An industrial area on the outskirts of Turin; a smiling crew assigning you a badge; and a conference hall with a control room and space shuttle models. That is not what you might expect while going on a lunch break, but it is what you get when you head to an engineering company instead of your usual cafe.
It is the first edition of the Food Journalism Festival in Turin, and I’m attending a unique space food experience. Our host is not a Michelin Star restaurant, but Argotec, an engineering and software company that supports human flight missions, including the International Space Station (ISS).
Before indulging in the spread, let’s understand what makes space food different. Technically, it has to pass a NASA test that proves it is 100 per cent organic, contains no salt, and has a shelf life of at least 18-24 months. In the past, these requirements were met, and there was no focus on taste. But, recent findings have outlined how the smell of friendly food can boost crew psychology. They call it bonus food.
Considering that six months spent in micro-gravity affects the body in the same way as 10 years on Earth, the space crew became the perfect target to study the impact of good food, especially when the amount of sodium in food is reduced. They also adopted a method of preservation that would not alter the colour, fragrance and flavour of food.
The chef’s creativity had to meet science. Since there is no freezer on the ISS, bacterial pathogens were eliminated with thermo-stabilisation, a process that cooks food directly in multi-layered pouches in an autoclave for 20 minutes at 121°C. Not all ingredients react well to the process. So, after experiments, only the finest were selected for space.
Sarde in Saor means “sardines with taste”; the taste is from a sauce made of onions, raisins, vinegar and pine nuts. This dish from the Venice region, which dates back to the 14th Century, was always a winner.
It was invented to support sailors during long sea journeys, because the sauce preserved the sardines and satisfied the nutritional requirements of the crew (proteins, good fats and vitamin C). It was also delicious.
Sardines, rich in fatty acids, vitamins, mineral salts and iron, are not the only oily fish in the astronauts’ menu. There’s the healthy quinoa, mackerel and ginger salad: the mackerel gives vitamins A and B, it is easy to digest and fights cholesterol, while the quinoa is gluten-free, rich in fibre, mineral salts and proteins. We are served this too, in a multi-layered pouch. I waited for the food to float, like it did in the video we were shown of astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, but surrendered to the lack of microgravity and dug in with a spoon.
The Space Food Experience went on with super food such as the soup with ingredients chosen by the NGO, Slow Food Ark of Taste: Piattella canavesana, Ustica lentils, Carpino broad bean and black chickpeas from Murgia. The choice of ingredients, when it comes to space, is important — it should not alter the nutritional value of the food.
For the well-being of astronauts, who, in microgravity, are more prone to health conditions caused by food choices (diabetes, obesity, heart diseases), it is important to limit salts and sugars, which is why the chef turned to spices and fruits. It is, therefore, important to choose spices such as curcuma, curry, black pepper and chilli over salt, and fruits, honey and raw sugar instead of white sugar. As for us, we were served food cooked by chef Stefano Polato, which was tastier than what we could imagine. We also had wine, forbidden in space, and an amazing dessert made of layers of chocolate and peaches. Astronauts will have to come back home to indulge in such delights.
To conclude an Italian meal, be it in orbit or in an engineering firm, you need an espresso. That is why Argotec also designed the first capsule-based espresso system that can work in space. It is called ISSpresso and is a project run by Argotec and Lavazza. The machine weighs about 25 kg. A piston pump takes water from a pouch, and it goes through the espresso capsule and fills a second pouch in about three minutes (no cups in space). In terrestrial espresso makers, a plastic tube carries hot water. Here, it is a steel-and-teflon pipe that can withstand orbital pressure of more than 400 bars.
To conclude an Italian meal, be it in orbit or in an engineering firm, you need an espresso. That is why Argotec also designed the first capsule-based espresso system that can work in space. It is called ISSpresso and is a project run by Argotec and Lavazza. The machine weighs about 25 kg. A piston pump takes water from a pouch, and it goes through the espresso capsule and fills a second pouch in about three minutes (no cups in space). In terrestrial espresso makers, a plastic tube carries hot water. Here, it is a steel-and-teflon pipe that can withstand orbital pressure of more than 400 bars.
The Space Food Experience Menu
100 per cent organic and no salt
Appetisers: Dehydrated onions, beetroots and asparagus
Green peas and asparagus cream
Cream cheese and raspberry
Sarde in Saor
Lasagna
Quail eggs
Quinoa, mackerel and
Ginger salad
Rice and chicken curry
Mixed beans soup
Dehydrated fruit salad
