Space Food

Giulia Guarnieri

The European Space agency assigned to the Italian company, ARGOTEC, the production of food for the International Space Station. In absence of gravity many wonder how to food tastes, some report that its flavor does not change much, but others compared it to having a cold, basically tasteless. One of the objectives of space food production is to provide functional food which is also a good source of nutrients, so rich in fibers, with lots of fruit and vegetables. We remember space food being squashed into cubes or into purees forms which was not very tasty or inviting. Food must also last without refrigeration, similar the conditions for food created for military personnel.

ARGOTEC chef, Stefano Polato, stated in a recespace food 2nt interview, that technology innovation helped especially with conservation techniques and in making food more individualized. A recent client and tester of space food has been Samantha Cristoforetti, the first Italian astronaut to travel in space. For example, for the first time space saw the “invasion” of Italian cuisine, from Lasagne al forno, Risotto al pesto to Tiramisù and even Caponata; other astronauts received food relative to their own taste and traditions.

Space stations serve as important environments to see how food functions in microgravity since these conditions make food spoil (age) faster. Another important rule set forth by this lab is to produce food that does not crumble since these small particles can get into machines and interfere with fight functionality. In fact, food space does not contain much salt and instead algae and spices are used instead.  Salt and pepper exist on board the space station but only in liquid form.

If you ever watched a video, astronauts consume their meals standing and anchor themselves to a table– via a hook attached to their feet. Utensils are also attached to a table with Velcro. It is quite surprising to see that astronaut food can even be bought on  on amazon.

http://bit.ly/2bchvMC (Dessert on space video)

Twitter: @argotec_it

Twitter: @astrosamantha

Food as art in Arcimboldo’s paintings

Giulia Guarnieri

 

 

Warhol, The Last Supper
Warhol, The Last Supper

July 11th was the birthday of a prominent Italian Mannerist painter of the 16th century, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who is best known as the artist who included fruits, nuts, fish and vegetables into his paintings. His images are best seen up close where you can discern all of the details and the objects assembled. Many critics of his time thought that he was a bit peculiar but later scholarship has pointed out that this collages were a common feature of his time, the Renaissance, which cherished riddles and playfulness. His painting philosophy was to create grotesque and surreal paintings to show how illogical and wild human nature really is.  Last year in June, I traveled to Brescia and visited the exhibition, “Food in Art” which showcased many artistic endeavors from painting to photos to sculptures that belong to world artists of the caliber of Warhol (Campbell’s Soup Cans), De Chirico (Composizione di frutta con testa classica) and Guttuso (Vucciria di Palermo) among others.