35000英尺上的飛機(jī)用餐攻堅(jiān)戰(zhàn)

British Airways thinks it has the answer for flavorless airline food: umami.

英國(guó)航空公司(British Airways)認(rèn)為該公司已經(jīng)找到了改善平淡無(wú)味的飛機(jī)餐的訣竅：鮮味(umami)。

Airline food can take a beating on its way to the plate. It's cooked many hours before a flight, then rapidly chilled, wrapped, trucked, stored and reheated. This often leaves it overcooked, dry and tough. In the air, passengers lose about 30% of their ability to taste as a result of extremely dry cabin conditions and high-altitude pressure inside airplanes. So even food that might be appetizing on the ground tastes bland at 35,000 feet.

在端上乘客的餐桌前，飛機(jī)餐的味道可能會(huì)層層流失。飛機(jī)餐制作的時(shí)間是在航班起飛之前的數(shù)個(gè)小時(shí)，之后還會(huì)經(jīng)過(guò)急凍、包裝、運(yùn)輸、存儲(chǔ)和再加熱等環(huán)節(jié)。這往往會(huì)導(dǎo)致飛機(jī)餐烹飪過(guò)頭，又干又硬。在高空飛行時(shí)，乘客會(huì)喪失大約30%的味覺，原因是機(jī)艙中極度干燥的環(huán)境和高空壓力。所以，即使在陸地上頗為可口的食物，在35,000英尺的高空也可能會(huì)索然無(wú)味。

For years airlines have added salt to give the food a semblance of flavor and ladled on sauces to combat dryness. Competition among carriers has intensified in business class and first class, and airlines now spend as much as $50 a person serving signature dishes from celebrity chefs. But for many travelers, it often still tastes like, well, airline food.

多年以來(lái)，航空公司一直通過(guò)在飛機(jī)餐中增加鹽分的方式來(lái)改善食物的味道，并澆上醬汁防止食物變得干硬。航空公司在商務(wù)艙和頭等艙上的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)愈演愈烈，目前航空公司在每位乘客身上花費(fèi)的成本在50美元左右，以供應(yīng)名廚制作的特色餐點(diǎn)。但是，對(duì)于很多乘客來(lái)說(shuō)，飛機(jī)餐仍然吃起來(lái)像，呃，飛機(jī)餐。

People typically buy tickets based on routes, pricing and loyalty programs, of course. There's little expectation for good food in coach, where airlines still serve hot meals on long international flights. But on board in first class and business class, the first thing passengers often think about is food, airlines say. 'You could certainly lose a customer,' said Adrian Jaski, British Airways' manager overseeing catering performance in London.

當(dāng)然，乘客通常是基于航線、價(jià)格和會(huì)員計(jì)劃來(lái)購(gòu)買機(jī)票的。經(jīng)濟(jì)艙乘客對(duì)于飛機(jī)美食的預(yù)期往往不高，在長(zhǎng)途國(guó)際航班的經(jīng)濟(jì)艙上航空公司也提供熱餐。但是航空公司表示，頭等艙和商務(wù)艙的客人登機(jī)后考慮的第一件事往往就是食物。英國(guó)航空公司駐倫敦的餐飲經(jīng)理亞德里安?雅斯齊(Adrian Jaski)表示：“你很可能會(huì)因?yàn)椴褪扯鴨适Э蛻簟！?/p>

Enter umami, the savory taste found in tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce and other foods. British Airways had previously worked with Heston Blumenthal, a famous London chef, known as a practitioner of scientifically engineered dishes and creator of delicacies like snail porridge.

解決之道是，加入鮮味這種可以在番茄、帕爾馬干酪、蘑菇、辣醬油等食物中可以品嘗到的味道。英國(guó)航空公司此前與倫敦名廚赫斯頓?布拉門斯(Heston Blumenthal)展開了合作，這位名廚是諸多科技型菜品的實(shí)踐者，并且是蝸牛粥等美味佳肴的發(fā)明者。

On a British television series, he first tried cooking food from scratch onboard a flight; it was chaos. He then prepared elaborate cold plates that took too long for flight attendants to serve. He even tried getting passengers to spray saline up their noses to moisten the palate. British Airways decided that wouldn't fly.

在一檔英國(guó)電視節(jié)目中，布拉門斯首先嘗試了飛機(jī)起飛后從頭開始烹飪食物；結(jié)果是一團(tuán)糟。隨后，他準(zhǔn)備了精心制作的冷盤，不過(guò)空服人員需要花費(fèi)的上菜時(shí)間太長(zhǎng)了。他甚至還嘗試讓乘客向鼻子里噴鹽水濕潤(rùn)鼻腔以獲得更敏銳的感官。英國(guó)航空公司認(rèn)為，上述辦法全部不可行。

Then Mr. Blumenthal hit on umami as a breakthrough ingredient for high-altitude food. Umami is an intense flavor first identified by the Japanese and dubbed the fifth type of taste the tongue can detect, along with bitter, salty, sour and sweet. Mr. Blumenthal tweaked a shepherd's pie recipe to include umami-rich seaweed, for example. 'You can't load more salt but you can definitely up the umami,' he said on his show.

此后，布拉門斯突然發(fā)現(xiàn)鮮味可以作為打造高空美食的突破性要素。鮮味是最先由日本人鑒別出的一種強(qiáng)烈的味道，是舌頭能夠檢測(cè)到的除了酸、甜、苦、咸以外的第五種味道。例如，布拉門斯將富含鮮味的海藻添加到了肉餡土豆泥餅中。他在節(jié)目中稱：“你不能添加太多鹽，但是你完全可以提高鮮味成分的量。”

After that, British Airways began working with the London-based Leatherhead Food Research on more quantitative study. Thirty professional food tasters conducted a series of experiments on the ground and in the air and found the sense of bitterness in food was heightened at altitude.

此后，英國(guó)航空公司與位于倫敦的萊瑟黑德食品研究所(Leatherhead Food Research)開始了合作并展開了更多的定量研究。30位職業(yè)味道鑒定師在地面上和高空中進(jìn)行了一系列實(shí)驗(yàn)，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，隨著海拔的升高，食物的苦味會(huì)增加。

In addition to low humidity, they found that cabin lighting and temperature affect taste -- cold temperatures and gray lighting have been shown to dull the experience of eating. Stress levels of travelers also affected taste.

除了低濕度之外，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)機(jī)艙的燈光和溫度也會(huì)影響食物的味道――研究顯示，低溫和昏暗的燈光會(huì)令就餐的體驗(yàn)大打折扣。旅客們的旅途壓力也會(huì)令食物的味道變差。

And the researchers agreed with Mr. Blumenthal that umami didn't lose its punch at high altitude and could be added to recipes to bolster flavors. Even for items like steak -- notoriously difficult to serve aboard planes without ending up tough and dry from double-cooking -- a crust made of umani-rich ingredients bolsters flavor. 'It's a salt substitute without the sodium,' said Sinead Ferguson, BA's menu design manager.

這些研究人員同意布拉門斯關(guān)于鮮味不會(huì)隨著高度增加而變淡的觀點(diǎn)，他們認(rèn)為可以在菜譜中添加鮮味讓食物變得更美味。甚至對(duì)于牛排這種很容易因過(guò)度加工導(dǎo)致干硬而不適宜在飛機(jī)上提供的菜式來(lái)說(shuō)，把富含鮮味的原料裹在它外面也可以改善它的味道。英國(guó)航空公司的菜單設(shè)計(jì)經(jīng)理辛尼德?弗格森(Sinead Ferguson)說(shuō)：“這是不含鈉的食鹽替代品。”

Over the past year, British Airways has altered its recipes to load up on umami-rich foods. And it has pushed catering companies to overplay particular tastes in sauces so that tastes will come through for even the driest palate.

在過(guò)去的一年中，英國(guó)航空公司已經(jīng)在菜單上加入了很多富含鮮味的食物。并且該公司已經(jīng)敦促配餐公司強(qiáng)化醬料中的某些特殊味道，以使飛機(jī)餐能令最干燥的味蕾感到可口。

One example: The airline is serving a special tasting menu from the Langham, one of London's grand hotels, in the first-class cabin of its Airbus A380 super jumbo jets, and several recipes were reworked for high-altitude eating.

例如：英國(guó)航空公司目前向空中客車(Airbus) A380巨型噴氣式飛機(jī)的頭等艙乘客提供倫敦知名酒店朗廷酒店(Langham)的特別主廚菜單，菜單中的幾款菜品的菜譜已經(jīng)根據(jù)高空就餐的特點(diǎn)進(jìn)行了調(diào)整。

For a pork cheeks dish, 'we had to pack more lime and lemon grass into the sauce,' said Kevin Levett, executive chef for production at Gate Gourmet in London, which caters BA's flights.

倫敦Gate Gourmet餐廳的餐飲行政主廚凱文?萊韋特(Kevin Levett)表示，拿一道豬頰肉的菜式來(lái)說(shuō)，“我們?cè)卺u料中加入了更多的酸橙和香茅草”。Gate Gourmet餐廳為英國(guó)航空公司提供配餐服務(wù)。

Subtle wines don't cut it at 35,000 feet. The key at altitude is to minimize any bitterness in red wine tannins, since altitude makes them stand out more, and maximize fruit in white wine, because that gives it more taste in the sky, according to Keith Isaac, general manager of Castelnau Wine Agencies, the wine buyer for British Airways' business class service.

清淡的葡萄酒在35,000英尺的高空行不通。據(jù)卡斯特諾葡萄酒代理公司(Castelnau Wine Agencies)的經(jīng)理基斯?艾薩克(Keith Isaac)稱，選擇高空酒品的一個(gè)關(guān)鍵是紅葡萄酒中單寧酸的澀味要盡量小，原因是高度會(huì)讓澀味更突出；白葡萄酒中的果味則要盡量濃，原因是果味會(huì)在高空中讓白葡萄酒更濃郁。卡斯特諾葡萄酒代理公司是英國(guó)航空公司商務(wù)艙業(yè)務(wù)的葡萄酒采購(gòu)商。

'Wine could be overly expressive and that is good in the air,' said Mr. Isaac, who so far this year has tasted 850 wines for his airline client. 'To me, above all, it's fruit. I spend all day on fruit.'

艾薩克表示：“葡萄酒的口感可能會(huì)過(guò)于飽滿，這對(duì)高空品酒來(lái)說(shuō)是好事。就我來(lái)說(shuō)，最重要的就是果味。我每天都在探索葡萄酒中的果味。”艾薩克今年迄今已經(jīng)為英國(guó)航空公司品嘗了850款葡萄酒。

Other airlines say they try to tailor food and wine for parched palates, but most haven't gone down the umami road. United, Delta, American and Singapore Airlines, a carrier heralded for its food, say they serve some foods containing umami, for example, but they don't make an effort to pump up use of it.

其他航空公司表示，他們也針對(duì)飛行中的味覺變化嘗試了調(diào)整飛機(jī)餐和酒品，但是大多數(shù)航空公司還沒有采用鮮味。例如，美國(guó)聯(lián)合航空公司(United Airlines)、達(dá)美航空公司(Delta Airlines)、美國(guó)航空公司(American Airlines)和飛機(jī)餐飲的先驅(qū)者新加坡航空公司(Singapore Airlines)表示，他們提供的一些餐點(diǎn)中含有鮮味，但是他們并沒有大力推進(jìn)鮮味的使用。

One reason: Many customers have a difficult time noticing any difference. Skytrax, a London-based consultancy that polls travelers world-wide about airline service, says it has seen 'no visible difference' in customer feedback on British Airways food.

一個(gè)原因是：很多客戶并不能輕易地發(fā)現(xiàn)其中的變化。針對(duì)全球旅行者進(jìn)行航空公司服務(wù)調(diào)查的倫敦咨詢機(jī)構(gòu)Skytrax表示，在客戶反饋中，對(duì)英航所提供食品的評(píng)價(jià)“并沒有明顯的變化”。

Jamie Moore, a London technology executive and top-tier flier on British Airways, says that while food service has gone downhill on shorter flights, he thinks food on long trips across oceans has subtly improved. On a recent flight to New York, 'the beef wasn't quite as destroyed as it used to be,' he said, and the bread rolls were soft, warm and tasty. Business class food, he said, 'tends to be quite good.'

來(lái)自倫敦的某科技企業(yè)高管、英國(guó)航空公司的頂級(jí)貴賓杰米?摩爾(Jamie Moore)表示，雖然短途航班的餐飲服務(wù)與日俱下，但他認(rèn)為洲際長(zhǎng)途航班的餐飲水平似乎提高了。他說(shuō)，在最近一次飛往紐約的航班上，“牛肉并不像之前那樣難以下咽了”，面包卷也很松軟、溫?zé)帷⒖煽凇Ｋf(shuō)，商務(wù)艙的食物“似乎越來(lái)越好了”。

Others say it's still airline food. 'My test of a restaurant is simply whether I was served a meal I'd want to go back for,' said Howard Long, also a gold-level British Airways customer, 'and I've never had a meal on an airline I wanted to go back for.'

其他人表示，飛機(jī)餐仍舊是以往的飛機(jī)餐。同樣身為英國(guó)航空公司金卡客戶的霍華德?朗(Howard Long)表示：“我對(duì)餐廳好壞的評(píng)判標(biāo)準(zhǔn)就是我是否愿意再回來(lái)就餐，而從來(lái)沒有哪餐飛機(jī)餐是我愿意重溫的。”

But British Airways is undeterred. Internal customer-satisfaction surveys score food higher, the airline says, and it is continuing what it calls its 'Height Cuisine' effort.

但是，英國(guó)航空公司并沒有氣餒。該公司表示，內(nèi)部客戶滿意度調(diào)查顯示，食物的分?jǐn)?shù)有所提高，并且該公司仍在繼續(xù)推進(jìn)其稱之為“高空美食”(Height Cuisine)的項(xiàng)目。

Steam ovens have been installed in first class to supplement the convection ovens airlines typically use. The new ovens are a gentler way to heat bread and pastry without hardening them.

英國(guó)航空公司已經(jīng)為頭等艙乘客安裝了蒸汽加熱爐，以取代通常使用的對(duì)流加熱爐。新的加熱爐在加熱面包和糕點(diǎn)時(shí)不會(huì)使它們變硬。

The airline challenged Twinings, its tea supplier, to develop a blend that would work better at altitude. Typically regular tea blends get brewed to taste either too strong or too bland, said Christopher Cole, BA's food and beverage and product change manager. Research took six months, testing with aircraft water and factoring in the lower boiling point of water aboard airplanes.

英國(guó)航空公司還要求其茶葉供應(yīng)商川寧(Twinings)研發(fā)一種更適合高空飲用的混合型茶葉。英航的飲食調(diào)配經(jīng)理克里斯托弗?科爾(Christopher Cole)稱，一般的混合型茶葉總是泡得要么太濃、要么太淡。研發(fā)共歷時(shí)六個(gè)月，實(shí)驗(yàn)使用了航空飲用水，并考慮了高空飛行時(shí)水的沸點(diǎn)較低的問(wèn)題。

The airline settled earlier this year on a tea that's a mixture of Kenya, Assam and High Ceylon teas.

今年早些時(shí)候，英航?jīng)Q定采用一種由肯尼亞茶、阿薩姆茶和錫蘭高地茶混合而成的茶葉。

The next piece of this high-altitude puzzle? Coffee.

下一個(gè)需要攻克的高空難題？咖啡。

'We haven't yet come up with something that is noticeably different,' he said. But one promising blend will be tested in-flight after Christmas. With coffee, bitterness really comes through in-flight.

科爾表示：“我們尚未找到解決問(wèn)題的絕妙辦法。”但是，一種很有希望成功的混合型咖啡將在 誕節(jié)后進(jìn)行高空測(cè)試。在高空，咖啡的苦味總是特別突出。

'It's a difficult nut to crack,' Mr. Cole said.

科爾稱：“這是一塊難啃的骨頭。”

British Airways thinks it has the answer for flavorless airline food: umami.

英國(guó)航空公司(British Airways)認(rèn)為該公司已經(jīng)找到了改善平淡無(wú)味的飛機(jī)餐的訣竅：鮮味(umami)。

Airline food can take a beating on its way to the plate. It's cooked many hours before a flight, then rapidly chilled, wrapped, trucked, stored and reheated. This often leaves it overcooked, dry and tough. In the air, passengers lose about 30% of their ability to taste as a result of extremely dry cabin conditions and high-altitude pressure inside airplanes. So even food that might be appetizing on the ground tastes bland at 35,000 feet.

在端上乘客的餐桌前，飛機(jī)餐的味道可能會(huì)層層流失。飛機(jī)餐制作的時(shí)間是在航班起飛之前的數(shù)個(gè)小時(shí)，之后還會(huì)經(jīng)過(guò)急凍、包裝、運(yùn)輸、存儲(chǔ)和再加熱等環(huán)節(jié)。這往往會(huì)導(dǎo)致飛機(jī)餐烹飪過(guò)頭，又干又硬。在高空飛行時(shí)，乘客會(huì)喪失大約30%的味覺，原因是機(jī)艙中極度干燥的環(huán)境和高空壓力。所以，即使在陸地上頗為可口的食物，在35,000英尺的高空也可能會(huì)索然無(wú)味。

For years airlines have added salt to give the food a semblance of flavor and ladled on sauces to combat dryness. Competition among carriers has intensified in business class and first class, and airlines now spend as much as $50 a person serving signature dishes from celebrity chefs. But for many travelers, it often still tastes like, well, airline food.

多年以來(lái)，航空公司一直通過(guò)在飛機(jī)餐中增加鹽分的方式來(lái)改善食物的味道，并澆上醬汁防止食物變得干硬。航空公司在商務(wù)艙和頭等艙上的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)愈演愈烈，目前航空公司在每位乘客身上花費(fèi)的成本在50美元左右，以供應(yīng)名廚制作的特色餐點(diǎn)。但是，對(duì)于很多乘客來(lái)說(shuō)，飛機(jī)餐仍然吃起來(lái)像，呃，飛機(jī)餐。

People typically buy tickets based on routes, pricing and loyalty programs, of course. There's little expectation for good food in coach, where airlines still serve hot meals on long international flights. But on board in first class and business class, the first thing passengers often think about is food, airlines say. 'You could certainly lose a customer,' said Adrian Jaski, British Airways' manager overseeing catering performance in London.

當(dāng)然，乘客通常是基于航線、價(jià)格和會(huì)員計(jì)劃來(lái)購(gòu)買機(jī)票的。經(jīng)濟(jì)艙乘客對(duì)于飛機(jī)美食的預(yù)期往往不高，在長(zhǎng)途國(guó)際航班的經(jīng)濟(jì)艙上航空公司也提供熱餐。但是航空公司表示，頭等艙和商務(wù)艙的客人登機(jī)后考慮的第一件事往往就是食物。英國(guó)航空公司駐倫敦的餐飲經(jīng)理亞德里安?雅斯齊(Adrian Jaski)表示：“你很可能會(huì)因?yàn)椴褪扯鴨适Э蛻簟！?/p>

Enter umami, the savory taste found in tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce and other foods. British Airways had previously worked with Heston Blumenthal, a famous London chef, known as a practitioner of scientifically engineered dishes and creator of delicacies like snail porridge.

解決之道是，加入鮮味這種可以在番茄、帕爾馬干酪、蘑菇、辣醬油等食物中可以品嘗到的味道。英國(guó)航空公司此前與倫敦名廚赫斯頓?布拉門斯(Heston Blumenthal)展開了合作，這位名廚是諸多科技型菜品的實(shí)踐者，并且是蝸牛粥等美味佳肴的發(fā)明者。

On a British television series, he first tried cooking food from scratch onboard a flight; it was chaos. He then prepared elaborate cold plates that took too long for flight attendants to serve. He even tried getting passengers to spray saline up their noses to moisten the palate. British Airways decided that wouldn't fly.

在一檔英國(guó)電視節(jié)目中，布拉門斯首先嘗試了飛機(jī)起飛后從頭開始烹飪食物；結(jié)果是一團(tuán)糟。隨后，他準(zhǔn)備了精心制作的冷盤，不過(guò)空服人員需要花費(fèi)的上菜時(shí)間太長(zhǎng)了。他甚至還嘗試讓乘客向鼻子里噴鹽水濕潤(rùn)鼻腔以獲得更敏銳的感官。英國(guó)航空公司認(rèn)為，上述辦法全部不可行。

Then Mr. Blumenthal hit on umami as a breakthrough ingredient for high-altitude food. Umami is an intense flavor first identified by the Japanese and dubbed the fifth type of taste the tongue can detect, along with bitter, salty, sour and sweet. Mr. Blumenthal tweaked a shepherd's pie recipe to include umami-rich seaweed, for example. 'You can't load more salt but you can definitely up the umami,' he said on his show.

此后，布拉門斯突然發(fā)現(xiàn)鮮味可以作為打造高空美食的突破性要素。鮮味是最先由日本人鑒別出的一種強(qiáng)烈的味道，是舌頭能夠檢測(cè)到的除了酸、甜、苦、咸以外的第五種味道。例如，布拉門斯將富含鮮味的海藻添加到了肉餡土豆泥餅中。他在節(jié)目中稱：“你不能添加太多鹽，但是你完全可以提高鮮味成分的量。”

After that, British Airways began working with the London-based Leatherhead Food Research on more quantitative study. Thirty professional food tasters conducted a series of experiments on the ground and in the air and found the sense of bitterness in food was heightened at altitude.

此后，英國(guó)航空公司與位于倫敦的萊瑟黑德食品研究所(Leatherhead Food Research)開始了合作并展開了更多的定量研究。30位職業(yè)味道鑒定師在地面上和高空中進(jìn)行了一系列實(shí)驗(yàn)，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，隨著海拔的升高，食物的苦味會(huì)增加。

In addition to low humidity, they found that cabin lighting and temperature affect taste -- cold temperatures and gray lighting have been shown to dull the experience of eating. Stress levels of travelers also affected taste.

除了低濕度之外，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)機(jī)艙的燈光和溫度也會(huì)影響食物的味道――研究顯示，低溫和昏暗的燈光會(huì)令就餐的體驗(yàn)大打折扣。旅客們的旅途壓力也會(huì)令食物的味道變差。

And the researchers agreed with Mr. Blumenthal that umami didn't lose its punch at high altitude and could be added to recipes to bolster flavors. Even for items like steak -- notoriously difficult to serve aboard planes without ending up tough and dry from double-cooking -- a crust made of umani-rich ingredients bolsters flavor. 'It's a salt substitute without the sodium,' said Sinead Ferguson, BA's menu design manager.

這些研究人員同意布拉門斯關(guān)于鮮味不會(huì)隨著高度增加而變淡的觀點(diǎn)，他們認(rèn)為可以在菜譜中添加鮮味讓食物變得更美味。甚至對(duì)于牛排這種很容易因過(guò)度加工導(dǎo)致干硬而不適宜在飛機(jī)上提供的菜式來(lái)說(shuō)，把富含鮮味的原料裹在它外面也可以改善它的味道。英國(guó)航空公司的菜單設(shè)計(jì)經(jīng)理辛尼德?弗格森(Sinead Ferguson)說(shuō)：“這是不含鈉的食鹽替代品。”

Over the past year, British Airways has altered its recipes to load up on umami-rich foods. And it has pushed catering companies to overplay particular tastes in sauces so that tastes will come through for even the driest palate.

在過(guò)去的一年中，英國(guó)航空公司已經(jīng)在菜單上加入了很多富含鮮味的食物。并且該公司已經(jīng)敦促配餐公司強(qiáng)化醬料中的某些特殊味道，以使飛機(jī)餐能令最干燥的味蕾感到可口。

One example: The airline is serving a special tasting menu from the Langham, one of London's grand hotels, in the first-class cabin of its Airbus A380 super jumbo jets, and several recipes were reworked for high-altitude eating.

例如：英國(guó)航空公司目前向空中客車(Airbus) A380巨型噴氣式飛機(jī)的頭等艙乘客提供倫敦知名酒店朗廷酒店(Langham)的特別主廚菜單，菜單中的幾款菜品的菜譜已經(jīng)根據(jù)高空就餐的特點(diǎn)進(jìn)行了調(diào)整。

For a pork cheeks dish, 'we had to pack more lime and lemon grass into the sauce,' said Kevin Levett, executive chef for production at Gate Gourmet in London, which caters BA's flights.

倫敦Gate Gourmet餐廳的餐飲行政主廚凱文?萊韋特(Kevin Levett)表示，拿一道豬頰肉的菜式來(lái)說(shuō)，“我們?cè)卺u料中加入了更多的酸橙和香茅草”。Gate Gourmet餐廳為英國(guó)航空公司提供配餐服務(wù)。

Subtle wines don't cut it at 35,000 feet. The key at altitude is to minimize any bitterness in red wine tannins, since altitude makes them stand out more, and maximize fruit in white wine, because that gives it more taste in the sky, according to Keith Isaac, general manager of Castelnau Wine Agencies, the wine buyer for British Airways' business class service.

清淡的葡萄酒在35,000英尺的高空行不通。據(jù)卡斯特諾葡萄酒代理公司(Castelnau Wine Agencies)的經(jīng)理基斯?艾薩克(Keith Isaac)稱，選擇高空酒品的一個(gè)關(guān)鍵是紅葡萄酒中單寧酸的澀味要盡量小，原因是高度會(huì)讓澀味更突出；白葡萄酒中的果味則要盡量濃，原因是果味會(huì)在高空中讓白葡萄酒更濃郁。卡斯特諾葡萄酒代理公司是英國(guó)航空公司商務(wù)艙業(yè)務(wù)的葡萄酒采購(gòu)商。

'Wine could be overly expressive and that is good in the air,' said Mr. Isaac, who so far this year has tasted 850 wines for his airline client. 'To me, above all, it's fruit. I spend all day on fruit.'

艾薩克表示：“葡萄酒的口感可能會(huì)過(guò)于飽滿，這對(duì)高空品酒來(lái)說(shuō)是好事。就我來(lái)說(shuō)，最重要的就是果味。我每天都在探索葡萄酒中的果味。”艾薩克今年迄今已經(jīng)為英國(guó)航空公司品嘗了850款葡萄酒。

Other airlines say they try to tailor food and wine for parched palates, but most haven't gone down the umami road. United, Delta, American and Singapore Airlines, a carrier heralded for its food, say they serve some foods containing umami, for example, but they don't make an effort to pump up use of it.

其他航空公司表示，他們也針對(duì)飛行中的味覺變化嘗試了調(diào)整飛機(jī)餐和酒品，但是大多數(shù)航空公司還沒有采用鮮味。例如，美國(guó)聯(lián)合航空公司(United Airlines)、達(dá)美航空公司(Delta Airlines)、美國(guó)航空公司(American Airlines)和飛機(jī)餐飲的先驅(qū)者新加坡航空公司(Singapore Airlines)表示，他們提供的一些餐點(diǎn)中含有鮮味，但是他們并沒有大力推進(jìn)鮮味的使用。

One reason: Many customers have a difficult time noticing any difference. Skytrax, a London-based consultancy that polls travelers world-wide about airline service, says it has seen 'no visible difference' in customer feedback on British Airways food.

一個(gè)原因是：很多客戶并不能輕易地發(fā)現(xiàn)其中的變化。針對(duì)全球旅行者進(jìn)行航空公司服務(wù)調(diào)查的倫敦咨詢機(jī)構(gòu)Skytrax表示，在客戶反饋中，對(duì)英航所提供食品的評(píng)價(jià)“并沒有明顯的變化”。

Jamie Moore, a London technology executive and top-tier flier on British Airways, says that while food service has gone downhill on shorter flights, he thinks food on long trips across oceans has subtly improved. On a recent flight to New York, 'the beef wasn't quite as destroyed as it used to be,' he said, and the bread rolls were soft, warm and tasty. Business class food, he said, 'tends to be quite good.'

來(lái)自倫敦的某科技企業(yè)高管、英國(guó)航空公司的頂級(jí)貴賓杰米?摩爾(Jamie Moore)表示，雖然短途航班的餐飲服務(wù)與日俱下，但他認(rèn)為洲際長(zhǎng)途航班的餐飲水平似乎提高了。他說(shuō)，在最近一次飛往紐約的航班上，“牛肉并不像之前那樣難以下咽了”，面包卷也很松軟、溫?zé)帷⒖煽凇Ｋf(shuō)，商務(wù)艙的食物“似乎越來(lái)越好了”。

Others say it's still airline food. 'My test of a restaurant is simply whether I was served a meal I'd want to go back for,' said Howard Long, also a gold-level British Airways customer, 'and I've never had a meal on an airline I wanted to go back for.'

其他人表示，飛機(jī)餐仍舊是以往的飛機(jī)餐。同樣身為英國(guó)航空公司金卡客戶的霍華德?朗(Howard Long)表示：“我對(duì)餐廳好壞的評(píng)判標(biāo)準(zhǔn)就是我是否愿意再回來(lái)就餐，而從來(lái)沒有哪餐飛機(jī)餐是我愿意重溫的。”

But British Airways is undeterred. Internal customer-satisfaction surveys score food higher, the airline says, and it is continuing what it calls its 'Height Cuisine' effort.

但是，英國(guó)航空公司并沒有氣餒。該公司表示，內(nèi)部客戶滿意度調(diào)查顯示，食物的分?jǐn)?shù)有所提高，并且該公司仍在繼續(xù)推進(jìn)其稱之為“高空美食”(Height Cuisine)的項(xiàng)目。

Steam ovens have been installed in first class to supplement the convection ovens airlines typically use. The new ovens are a gentler way to heat bread and pastry without hardening them.

英國(guó)航空公司已經(jīng)為頭等艙乘客安裝了蒸汽加熱爐，以取代通常使用的對(duì)流加熱爐。新的加熱爐在加熱面包和糕點(diǎn)時(shí)不會(huì)使它們變硬。

The airline challenged Twinings, its tea supplier, to develop a blend that would work better at altitude. Typically regular tea blends get brewed to taste either too strong or too bland, said Christopher Cole, BA's food and beverage and product change manager. Research took six months, testing with aircraft water and factoring in the lower boiling point of water aboard airplanes.

英國(guó)航空公司還要求其茶葉供應(yīng)商川寧(Twinings)研發(fā)一種更適合高空飲用的混合型茶葉。英航的飲食調(diào)配經(jīng)理克里斯托弗?科爾(Christopher Cole)稱，一般的混合型茶葉總是泡得要么太濃、要么太淡。研發(fā)共歷時(shí)六個(gè)月，實(shí)驗(yàn)使用了航空飲用水，并考慮了高空飛行時(shí)水的沸點(diǎn)較低的問(wèn)題。

The airline settled earlier this year on a tea that's a mixture of Kenya, Assam and High Ceylon teas.

今年早些時(shí)候，英航?jīng)Q定采用一種由肯尼亞茶、阿薩姆茶和錫蘭高地茶混合而成的茶葉。

The next piece of this high-altitude puzzle? Coffee.

下一個(gè)需要攻克的高空難題？咖啡。

'We haven't yet come up with something that is noticeably different,' he said. But one promising blend will be tested in-flight after Christmas. With coffee, bitterness really comes through in-flight.

科爾表示：“我們尚未找到解決問(wèn)題的絕妙辦法。”但是，一種很有希望成功的混合型咖啡將在 誕節(jié)后進(jìn)行高空測(cè)試。在高空，咖啡的苦味總是特別突出。

'It's a difficult nut to crack,' Mr. Cole said.

科爾稱：“這是一塊難啃的骨頭。”