If you are wondering if it is possible to ferment food in space, the answer is obviously yes. In a study published in the Journal Iscienceresearchers from the United States and Denmark say they were able to do a nice odor on the International Space Station – but the flavor and smell were different from the odor on the planet. While it still scores well on taste tests, ratings for umami and salty qualities similar to those for earth flavor o, it was found that the taste o of ISS was fatter and more grilled than usual stuff.
The team suggested that the findings reflect a “space terroir” that is commonly used in terms of wine grapes to describe unique location-specific flavor profiles. In this study, the researchers sent a package to ISS in March 2020 containing the ingredients of the flavoured o-paste (cooked soy, soy, rice and salt) and allowed it to ferment for 30 days. They also started the O batch at their homes in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Copenhagen, Denmark, and monitored the environmental conditions of each setting. One month later, Space Miso was sent back and analyzed compared to Earth batch processing.
“There are some characteristics of the spatial environment in low-Earth orbit, especially microgravity and increased radiation, which may affect the growth and metabolism of microorganisms, which can affect how fermentation occurs,” said Joshua D. Evans, co-leader at Denmark Technical University in a press release. “We want to explore the effects of these conditions.”
Not only does the flavor vary, but the famous barbecue with space flavor o, but also in the microbial composition of Misos. The team concluded that “in general, space flavor is a flavor oo”, but said the results “hint on a specific fermentation environment in space.”
