There was a time when astronauts in space squeezed pureed food from a tube, similar to toothpaste. However, that was the space cuisine of 60 years ago. Things have come a long way since then.
For example, The New York Times reports that upon French astronaut Thomas Pesquet’s arrival at the International Space Station on Saturday. During his six-month stay he will enjoy culinary creations associated with those of his country, such as: “lobster, beef bourguignon, cod with black rice, potato cakes with wild mushrooms and almond tarts with caramelized pears.”
While life in space is hectic, these days the world’s space agencies are seeing to it that astronauts get to share their country’s culinary creations and enjoy a “quality meal” occasionally, the report said.
Who will be preparing the French astronaut’s food?
Pesquet and his fortunate ISS crewmates will get to dine on dishes prepared by three separate French culinary institutions.
Alain Ducasse, a chef who operates renowned restaurants around the world collaborates with the French space agency to create space station menu items. Michelin-starred chef, Thierry Marx, and Raphaël Haumont, a physical chemistry professor at the University of Paris-Saclay, have created some dishes specifically for Pesquet. Servair, a catering company for Air France and other airlines, has been asked by Pesquet to put together some dishes.
The report noted that lobster and beef bourguignon won’t be everyday fare, rather they’re intended for celebrations of special occasions, with added servings for Pesquet to share with crewmates.
What about everyday space cuisine?
The Times cited Shane Kimbrough, NASA astronaut and commander of Friday’s SpaceX mission, who said that these days the “everyday space cuisine” provided by NASA for astronauts is “pretty fantastic.”
The report said Ryan Dowdy, who just left NASA after a more-than-two-year stint managing food on the space station, “touts the pulled beef brisket and the macaroni and cheese as particularly scrumptious,” adding that “there are some 200 items on the menu to ward off monotony.”
Space food, typically low in salt, sugar and fat, is different than food on Earth. The report explained that to reduce size and volume, much of it is freeze-dried, and the water extracted. To rehydrate it, astronauts inject water into the plastic bags, while other dishes are heated with a forced-air convection oven.
In order for food to be able to sit around at room temperature, sealed in cans and plastic bags for several years until it is consumed, it is heated to high temperatures to kill off germs.
Also, crumbly food doesn’t work — disintegrating bits could be inhaled or float into sensitive equipment, so that’s off the menu, the Times explained.
There are challenges.
A particular challenge for French cuisine, which prizes its use of wine, is the no-alcohol specification on the ISS. Reportedly, however, Chef Marx did not eliminate the wine from a mushroom sauce prepared to accompany an entree of slow-cooked beef and vegetables. Rather, the alcohol “was extracted through a spinning evaporator” preserving the flavor. The sauce was then “verified to be alcohol-free via a nuclear magnetic resonance instrument.”
Then there’s the sterilization process, which the flavors must survive. Food scientists refer to it as “thermo-stabilization,” which typically means heating the food to 140 degrees Celsius, or 285 degrees Fahrenheit, for an hour, Dr. Haumont explained.
He added, “Can you imagine a cake or a piece of chicken or something like that on Earth?” He said, “More than an hour of cooking at 140 destroyed the structure. So, we have to rework the cooking techniques,” the report cited. However, rather than being frustrating, Dr. Haumont described the process as “exciting.”
Cooking and growing crops are several future food challenges to be tackled in space, the Times noted, where an environment without gravity presents multiple challenges.
Read an expanded version of this report via The New York Times.
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The Link LonkApril 24, 2021 at 03:56AM
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Dinner on the International Space Station: Will it be lobster or beef bourguignon? - pennlive.com
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