What is Digg?66 Comments
- suckanucka, on 08/25/2008, -0/+53If I was lucky enough to go to space, I think food quality would be on the bottom of my list of priorities.
- Watley, on 08/25/2008, -0/+4812 issues for $24.95! That's only $2.08 an issue! How can I pass that up.
- Noxat, on 08/25/2008, -0/+38Whatever. If I can tolerate microwave burritos I can tolerate space food.
- BlockedUser, on 08/25/2008, -0/+23It's actually $2.07916666666667 an issue. So it's even better than you thought.
- OneLess, on 08/25/2008, -0/+17But did he try some Appetizing Appetizer?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2204/2528639509_7e3 ... - slapded, on 08/25/2008, -0/+13i lived on freeze dried ice cream sandwiches from my local science museum from 1992-1994
- BlockedUser, on 08/25/2008, -2/+15"(no alcohol is offered in space)"
*****. - VirgilNilson, on 08/25/2008, -3/+15I’ve whipped up meals in fancy copper saucepans, in battered woks, and in my grandfather’s old iron skillet, but never before have I used a syringe to make dinner. There I was, feeling like a cross between a superstar chef and a crack addict, madly jabbing a needle into a scrunched-up pouch of freeze-dried NASA shrimp cocktail, injecting a bit of water, and watching the water dribble uselessly back out. Welcome to space—the final food frontier.
Since the days of Project Mercury’s squeeze tubes, the food scientists at Johnson Space Center have come back to Earth a bit. Astronauts flying the space shuttle or working the International Space Station (ISS) can choose among 180 food and beverage items. Their menus are routinely reviewed by nutritionists—but rarely by food critics. That’s where I come in, to investigate an oft-overlooked but essential aspect of life in space.
With a dozen rations to reconstitute before me, I wished the good folks at NASA believed in packaging instructions as fervently as they do good nutrition. Astronauts cook by fitting a packet of freeze-dried food onto a needle-tipped rehydration station, or heating a thermostabilized food pouch in a briefcase-shaped electric warmer. A pair of scissors—in space, more useful than a fork and spoon—opens the pouch, and a Velcro disk on the bottom anchors it to the meal tray. Lacking NASA’s food preparation equipment, I made do with saucepans of simmering water and a 60-milliliter syringe supplied by the space agency. The freeze-dried packages tersely list, in English and Russian, the name of the food, how much water to use, and how long to let it sit in its bath.
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I learned the hard way that they’re double packed, with an inner pouch that looks sort of like the IV bags used in hospitals, and that the needle has to go into a specialized inlet that allows water to enter but lets nothing out. My shrimp cocktail’s inlet was hiding among the tails, and I managed only to irrigate the space between the bags. Finally I just cut open the freeze-dried packages and poured in the water.
Food scientists, not chefs, are in charge of NASA’s space meals. Portability and shelf life are as important as flavor and nutrition. Not that flavor matters much: Aromas don’t waft upward toward the nose in space. Bodily fluids do, though. They puff up the astronauts’ features into a Charlie Brown face that makes it hard to smell (and therefore taste). Space food isn’t restaurant cooking; it’s not even takeout. If anything, it’s more along the lines of a frozen dinner—but you get bigger portions from the frozen-food aisle.
I could easily have downed two packages of the shrimp cocktail, long an astronaut favorite. The six medium-size orange shrimp were just a touch chewy after their slapdash, 10-minute water bath, but they looked and smelled like what you get at the supermarket. NASA’s cocktail sauce is spiked with plenty of horseradish and salt. If anything can revive tired taste buds in space, this dish is it. I chased it with a pouch of powdered mango-orange drink. The lush but tangy mango flavor juiced up the orange’s sweetness, and the mango aroma was pronounced. It was delicious.
Aromas don’t waft upward toward the nose in space. bodily fluids do, though.
In deference to the international character of the space station, NASA has raided menus (or food courts) from around the world. For a south-of-the-border dinner, I gathered pouches of beef fajitas, black beans, and tortillas. The beans managed to be soft without getting all mushy, and they were seasoned enough to enliven the bland tortillas. But no amount of black beans could rescue the fajitas, two soggy rectangles of meat so uniform in shape it was as if they had been spit from a machine. The beef had a tender, brisketlike texture but none of the slow-cooked flavor you’d expect. I pined for a spoonful of picante sauce. My Mexican meal ended with a four-pack of Lorna Doone cookies and some dried peaches. Ironically, the peaches were meatier than the beef, with an intense flavor and a satisfying chewy texture.
The Asian-themed entrée sounded promising, but my hopes were dashed when I peeked into the pouch. The precut chicken pieces were a strange pinky-beige color, sort of an avian version of Malibu Barbie. The chicken was as tender as the beef fajitas, but the big problem was lack of flavor. The chicken was paired with a gummy wad of skinny noodles and some carrot slivers. The peanut sauce was a clunker too. Despite a healthy dose of black pepper—the liquid kind sticks to food in zero gravity—the sauce seemed dull and overprocessed.
Fortunately, an all-American dessert came to the rescue. The thermostabilized cranapple cobbler was a homey thing, sort of like chunky pie filling looking for a crust. Roughly mashed apples were tossed with some cranberries, lots of sliced almonds, and cinnamon. It was ugly, but for once I wasn’t left feeling cheated about the portion size. The almonds really made the dessert by giving it some crunch, although the spicing needed more complexity and the apples could have been sturdier.
The food scientists had also sent two breakfast items, freeze-dried “Mexican” eggs and a sausage patty. The eggs, colored a bright buttercup yellow, were bouncy and broke down into small, dry curds. Flavorwise they were like a reluctant suitor, vaguely sweet but unwilling to make the full taste commitment. Hot sauce, ketchup even, would work wonders here. Nothing, however, could have saved the sausage patty.
For solace, I turned to drink: NASA’s tea with lemon and sugar (no alcohol is offered in space). It had a good, strong lemon flavor, identical to the jarred powdered teas found in every supermarket. I could see why such a recognizable flavor would matter in space: It tasted of home. “When crew members come back, they’re ready for some home cooking,” says Vickie Kloeris, manager of the center’s Shuttle and ISS Food Systems. So was I.
Bill Daley is the food and wine critic at the Chicago Tribune. - Vidalsassgirlie, on 08/25/2008, -1/+12As it as good as cheeseburger in a can?
http://gizmodo.com/350091/cheeseburger-in-a-can-is ... - ControlcChris, on 08/25/2008, -1/+8Space icecream is the *****.
- ryancawdor, on 08/25/2008, -0/+7That Cosmopolitan chalk isn't as good as Neapolitan chalk.
- DrDragun, on 08/25/2008, -0/+7On a related note, I bet if they hotboxed the ISS that food go down a little easier, though the stoner of the flight would probably screw up and bring a gravity bong and get a hard lesson in how said device earned its name.
- thcobbs, on 08/25/2008, -0/+6#1: Join the 220-Mile-High-Club...
- hartley, on 08/25/2008, -0/+5Went to Space Camp back in 1992. I got to sample a plethora of dehydrated space food in shiny packages. Have to say it wasn't all that bad. Like some of the others above me, I wonder if I would still love it, or was the constant boner of being at Space Camp too overwhelming for me.
- Br3ach, on 08/25/2008, -0/+5I tried space "ice cream" once, it was kind of like cosmopolitan flavored chalk
- burstaneurysm, on 08/25/2008, -0/+5Maybe if we buy a subscription to the magazine, they can buy a better server.
- zantos420, on 08/25/2008, -0/+5dugg for reference to using a gravity bong in zero gravity
- thcobbs, on 08/25/2008, -0/+4Just make sure there's a hard seal on the space toilet first!
- chubbybubba, on 08/25/2008, -3/+7heroin comes in a syringe and they say it taste like ....SUCCESS.
- hartley, on 08/25/2008, -0/+4Especially if said burritos came from a gas station.
- BXRWXR, on 08/25/2008, -0/+3Space Food Sticks were chocolaty awesomeness.
- Justizzle, on 08/25/2008, -0/+3I didn't necessarily "live" on them, but I have bought a couple different Freeze Dried Space Food items from the museum. The Ice Cream sandwich was my favorite, followed by the package of strawberries. I remember biting into them and having them explode into strawberry-flavored dust. Gross.. yet absolutely delicious.
I wonder if I would still like them 10 years later... - bmson, on 08/25/2008, -0/+3You can buy space food at NASA and Epcot center Orlando.
It taste terrible... - murk, on 08/25/2008, -0/+3HIGH FIVE, I LIKE!
- brettg102, on 08/25/2008, -0/+3MRE beef stew ftw. Buy them from our surplus store when i get the chance...delish.
- Haoie, on 08/25/2008, -0/+3Well actually, that'd depend on the length of one's stay in space.
Food quality is important on extended stays, such as Skylab, during the 70s. - flashingcurser, on 08/25/2008, -0/+3I seem to remember reading that they have ass vacuums to prevent "floaters". Or that could have been a nightmare....
- freezerburn666, on 08/25/2008, -1/+4it comes out in pill form
- GreatSunJester, on 08/25/2008, -0/+3"I’ve whipped up meals in fancy copper saucepans, in battered woks, and in my grandfather’s old iron skillet, but never before have I used a syringe to make dinner."
Welcome to Iron Chef NASA! The newest show on Food Network! Hosted by Alton Brown (who seems to be now locked in a state of euphoria). - freezerburn666, on 08/25/2008, -0/+3my bowels have a hard time tolerating those burritos
- gfxlonghorn, on 08/25/2008, -0/+2Pruno is the way to go.
- thefreak, on 08/25/2008, -0/+2I would be more worried about how I was going to poop that food out in space!
- ageeksgirl08, on 08/25/2008, -0/+2Mirror?
- MrKrinkleDude, on 08/25/2008, -0/+2My favorite was the turkey and potato w/gravy. Sadly they got phased out when they introduced the shakes. The shakes just gave me nothing but the *****, bad thing to have in DCU's.
- santiago1, on 08/25/2008, -3/+5 Try living on nothing but C-rats or MRE's for weeks, sometimes months at a time, you spoiled *****.
- Hndjob, on 08/25/2008, -0/+2Those candy bars floating around the bathroom really taste like *****.
- BlueYetti13, on 08/25/2008, -4/+6http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F% ...
- RainNIU, on 08/25/2008, -0/+1It's not supposed to be good food; it's supposed to keep you alive.
I'm interested in how weird it is, but save the sob story about how bad it is for someone that wears their heart on their sleeve. - ageeksgirl08, on 08/25/2008, -1/+2Thank you.
- opiniastrous, on 08/25/2008, -0/+1All I know is that I used to love Space Food Sticks as a kid...
- jmcneilly, on 08/25/2008, -0/+1I just popped open a one serving can of Spaghetti Os. It was either that or some sort of Thai food in a can. I don't know about astronaut food, but I would happily trade them. I mean, I've had MREs and those things are wonderful compared this awful crap. And this is stuff you get off the shelf at any grocery store.
- crayoncard, on 08/26/2008, -0/+1I've had space ice cream. It was ok
- suckanucka, on 08/25/2008, -1/+2#1.5: In zero gravity!!!
- XeRoX2k2, on 08/26/2008, -0/+1dear nasa i would like to donate a frozen pizza, jumbo bag of chips and a case of coke to the next resupply shuttle so the crew can have a good meal...
- DrDabbles, on 08/25/2008, -0/+1The pasta meals are pretty rough. I agree that beef stew is great, though, and the peanut butter will survive the apocalypse. The dry-as-hell cake-things are pretty good, too.
- TonyTheTerrible, on 08/25/2008, -0/+1wow discovery went down *****
- donna1234, on 11/15/2008, -0/+1I’ve whipped up meals in fancy copper saucepans
http://www.recipesblog.net/
http://www.foodencyclopedia.info/
http://www.e-uuu.com
http://www.gogetfit.net/ - Slybri, on 08/25/2008, -0/+1You can't taste much in zero gee anyway. You nasal cavities fill with fluid and your nose stops up. That's why the spicy food is so popular with astronauts. It's the only food they can taste.
- cogitoergozoomy, on 08/25/2008, -0/+1I don't know how it tastes but I bet it leaves you feeling empty! Get it? space... empty... Okay I'll shut up now.
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