🖖 A new kind of miso

Microbes in space are bad. Great lengths are taken to ensure food poses almost zero risk to astronauts.

Some foods are hit with ionising radiation- usually gamma waves- so they can be shelf stable for longer. 

Gamma radiation destroys the microbes’s ability to reproduce.

Thermostabilised foods are also allowed.

Or as we call them on Earth:

canned goods and preserves.

They’re heated to temperatures that pathogens don’t like. Then they’re sealed in sterile air-tight containers.

These are a couple ways we keep astronauts’s food safe.

But…

Now we’re talking about lunar and Martian colonies farther away. They can’t pack everything ahead of time.

They’ll need to grow it themselves.

That’s where good microorganisms will help us out. Things are looking up for fermented foods out in the void. 

But can it be done?

Scientists have been experimenting with miso to see what’s possible.

Turns out fermentation in space is indeed possible.

And with a twist.

The results

They made a batch on the ISS and two others on Earth. All using the same ingredients and technique.

The miso was fermented for 30 days using Aspergillus oryzae. That’s science talk for rice mold or kōji.

It’s also what gives us shōchū and sake.

They used a specially created box with sensors to measure the results.

The ISS batch ended up tasting different than its Earthling sisters.

One of the reasons was an increased presence of Bacillus velezensis. That’s a higher mutation version of the A. oryzae.

This gave it an extra ‘roasted’ or ‘nutty’ taste.

This lends to the idea of a "space terroir."

Something I mentioned a while back.

Familiar foods will evolve in new ways because of the conditions out there.

We’re creating a new type of cuisine.

Benefits

This is great news for astronaut health. Fermented foods are good for:

Improved digestion because of probiotics- beneficial bacteria.

They maintain a healthy gut biome by making sure there’s no room for pathogens- bad bacteria.

Enhanced nutrition absorption. Those beneficial bacteria not only break down the food they came in on, but other foods too.

Makes vitamins, minerals and antioxidants more accessible.

Improved immune system. With a healthy gut, your body says, “Cool. The gut is good to go. Let’s focus somewhere else.”

Improved mental health. There are studies suggesting that a probiotic rich diet helps in neurotransmitter production.

That’s how neurons in the brain talk to each other.

Everything from regulating your mood and emotions to motor control and memory.

Foods spoil because bacteria and yeast gets to them.

Since fermentation is a controlled type of “spoiling” there is a lower risk of bad bacteria getting in.

Foods that would go bad can now last much longer.

More taste. Studies and astronaut accounts say that foods don’t taste as strong because of the redistribution of fluids in the body. This causes some sinus build-up like when you have a cold.

Astronauts tend to enjoy foods that are just a little spicier than usual. Or a little more tangy than they would on Earth.

If there’s one thing fermented foods have it’s tang.

So yeah

This 1.300 year tradition has found a new role outside of our atmosphere.

The success of our extraterrestrial colonies just might rest on its shoulders.

P.S. Here’s the study.