Astronauts, cosmonauts, and a very limited number of people have experienced eating space food due to the unique processing and packaging required for space travel. This book allows anyone with a normal kitchen to prepare space food. Since some of the processing such as freeze dehydration, and packaging cannot be accomplished in the normal kitchen, many of the recipes will not produce the food that would be launched in space, but will prepare food similar to what the astronauts would eat after they had added the water to the food in space. Many of the space foods are prepared to the point of ready to eat, and then frozen and freeze dried. Food preparation in this book stops at the point of ready to eat before the freezing and dehydrating takes place.
Recipes in this book are extracted from the NASA food specifications and modified for preparation in a normal kitchen.
In addition, astronaut home favorite recipes and NASA quarantine food recipes are included. NASA developed an extensive frozen food system for the International Space Station Habitation Module. The Habitation Module was cut from the budget, so these foods were not used, but some of the favorite recipes are in this book. NASA also developed a complete food system for planetary missions based on crops that could be grown in space. Some of these vegetarian recipes are also included in the book. Each recipe has the source identified such as Shuttle, International Space Station, astronaut favorite etc.
The book will contain the following chapters: Introduction, Appetizers, Beverages, Bread and Tortillas, Cookies, Sandwiches, Desserts, Main Dishes, Soups and Salads, Vegetables, and Future Space Foods.
Interesting tidbits of space food history will be spread throughout the book. Examples like; did NASA invent Tang?, who was the first person to eat in space?, the Gemini sandwich fiasco, why there is no alcohol in U.S. space food systems, astronauts favorite food, etc.
This book will be of interest to anyone wanting to taste and serve space food, chefs for special meals, teachers for use in the classroom, and anyone with a general interest in food and space.
Ever wanted to know what the astronauts eat when they're in space? Now, you can do better than that! You can actually make what they eat in your own kitchen! And while you're waiting for your delicious (hah!) space food to cook, you can read about the history of the space program, space food preparation methods, and even get to know many of the astronauts that have dined in space. Did they find the food appetizing? What did they miss most when they were in space? How did NASA try to improve the food over the years?
Charles Bourland is a retired long-time director of the NASA space food program, and Gregory Vogt, also a former NASA education specialist, helped train the astronauts. Both veterans of the U.S. space program have combined here to provide authentic recipes not only of foods that were actually served during various space missions (including Skylab, Apollo, the space shuttle, and the International Space Station) but also some of the astronauts' favorite recipes and even space recipes from famous TV chefs Rachael Ray and Emeril Lagasse!
You will be amused and amazed at the information you find here. And you will be ready to impress your friends and family with your new culinary skills. Finally, you will have a much better understanding of what it really is to live in space, for weeks or even months at a time. Any volunteers for a trip to Mars? If you are a food lover, maybe not after you read this book and serve up some of its culinary treats?
