By Vicky Anscombe on 09 July 2015

We're big fans of flying. It's fast, it's exciting, and there's always an opportunity to purchase something frivolous and expensive from the trolley if you're bored.

However, there's one aspect of flying that always leaves us cold, and that's the food. Here's our rundown of the worst offenders.

The mini orange juice: What's going on with this? Why is the carton so small? We're aware that space is at a premium, but this is ridiculous. And the foil lid is hard to remove, so we splash ourselves with half of the juice when we open it. Utterly pointless.

The cold roll: When bitten into, these mid-flight delicacies taste of frost and uncooked dough. You can try to warm them up by dunking them in your soup, but they'll just fall apart.

The tepid 'stew': The steward swore blind it was lamb, but this tastes suspiciously like chicken. And what is this brown 'jus' it's swimming in? Is that a dumpling? Can this be reheated so it's slightly warmer than the roll, please?

Plane food

The cheese brick: Pre-wrapped and normally served at an appropriate temperature, this much-loved piece of cheese is normally a bit larger than the average lego brick. It cannot be spread, sliced or manipulated, so you'll end up eating it at the end of the meal in a half-hearted fashion.

The greasy cupcake: At last - something to tempt our tastebuds! If only we could get it out of its packaging in one piece and ignore the ever-present taste of synthetic lard.

Delicious plane food

The wilted salad: This tomato is older than I am, and the paltry bed of lettuce it's sitting on is looking tired and anaemic. At least the radishes are relatively crisp and fresh. Oh, no, hang on - they're mint imperials.

The warm yoghurt: So, the bread roll is freezing, but the yoghurt is lukewarm. Perfect. The foil-clad yoghurt often behaves in a similar way to the orange juice; when you open it, it'll splatter all over you. You'll then be able to enjoy the half-spoonful left in the container.

The soft biscuit: How can this possibly be so soft? It's pre-wrapped! These biscuits are a grave disappointment, especially when paired with the 'coffee' served after a meal. You'll often spot people asking the cabin crew for a replacement, but to no avail - these sweet treats are always as floppy as a rabbit's ear.

Click here to find out which superfoods can help you avoid sickness and jet-lag

Image credit: Flickr, with thanks to SAM Cheong and Lisa Pinehill and GothamNurse


← The FCO reveals why you should always take out travel insurance

Three unusual city breaks you may never have considered →