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Paula Kraft - founder of Atlanta's Tastefully Yours Catering and the DaVinci Inflight Training Institute in Fort Lauderdale - discusses the trials, tribulations and science of preparing food at altitude. The Higher You Fly . . .

One of the most difficult concepts I try to convey to students is that all cooking and serving venues are not the same. You must adapt to the situation. Let me provide a few basics from a recent class I taught on the techniques of cooking at high altitudes.

If you’ve ever experienced an unpalatable meal while flying - dry, hard, tasteless - your first thoughts go to the preparer. Before you blame the caterer or the flight crew, take a moment to consider that it’s really a matter of chemistry and physics, and a modicum of common sense. Cooking food at a high altitude requires special consideration and a bit of care and forethought.

Pressurisation

Most general aviation aircraft are pressurized to 5,000 or 6,000 feet. The thin air - less oxygen and atmospheric pressure - plays havoc with both the time and temperature of anything you cook. Meat, poultry and other proteins, when prepared at pressurized altitudes, require different cooking methods from those used at ground level. However, these principles are often overlooked when a flight crew member attempts to cook or reheat in the air.

The results are dire.

Is it bad catering or lack of specific training of the individual in the galley? Is it fair to judge these individuals without affording them the opportunity to learn? Proper training in food preparation at higher altitudes can save a company a great deal of money through the elimination of overcooked and inedible purchased foods, not to mention embarrassment.

The flight crew member who reheats foods should be aware of the principles relating to air pressure, moisture, and temperature. At higher altitudes, most foods require changes in time, temperature, and often changes in the recipe. Simply put, the higher we go, the thinner the blanket of air and the pressure of that air. With less oxygen and pressure, food will take longer to cook.

Remember your basic chemistry and physics

Water boils at a lower temperature the higher you are. But, you say, I can see the bubbles in the water.

You can see the bubbles because the pressure forcing down on the surface of the water is less, so the water bubbles and boils, just as bread or cake can over-rise at a high altitude.

Foods will dry out quicker because the water cooks out; thus, rubbery chicken, steak that is more akin to beef jerky than filet, and hard-as-rock breads.

The moisture that keeps foods tender and fresh evaporates in a flash. Rule 1: High altitude is a thief of moisture.

The decreased air pressure affects food preparation in two ways:

1. Water and other liquids evaporate faster and boil at lower temperatures.

2. Leavening gases in breads and cakes expand more before the baking process firms up the baked goods structure.

As atmospheric pressure decreases, water boils at lower temperatures. At sea level, water boils at 212°F or 100° C. With each 500 foot increase in elevation, the boiling point of water is lowered by just under 1°F. High altitude is also prone to low humidity which can cause the moisture in foods to evaporate more quickly during cooking. A Lufthansa study conducted in 2010 noted that on the ground we are accustomed to a 50-60% humidity, but in a pressurized aircraft cabin at altitude, the humidity drops to 5-15%. Have you ever noticed how quickly water evaporates out of a pot at home when a low pressure front passes through? Same idea-Same solution. Covering foods during cooking helps retain moisture. It also helps to add more liquid during the cooking and reheating process.

So, as noted in the above chart, as altitude increases and atmospheric pressure decreases, the boiling point of water decreases. To compensate, you must increase the cooking time.

Remember, we are cooking at a lower temperature even though the water is boiling. Turning up the heat will not hasten the cooking time. Even if you turn up the heat, the water will simply boil away faster, and whatever you are cooking will dry out faster.

A bit of trivia: at 5,000 feet, steam expands to an approximately 20% greater volume than at sea level.

The most common questions I am asked pertaining to cooking proteins in the galley are: Why do they dry out; why aren’t they as flavorful as when prepared on the ground? The answer is two-fold. It involves the reduction in one’s ability to sense flavors, about a 40% decrease from the ground to the air, and the makeup of the protein. The technical reason is that meat and poultry products are comprised of muscle, connective tissue, fat, and bone. The muscle is approximately 75% water (this varies based upon the cut of meat and whether or not the chicken is skinless.) and 20% protein, with the remaining 5% representing a combination of fat, carbohydrates, and minerals. The leaner the meat, the higher the water content (less fat means more protein, thus more water). To no one’s surprise, the most requested cut of meat is the filet, tenderloin which has the least amount of fat and the highest amount of water.

With such high water content, the filet is susceptible to drying out if special precautions are not taken during cooking.

When cooking meat and poultry at high altitudes make adjustments in both time and moisture. They may take up to one-fourth more cooking time when cooked at 5,000 feet. One additional solution is for the flight attendant is to add moisture during reheating - add au jus, add sauce, add a pat of butter over the top of the filet, or add a splash of wine (the alcohol will cook off). The oven temperature remains the same whether on the ground or in the air. It is the moisture which is being depleted.

The only correct way to know when something is done is by taking its core temperature with a thermometer. A food thermometer is the only way to measure whether food has reached a safe internal temperature. For years I have encouraged caterers and flight crews to regularly use a thermometer, not only for food safety reasons, but, to prevent the over or undercooking of foods. To prevent overcooking meat and poultry (which will result in dry, unappetizing food) or to prevent undercooking (which can result in food borne illness), Always check food with a food thermometer.

Lest you become discouraged about whether you will ever savor a tasty meal aboard a general aviation aircraft, take heart. The basics detailed above and other valuable training lessons will ensure your flight crew member has all the resources to satisfy the most finicky appetite!

About Paula Kraft . . .

Paula Kraft is the founding partner of the DaVinci Inflight Training Institute located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and the founder/president of Tastefully Yours Catering, an aviation specific caterer, located in Atlanta, Georgia for over 35 years.

Paula is active with many aviation and catering-related groups including the International Caterers Association, the International Inflight Food Service Association and is a board member of Women in Corporate Aviation. She is the past chair of the NBAA Flight Attendant Committee Caterer’s Working Group for 15 years perfecting unique catering training sessions for NBAA conferences and events. Currently, she serves on the NBAA Flight Attendant Advisory Committee and is a member of the Training and Safety Subcommittee. Paula was a founding member of the Steering committee for the creation of a European Flight Attendant Committee and conference and serves as a subject matter expert to the board of International Standard for Business Aircraft Handlers (IS-BAH).

After founding Tastefully Yours Catering, she has been offering culinary and food safety related training to the general aviation community. With a strong dedication to improving catering safety, risk mitigation and safe food handling, she developed and introduced the concept of “catering safety management systems”. As a certified food safety instructor, Paula offers catering SMS and culinary classes for all aviation professionals.

Paula’s first-hand experience, business acumen, research, and relationships make her an industry expert - one which allows her to share information that will help raise the professional training level for flight attendants today that will reduce the risk of food-related concerns tomorrow.

From Paula . . .

I have coordinated training programs and clinics for NBAA and EBAA conference attendees for over 10 years, created mentoring programs for caterers and flight attendants to broaden their aviation culinary skills, and to assist them in adapting to the unique challenges and constraints found in catering for general aviation. I recognize the need for training and have worked closely with flight departments, flight crews, schedulers and customer service reps at the FBOs to ensure that catering specific training provides information and skills necessary to reduce risk while assisting them in their job duties that include safe food handling, catering security, accurate transmission of food orders, and safe food production, packaging and delivery.

I fell into aviation catering quite by accident. I was the in-house caterer and bakery supplier for Macy’s department stores in Atlanta when catering was ordered for a Macy’s customer which was soon to change my life. After the client enjoyed the catering provided, I was summoned to the client’s corporate office to provide several of the items delivered through Macy’s to the executive dining room. Within a week, I was providing food for the flight department and my first order was for the President of a foreign country (as I was too be told soon after).

So, here I am, some 35 years later, still loving every minute of every day in aviation catering.

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 21st March 2019 | Issue #503

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