Astronauts have been in truly extreme conditions for a long time. And this is the strongest stress for the whole organism, therefore, they are very strict about nutrition for people of this profession. Food for astronauts is processed to remove harmful substances and microbes, it is healthy, rich in trace elements and vitamins.
Astronaut food producers
The supplier and manufacturer of the bulk of the products that complement the diet of astronauts is the Biryulevsky Experimental Plant (Russian Agricultural Academy). This enterprise has been specializing in the manufacture of food products for people in space for more than fifty years. Over the years, special production technologies have been developed. To reduce the weight of products, they are dehydrated, and then the astronauts in orbit dilute the food with purified water. Astronauts make soups, juices, coffee, sauces and tea.
The process of cooking "space food"
Previously, food was packaged in aluminum tubes, but now technology has changed. The bulk of the products are produced in canned food and powders. The preparation process is based on canning by heat sterilization, as well as dehydration by freeze-drying and heat drying. Sublimation is a vacuum process for removing moisture from fresh food. This allows you to preserve almost all vitamins, nutrients, taste, color and smell in food.
In the drying department, a master in a sterile dressing gown and a mask pours soups into ready-made trays with a layer of no more than two centimeters. Liquid cottage cheese is also poured into trays. From fifty kilograms of an ordinary product, no more than twelve "space" products are obtained. Before composing the ration, a tasting is held in the Russian and American Training Center. On a ten-point scale, astronauts must rate the proposed dishes. Food with a score of five or less does not go on board.
The main rule of food for astronauts is that it should not crumble. Small particles of food can enter the astronaut's respiratory tract or instruments and disable them. Therefore, they bake special bread that does not crumble. Cooks do not use garlic, legumes, or some other foods that can cause bloating and fermentation to make dinners. The astronauts' diet includes the following dishes: meat with vegetables, cereals and prunes, apple, currant and plum juice, chocolate cheese, various soups, fresh fruits, cutlets, pancakes, turkey, pork and beef in briquettes, steaks.
The astronauts' menu is quite varied. The main thing is that the food should be in the form of a dried concentrate, sterilized using radiation and hermetically packed. After this careful treatment, the portion is reduced to the size of a gum. Space ships now have special stoves for heating food.
