Why tomato juice tastes better on an aeroplane: there's an explanation

The traditional school formula of "five senses" (sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch) is increasingly looking too simple. Researchers of multisensory perception believe that humans can have many more channels of sensation - about 22 to 33, depending on what exactly is considered a separate "sense".

The key idea of modern science is that almost all of our experience is multisensory: the brain does not put together a picture of the world "folder by folder". What we feel with our skin affects what we see, and visual cues change how we hear. Even smells can adjust 'tactile' impressions: for example, a fragrance in cosmetics can make hair subjectively more 'silky', and odours in non-fat yoghurt can make it feel thicker without changing the composition.

What "senses" are often forgotten

Additional senses include:

• proprioception - the ability to understand where your hands and feet are, even with your eyes closed;

• thesense of balance, which relies on the vestibular system of the inner ear;

• interoception - the perception of signals from inside the body (hunger, increased heart rate, etc.);

• asense of agency (the feeling that it is you who moves your arm) and a sense of "ownership" of the body - phenomena that can be impaired after a stroke.

Even familiar categories turn out to be 'prefabricated'. Touch includes a whole set of subsystems - pain, temperature, itching and tactile signals themselves. And the "taste" of food is often a trio: taste buds + olfaction + texture. There are no "raspberry receptors" on the tongue - fruit tastes are largely created by odour molecules that rise from the oral cavity to the nasopharynx during chewing and drinking.

Why tomato juice 'works' on an aeroplane

Projects that study the interaction of the senses also show applied effects. For example, the researchers note: in noisy environments (including aircraft noise), the perception of salt, sweet and sour may be reduced, but umami is not. Tomato juice is precisely rich in umami, which is why it can seem particularly 'tasty' on an aeroplane.

Where it's being studied

London is home to the Centre for the Study of the Senses at the School of Advanced Study, as well as interdisciplinary projects like Rethinking the Senses (launched in 2013), where philosophers, psychologists and neuroscientists have been working together to test how sensory channels are 'stitched together' into a coherent experience.

In 2025, the Centre's team was also involved in the creation of the public interactive exhibition Senses Unwrapped inCoal Drops Yard (King's Cross), where visitors are invited to experience size-weight illusions and other perceptual effects.