The weekly newsletter for Fed2 by ibgames

EARTHDATE: April 5, 2009

Official News page 8


REAL LIFE NEWS: COOKING IN ZERO-G

by Hazed

As part of India's plan to put a man into orbit by the year 2015, they are working on something terribly important: how to cook a curry in space.

Actually, the problem isn't just in the cooking. According to the director of the Defence Food research Laboratory, a fundamental problem is that spicy food "can be hard to digest in zero gravity." He said, "curry tends to be spicy, high in fat content and uses many ingredient; all these factors present significant challenges. We cannot afford the stomach of an astronaut to be strained."

Not to mention the toilet system on the spaceship!

Food eaten by astronauts has always focussed on mild dishes, which may be fine by the bland palate of Americans, but presumably would not be satisfactory for those accustomed to more spicy fare. Scientists are therefore willing to consider how such items as a dosa - a crispy rice pancake that's fried, folder and often stuffed with a spicy potato filling - or a bhahi could be made available in a form that works in space.

This process is likely to be very costly. When South Korea's first astronaut, Ko San, visited the ISS last year he took with him a supply of kimchi, a national delicacy of fermented cabbage. This cost the country several years' work and millions of dollars. Still, I agree that no expense should be spared in the pursuit of good food, even in space!


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