Airports' Food Secrets: From Kitchens To Customers

Airline food is a tricky business. From bread to cakes to pastries, there are a lot of factors to consider when preparing food for the skies. Bread, for example, needs to be refrigerated for hygiene purposes, but this can cause it to dry out. So, how do airlines ensure their food is of a high quality?

Breads are refrigerated to maintain hygiene, but this can cause them to dry out

To prevent breads from drying out, staff also reduce the baking time for services like afternoon tea, where sliced bread is used. This is because bread can quickly dry out when left open in dry aircraft cabins.

Pastry items can also be difficult to prepare, as they have tighter time restrictions due to ingredients like gelatins. They only have a 48-hour allowance from the time they're prepared to when they're served, and transportation of the food by truck to the aircraft takes 40 minutes alone. Desserts are prepared and packaged for passengers, with premium cabin pastries prepared by hand on tables. All desserts are made fresh, which means a shorter shelf life but ensures higher quality.

Sandwiches and sliced bread items are tightly packed to prevent them from drying out

Bread is a tricky item to serve on planes, as it needs to be refrigerated for hygiene purposes, which can cause it to dry out. It can also quickly dry out when left open in dry aircraft cabins. To prevent this, sandwiches and sliced bread items are tightly packed until opened for consumption, to help them stay soft for as long as possible.

Staff reduce the baking time for services like afternoon tea, where sliced bread is used, to prevent the bread from drying out. Carriers sometimes add additives to prevent foods like these from drying out, but Emirates' bakers are adamant about using natural products, so they spent time finding a high-quality French flour that helps breads maintain their texture longer.

Pastry items can also be difficult to prepare, as they have tighter time restrictions due to ingredients like gelatins. They only have a 48-hour allowance from the time they're prepared to when they're served, with transportation of the food by trucks to the aircraft taking 40 minutes alone. Desserts are prepared and packaged for passengers. Pastries for economy are made on an assembly line and typically include three components: something with texture like cookie crumbs or chocolate pieces, a mousse (typically passion fruit or mango) and a garnish on top. Premium cabin pastries are prepared by hand on tables, though all desserts are made fresh as opposed to frozen, which does mean a shorter shelf life but helps to ensure higher quality.

Emirates bakers use natural products, including high-quality French flour, to maintain bread texture

Bread is a tricky item to serve on planes, as it needs to be refrigerated for hygiene purposes, which can cause it to dry out. Bread can also quickly dry out when left open in dry aircraft cabins, which is why staff reduce baking time for services like afternoon tea, where sliced bread is used. Emirates' bakers are adamant about using natural products, so they spent time finding a high-quality French flour that helps breads maintain their texture longer.

French millers use a milling process that produces flours with a finer consistency than most American flours. Thanks to their fine texture, French flours have a better integration of ingredients (especially liquids), resulting in smoother doughs. French flours often contain more protein than typical American flours. This higher protein content contributes to better gluten development, which improves the structure and texture of breads and pastries. For all these reasons, French flours are also easier to work with.

French flour is recognised worldwide for its quality and reliability. It offers great versatility for making bread, pastries and cakes. In the United States, the classification is a little different and the variety of flours a little less extensive. When creating the ideal texture for loaves of bread, many bakers turn to bread flour. Bread flour is a high-protein flour that is specifically designed for baking bread. With its strong gluten content, bread flour gives bread a chewier texture and helps it rise higher.

Premium cabin pastries are prepared by hand on tables

Preparing food for an airline comes with a unique set of challenges. Bread, for example, needs to be refrigerated for hygiene purposes, which can cause it to dry out. It can also quickly dry out when left open in dry aircraft cabins, which is why staff reduce baking time for services like afternoon tea, where sliced bread is used. Sandwiches and other items with sliced bread are usually tightly packed until opened for consumption to help them stay soft for as long as possible.

Pastry items are also difficult to prepare because they have tighter time restrictions due to ingredients like gelatins. They only have a 48-hour allowance from the time they're prepared to when they're served, and transportation of the food by truck to the aircraft takes 40 minutes alone.

Desserts are prepared and packaged for passengers. Pastries for economy are made on an assembly line and typically include three components: something with texture like cookie crumbs or chocolate pieces, a mousse (typically passion fruit or mango) and a garnish on top.

However, premium cabin pastries are prepared by hand on tables. All desserts are made fresh, which means a shorter shelf life but helps to ensure higher quality. Bakers are adamant about using natural products, which is why the team spent time finding a high-quality French flour that helps breads maintain their texture longer.

Cakes are cut to exact measurements using high-pressure machines

The use of high-pressure machines ensures a clean and precise cut, preventing the cake from crumbling or breaking during the cutting process. This is especially important for cakes that are to be served in premium cabins, as these are prepared by hand and require a more delicate touch.

By using high-pressure machines, bakers can quickly and efficiently cut a large number of cakes to the exact same measurements. This not only ensures consistency in the product but also helps to speed up the production process, allowing for a higher output of cakes in a shorter amount of time.

Additionally, the precise cutting of cakes helps to reduce waste by ensuring that each slice is the same size. This is particularly important in the airline industry, where portion control and waste management are crucial due to the limited space and resources available on board.

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