noise and flying conditions as on a normal flight. It was observed that at normal pressure, people found that tomato juice has a stale flavor to it. However, this changed during the flight simulation, when participants said they found the juice 'more pleasantly fruity'.

Thus, the cabin pressure indeed had an effect on the human palate. ?