As I was walking home tonight after a long and hot service I looked up at the sky. And the stars I saw! The sky is alight with thousands and thousands of blinking spots. As I have a keen interest in astronomy and I read the works of Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Carl Sagan and the works, my mind turned to gravity. Gravity is what keeps the pan on the flames, the food in the pan, the food on the plate and makes it able for us chefs to create such awesome and beautiful presentations. Gravity makes it able for us to eat, to swallow. Gravity makes the sweat drops fall from my face while I’m plating the food in front of the hot pass.
Think about it, without gravity we would not be able to plant crops, harvest food; there would be no waves, no natural convection. No wine in your glass to accompany the orgasmic mushroom risotto sprinkled with Italian truffle salt…
And here we are, taking a natural phenomenon and influence that extends throughout the universe as a given.
Gravity makes it possible to keep the world in your hand…The planning that goes into the food NASA supply the astronauts with, is done in such a way because from the lack of gravity. Tasteless food came in the form of a paste squeezed out of a toothpaste like tube, vacuum sealed containers, air dried and freeze-dried food; semi liquid food that had to be sucked up with a straw. Beer and carbonated soft drinks are not allowed in outer space because of “wet burps.”
But microgravity food has come a long way. You can now have chicken stew, scrambled eggs (as I was told it tastes like the container it came with), chocolate brownies, macaroni and cheese, pineapples and oranges. Astronauts can design their own seven day menus selected from over a 100 different foods and 20 drinks.
Here’s a link to some recipes that was cooked and served on the Project Gemini Program
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