Making Chocolate from Wild Cacao
How to Make a Marshmallow Pop
Valentine Gifts for the Five Senses
McBites = Modern McNuggets?
Sausage Recipes of the Month
When Should Bars Cut You Off?
Dear Helena,
I travel frequently for work and, now that airlines are charging for food on domestic flights, I like to bring my own food with me. Usually, it’s something I grab at the airport, like a slice of pepperoni pizza. If I’m more organized, I pick up a sandwich on my way to the airport. (A muffuletta sandwich from Central Grocery in New Orleans is my all-time favorite.)
But sometimes I’ve noticed other passengers giving me dirty looks and wrinkling their noses, especially one time when I couldn’t finish my pepperoni pizza, so I stowed it under my seat. Are there some things you shouldn’t bring to eat on a plane? —Miffed Muffuletta-Eater
Dear Miffed Muffuletta-Eater,
Eating on a plane is like eating in a subway car or in an office. Odors carry. Chowhounds hotly debate what to eat on a plane, while many also say they’re offended by food smells. Some people are very sensitive to odor, and while you may not mind the aroma of someone else’s garlic-sausage sub with double jalapeño relish, a strict vegetarian or a pregnant woman might.
But a domestic plane flight can be six hours long, and you need more than a minipack of pretzels. You could eat in the food court before leaving, but there isn’t always time. Plus, these days plane travel is a catalog of indignities. If your legs are cramped, a toddler is kicking your seatback, and the in-flight movie is a flaccid rom-com, you really need a nice meal. Why should you give up your peanut noodles or pastrami sandwich on the off chance you might offend your seatmate?
But you don’t have to choose between your dining pleasure and other passengers’ comfort. Here’s how:
Choose cold or room-temperature food. Hot food is more aromatic. Instead of pizza or a burrito, go for a wrap, salad, or sandwich. Sushi is ideal: It’s compact, and it won’t sit heavily in your stomach, like, say, a meat-feast pizza. (The only drawback is that you can’t leave it lying around.) Try out any of CHOW’s many sandwich recipes.
Skip the tuna. When I did an informal survey of which in-flight food smells are most offensive, tuna was number one. “Should be banned from all public places,” one friend opined. (It’s unfortunate that one of United Air Lines’ top-selling items, the Rite Bite SnackBox, contains a minican of Bumble Bee Lemon & Pepper tuna.)
Avoid crumbly or slithery food. One friend packs Gouda and crackers for her plane journeys, but takes “water crackers, as they do not crumble as much.” Another friend has learned to avoid anything that’s too challenging to eat: “While the cold soba noodles from the Japanese restaurant in SF’s United terminal are actually pretty good, eating them on the plane is not. ... Just imagine trying to eat noodles dripping with sauce, with chopsticks, with both elbows glued to your sides.”
Dispose of your trash. When you’re done with your Caesar salad, give the container to the stewardess. Don’t let it emanate garlic odor from under your seat.
Ideally, of course, you would shun the food court and pack a healthy and delicious picnic the night before. This is cheap and, if you put it in a reusable or recyclable container, ecofriendly too. But, let’s face it, on the night before a trip, you’re probably busy with last-minute laundry or finishing up at work.
If you’re that type of person, it may make you feel better to know that bringing your own food can go horribly wrong. One friend confides: “One time I brought my own very healthy food: steamed cauliflower with flax seed oil, sprinkled with brewer’s yeast. When I opened it, the whole airplane almost gagged, thinking someone had farted hugely and rudely.”
Table Manners appears every Wednesday. Have a Table Manners question? Email Helena.
Oh yeah, and by the way, I'm one of those "hefty people" on the plane. If I have to smell some waif's over-dousing in Giorgio "Red," then she can smell my Philly Cheesesteak.
I say eat whatever makes you happy and to hell with everybody else. Think of those train rides in India where the food vendors get on the train at various stops and sell their very aromatic food. US airline travel is being dumbed down to a ride on an un-air-conditioned cattle car in some developing country anyway, so hey, all bets are off. If others don't like it, they can pay to fly in the First...+READ
I say eat whatever makes you happy and to hell with everybody else. Think of those train rides in India where the food vendors get on the train at various stops and sell their very aromatic food. US airline travel is being dumbed down to a ride on an un-air-conditioned cattle car in some developing country anyway, so hey, all bets are off. If others don't like it, they can pay to fly in the First Class cabin.-COLLAPSE
I never forget the hefty gal with cheese steak with onions and peppers....had to have a seat belt extender..... I was glad when she finshed the food.
Consideration for others is always appreciated.
OMZ, this one time I had to sit with a 7 year old and he had some weird healthy pudding yogurty stuff and it was all warm and smelled like it contained barf! And then, he threw a temper tantrun and screEEEEEEamed in my ear, almost broke my iPod smacking my hand and dumped the pudding on the floor! Luckily, I got to move to a different seat and ended up sitting with the exact same new friend I met...+READ
OMZ, this one time I had to sit with a 7 year old and he had some weird healthy pudding yogurty stuff and it was all warm and smelled like it contained barf! And then, he threw a temper tantrun and screEEEEEEamed in my ear, almost broke my iPod smacking my hand and dumped the pudding on the floor! Luckily, I got to move to a different seat and ended up sitting with the exact same new friend I met on my flight to where I was coming from!-COLLAPSE
Have a big, big meal, brush,floss and shower, and get on the plane. Maybe with a big bag of peppermint patties for everyone.
airplane food is terrible in the US, definitely avoid warmer foods since they carry, and make other passengers salivate
Eat and drink anything you want. Just make sure you keep it contained within your person once you've eaten it. Food odors don't bother me. Vomit, feces, severe halitosis, flatulence--those are tough for me to endure. But that's life.
worst food item when someone else is eating it, but tastes good when you are eating it: Corn Nuts!!! seriously, the most vile wretch inducing smell when your neighbor is eating them. but quite tasty if you are eating them.......go figure.
I once opened a container of steamed cauliflower for 1 minute in a movie theatre and a guy two seats away from me kept on loudly saying "what the f-ck is that smell some people should know better" and then he proceeded to tell a story about how a passenger dared to eat an egg sandwich on a plane.
I say that common sense and patience are what is needed. I have never found the smell of freshly made tuna to be offensive in the least, but a freshly opened can of tuna reaks.
I dispise the smell of curry, within minutes I will have a horrible headache and nausea, but I know that the person who is eating it didn't do it to me.
Airplane travel is terrible now, the airlines have taken what...+READ
I say that common sense and patience are what is needed. I have never found the smell of freshly made tuna to be offensive in the least, but a freshly opened can of tuna reaks.
I dispise the smell of curry, within minutes I will have a horrible headache and nausea, but I know that the person who is eating it didn't do it to me.
Airplane travel is terrible now, the airlines have taken what was a luxury and turned it into a torture to be endured. I refuse to eat nothing but carrot sticks, bottled water and dry melba toast on a 7 hour flight. A good meal can help make a tortuous trip a bit better, and if it has a bit of smell to it, so be it. I can smell the perfume, cologne, tobacco smoke, etc of every other passenger, they can endure my brie, Bleu and Stilton as well as my parma ham, Salami and rosemary foccacia.-COLLAPSE
I say that common sense and patience are what is needed. I have never found the smell of freshly made tuna to be offensive in the least, but a freshly opened can of tuna reaks.
I dispise the smell of curry, within minutes I will have a horrible headache and nausea, but I know that the person who is eating it didn't do it to me.
Airplane travel is terrible now, the airlines have taken what...+READ
I say that common sense and patience are what is needed. I have never found the smell of freshly made tuna to be offensive in the least, but a freshly opened can of tuna reaks.
I dispise the smell of curry, within minutes I will have a horrible headache and nausea, but I know that the person who is eating it didn't do it to me.
Airplane travel is terrible now, the airlines have taken what was a luxury and turned it into a torture to be endured. I refuse to eat nothing but carrot sticks, bottled water and dry melba toast on a 7 hour flight. A good meal can help make a tortuous trip a bit better, and if it has a bit of smell to it, so be it. I can smell the perfume, cologne, tobacco smoke, etc of every other passenger, they can endure my brie, Bleu and Stilton as well as my parma ham, Salami and rosemary foccacia.-COLLAPSE
I say that common sense and patience are what is needed. I have never found the smell of freshly made tuna to be offensive in the least, but a freshly opened can of tuna reaks.
I dispise the smell of curry, within minutes I will have a horrible headache and nausea, but I know that the person who is eating it didn't do it to me.
Airplane travel is terrible now, the airlines have taken what...+READ
I say that common sense and patience are what is needed. I have never found the smell of freshly made tuna to be offensive in the least, but a freshly opened can of tuna reaks.
I dispise the smell of curry, within minutes I will have a horrible headache and nausea, but I know that the person who is eating it didn't do it to me.
Airplane travel is terrible now, the airlines have taken what was a luxury and turned it into a torture to be endured. I refuse to eat nothing but carrot sticks, bottled water and dry melba toast on a 7 hour flight. A good meal can help make a tortuous trip a bit better, and if it has a bit of smell to it, so be it. I can smell the perfume, cologne, tobacco smoke, etc of every other passenger, they can endure my brie, Bleu and Stilton as well as my parma ham, Salami and rosemary foccacia.-COLLAPSE
The smell of peanut butter is enough to make my throat close; I can move to another train car, but I can't move to another plane!
Too bad that by going peanut and tree nut-free, the only available snacks are wheat based--my allergy. :-p
Don't forget your fellow passengers with allergies. A routine flight can turn into a near death experience if an allergen is accidentally inhaled. I'm thankful that airline provided snack mixes have gone peanut and tree nut free.
The plane's cooling system recycles the air, so microscopic pieces of allergen can float around and affect someone who wasn't even in the same row as the person that...+READ
Don't forget your fellow passengers with allergies. A routine flight can turn into a near death experience if an allergen is accidentally inhaled. I'm thankful that airline provided snack mixes have gone peanut and tree nut free.
The plane's cooling system recycles the air, so microscopic pieces of allergen can float around and affect someone who wasn't even in the same row as the person that ate the nut containing mix.
I worry about people having oranges with them on a flight. Oranges are related to the rubber tree where latex is derived. I carry an epi pen as well as a rescue inhaler and fast acting benadryl tongue melts. Oranges are not only in foods and beverages, many cleansers as well as cosmetics and fragrances. While the epi pen can open up a constricted airway, it doesn't "heal" you on the spot. All it does is give you a few extra minutes to get to the ER.
When I travel, I bring both of my epi pens in case I need both. I am careful that I don't eat anything with nuts while on the plane, and I wash my hands very well.
I take my own snacks in case the on board snack and beverage aren't safe.--crackers, dried fruit, bottled water Being 32,000 feet up is no time to try a new beverage, even if the attendant swears on the captain's landing ability that it's OK.
On the flip side, having an allergy has made me a lot more sensitive to the needs of others. I won't die if I can't eat the snickers bar stuffed into my laptop case. I've never run across anyone that was anything but pleasant when I politely asked that orange juice not be around me.
I offer to move to another portion of the plane if possible. Most people have no issue with a simple, gracious request. I've found that the majority of times, people are curious about allergies and like to find out more. I think more and more people in the US are affected by food allergies, either in their distant family, or in their children or themselves. The more you know, the more you can help others.
As for just obnoxiously smelling snacks, I used to work for a woman that ate Kimchi as a mid morning snack. You could smell her snack coming down the hall before it arrived... not to mention I think that stuff could burn a hole through the plane fuselage. Raw cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbages should also be banned. They're enough to make every baby on board scream in terror.-COLLAPSE
I'm in school and spend a lot of time in confined space in the library. The other day, someone decided to have some creamy clam chowder in the desk right behind mine. Not only was the smell strong but it even smelled like it had gone bad.
Oh boy. As someone who does a bit of foreign travel, smelly food has surely been a part of my life.
Along with the fat guy who neglected to take a shower before the flight (oh, and wash his effing clothes).
The pampered person who thinks their perfume/after shave is the best thing ever. I am convinced that many of those folks have damaged sinuses.
And the ones with a horrible cold wheezing all...+READ
Oh boy. As someone who does a bit of foreign travel, smelly food has surely been a part of my life.
Along with the fat guy who neglected to take a shower before the flight (oh, and wash his effing clothes).
The pampered person who thinks their perfume/after shave is the best thing ever. I am convinced that many of those folks have damaged sinuses.
And the ones with a horrible cold wheezing all over you when they climb over to go to the loo a fifth time. (I shudder when I remember some of the after effects...)
Oh, right, we're talking about food. ;-)
I like apples and cheddar and bread. Carrot sticks actually help stave off the hunger. And seedless grapes are fabulous -- the sweetness helps make the trip move along. And they are easy to share with your neighbor out of kindness. A sandwich with mayo, non-smelly cheese, lettuce, grated carrot, tomato, salt, pepper. Oh now you made me hungry again!
Happy trails, y'all-COLLAPSE
Over the years I've come up with a list of desirable properties for food to eat while flying, most of it borne from painful experience:
- Doesn't require sharp cutlery
- Doesn't smell
- Not crumbly
- Won't produce (too many) crumbs
- Won't leak!
So for the best things I've come up with:
- Bagel with cream cheese (but no lox/salmon)
- Nuts
- Sandwiches and wraps with mild cheese
- (my favorite)...+READ
Over the years I've come up with a list of desirable properties for food to eat while flying, most of it borne from painful experience:
- Doesn't require sharp cutlery
- Doesn't smell
- Not crumbly
- Won't produce (too many) crumbs
- Won't leak!
So for the best things I've come up with:
- Bagel with cream cheese (but no lox/salmon)
- Nuts
- Sandwiches and wraps with mild cheese
- (my favorite) Futomaki, which stays good at room temperature for the duration of a flight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futomaki-COLLAPSE
Over the years I've come up with a list of desirable properties for food to eat while flying, most of it borne from painful experience:
- Doesn't require sharp cutlery
- Doesn't smell
- Not crumbly
- Won't produce (too many) crumbs
- Won't leak!
So for the best things I've come up with:
- Bagel with cream cheese (but no lox/salmon)
- Nuts
- Sandwiches and wraps with mild cheese
- (my favorite)...+READ
Over the years I've come up with a list of desirable properties for food to eat while flying, most of it borne from painful experience:
- Doesn't require sharp cutlery
- Doesn't smell
- Not crumbly
- Won't produce (too many) crumbs
- Won't leak!
So for the best things I've come up with:
- Bagel with cream cheese (but no lox/salmon)
- Nuts
- Sandwiches and wraps with mild cheese
- (my favorite) Futomaki, which stays good at room temperature for the duration of a flight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futomaki-COLLAPSE
I once had a couple sit next to me eating sardines w/crackers!! They said it was the last thing left in their 'villa' and they wanted to clean out the cupboards. And, apparantly, the entire plane!! To say it was vile is a gross understatement!!
Also, offensive, is the over-ladened perfumed person next to you, be it male or female. There should be a rule against that.....
Contessa
"I say f*** the airlines. Eat what you want."
Except you're not f***ing the airlines, you're f***ing your fellow passengers. Like I said, this is not your last meal, please be considerate.
Hey RichardCrystal, wanna trade? I've got reblochon and stinking bishop cheeses, Indian curry and durien for dessert!
I say f*** the airlines. Eat what you want. Has anyone stepped back and just noticed how third world American air travel has become? Just the like auto industry, embodied with incompetent and over compensated management, saddled with a labor force that checked out a long time ago, and no innovation (charging me for soft drinks does not count). I say bring on the melted Provolone, the ripe...+READ
I say f*** the airlines. Eat what you want. Has anyone stepped back and just noticed how third world American air travel has become? Just the like auto industry, embodied with incompetent and over compensated management, saddled with a labor force that checked out a long time ago, and no innovation (charging me for soft drinks does not count). I say bring on the melted Provolone, the ripe Camembert and the egg salad (as noted by Michael Scott in last week's episode of The Office). I will be damned if the airlines should make us think that a reduction in service levels is a good thing.-COLLAPSE
I always get the tuna on United flights, but then so does half the plane---the one time I didn't get it I could smell everyone elses and wished I got it because the other selections are so boring. Maybe they could make sections, like smoking and non but for tuna.
We need to look to the kinds of road food folks packed in the past. I like to pack fried chicken, jonnycakes, (It's a RI thing) fresh veggies and fruit. I always pack more than I can eat cuz the person next to me is usually trying to make a meal out of the complimentary bag(s) of pretzels or nuts. I loves me my tuna, but never on a plane. Now if the person with the McDonald's Big Mac would extend...+READ
We need to look to the kinds of road food folks packed in the past. I like to pack fried chicken, jonnycakes, (It's a RI thing) fresh veggies and fruit. I always pack more than I can eat cuz the person next to me is usually trying to make a meal out of the complimentary bag(s) of pretzels or nuts. I loves me my tuna, but never on a plane. Now if the person with the McDonald's Big Mac would extend the same courtesy, life would be ok. Seriously, McDonalds food smells worse every minute it's away from its point of origin.-COLLAPSE
Everyone has their own smell detector- one person's stinky tuna is another person's stinky mac n cheese or butter popped popcorn. The point being- unless you're snacking on lettuce, someone will always manage to be offended. Personally, I cannot stand the smell of packaged snack foods like doritos, potato chips or candy bars. But is the person next to me eating these things to disgust me? Of...+READ
Everyone has their own smell detector- one person's stinky tuna is another person's stinky mac n cheese or butter popped popcorn. The point being- unless you're snacking on lettuce, someone will always manage to be offended. Personally, I cannot stand the smell of packaged snack foods like doritos, potato chips or candy bars. But is the person next to me eating these things to disgust me? Of course not. I suck it up. And he should suck up my wasabi.-COLLAPSE
My most favorite food to take on an airplane is limburger cheese, egg salad and a green pepper for later.
Vorpal: I'm not criticizing Helena, just observing. Of late she does seem to have chosen topics that aroused lively discussion in quite recent threads - which goes to show she's not just a Chowhound columnist, she's also a fan!
BobB: In Helena's defense, I think it would be nigh impossible for her to find a food-related manners topic that hasn't been addressed somewhere on Chowhound in the past. Regardless, I still enjoy reading her take on things.
On my last flight, I brought good bread, cheese, grapes and carrot sticks. Perfect.
"Didn't we already cover this with a story or thread"?
Yup, it was a thread. Most of the Table Manners lately have been spun off from threads (usually on Not About Food).
Didn't we already cover this with a story or thread (I don't recal which) on eating on the subway?
That said, I once boarded with some packaged product of teriyaki beef jerky. Never really occurred to me that the stuff had a distinctive odor...until I opened it in the middle seat between two other passangers. Learned my lesson then and there.
Strong food odors on an airplane are hard to deal with but I find the odors of fellow passengers who drink cocktails the entire flight just as distasteful. Nothing like a trip from NY to Hong Kong with a passenger who can't stop downing rum & cokes and insists on getting "friendly" to pass the time. There isn't enough AIR on palnes! Yuck!
I've only had the tuna-eating neighbor once, although it was a very tall guy who had to put his feet in the aisle, so his top half was leaning over into my airspace. I could have shared the sandwich with him without moving. Considering we were on a one-hour flight that was delayed two hours, I'm not really sure why he didn't eat it in the gate area beforehand. I think there will just always be...+READ
I've only had the tuna-eating neighbor once, although it was a very tall guy who had to put his feet in the aisle, so his top half was leaning over into my airspace. I could have shared the sandwich with him without moving. Considering we were on a one-hour flight that was delayed two hours, I'm not really sure why he didn't eat it in the gate area beforehand. I think there will just always be people like this.
Although even downing the food before boarding doesn't guarantee an odor-free flight. I was once waiting for a flight and saw a beefy guy horking down an enormous burrito. I pointed him out to my wife and bet her a nickel that he'd end up sitting next to her on the plane. I won my nickel. She bravely turned down my offer to switch seats, but admitted later it was a rather odiferous flight.
Just my pointless stories. Re-telling them is catharsis to battle the unpleasantness that is commercial flight.-COLLAPSE
I had to sit next to the nastiest man on a flight who got the snack box with the tuna. If someone at work makes it in the kitchen, EVERYONE can smell it for hours, but a tight airplane, especially with me sitting right next to you?? That is the dumbest thing they could sell, and even dumber if you actually open it and eat it in the kit, knowing the whole plane will hate you.
"They can stop us from bringing beverages, but there are no rules against garlic and onions."
And therein lies the difference between law and morality. Bringing food laden with garlic, onions, tuna, and other smelly items onto a plane is rude and offensive almost beyond belief. Sure, you have the right to bring food onto a plane - and it should be good food - but this is not your last meal, for...+READ
"They can stop us from bringing beverages, but there are no rules against garlic and onions."
And therein lies the difference between law and morality. Bringing food laden with garlic, onions, tuna, and other smelly items onto a plane is rude and offensive almost beyond belief. Sure, you have the right to bring food onto a plane - and it should be good food - but this is not your last meal, for pete's sake, you can survive a few hours on something less redolent.-COLLAPSE
When airlines provided food, cheap and bland as it was, they could be sure there were no odors to go along with the no flavor. Now we are liberated. I say, eat anything that doesn't spoil while your take-off is delayed. They can stop us from bringing beverages, but there are no rules against garlic and onions. Or tunafish for that matter. If it is so awful to eat real food, let the airlines...+READ
When airlines provided food, cheap and bland as it was, they could be sure there were no odors to go along with the no flavor. Now we are liberated. I say, eat anything that doesn't spoil while your take-off is delayed. They can stop us from bringing beverages, but there are no rules against garlic and onions. Or tunafish for that matter. If it is so awful to eat real food, let the airlines provide lunch again.
Meanwhile, bring on the anchovies and cauliflower.-COLLAPSE
I'm of the opinion that while there are certain foods that common sense dictates you do not bring on a plane (tuna certainly comes to mind), no matter what food you choose, you're going to risk offending someone; for example, I would imagine a veggie sub to be one of the most innocuous foods imaginable, but according to some of the comments in the discussions Helena links to, it appears that this...+READ
I'm of the opinion that while there are certain foods that common sense dictates you do not bring on a plane (tuna certainly comes to mind), no matter what food you choose, you're going to risk offending someone; for example, I would imagine a veggie sub to be one of the most innocuous foods imaginable, but according to some of the comments in the discussions Helena links to, it appears that this is not the case.
If you are particularly sensitive to food smells, which I'm sure quite a few people are, it sucks to be you, but I'm afraid it's one of those problems that you'll have to learn to deal with and not expect everyone else to cater to. Many of us have issues like that, and it certainly makes life challenging, but you can't expect the world to cater to you to ease your burden.
LOL... I agree on the tuna ban. My fellow grad student office mate eats tuna every day at her desk for lunch, which I think is the most vile smelling food in human existence. Fortunately, I work from home four days a week, but the fifth day that I work from the office, lunch hour is utterly nauseating. I grin and bear it, because she's a fantastic person, and I'm usually able to get a good internal laugh out of how positively putrid I find it while she downs it so eagerly and so hungrily.-COLLAPSE