If you were curious about the potential for fermenting foods in space, the answer is a resounding yes. A study published in the journal iScience reveals that researchers from the US and Denmark successfully created flavorful miso aboard the International Space Station. However, the flavor and aroma were notably different from miso produced on Earth. While the space miso received high marks in taste tests, matching Earth miso in umami and saltiness ratings, it was characterized by a nuttier and more roasted flavor profile.
The research team proposed that their findings exemplify a form of “space terroir,” a concept traditionally associated with wine grapes, which denotes unique flavor traits tied to specific locations. For this study, the researchers dispatched a package containing the ingredients for miso paste—cooked soybeans, rice koji, and salt—to the ISS in March 2020, allowing it to ferment for 30 days. Concurrently, they initiated miso batches in Cambridge, MA, and Copenhagen, Denmark, while closely monitoring the environmental conditions of each fermentation setup. After the month-long fermentation, the space miso was returned to Earth for comparative analysis with the batches made on our planet.
“There are certain attributes of the space environment in low Earth orbit—particularly microgravity and increased radiation—that could influence how microbes grow and metabolize, thereby affecting the fermentation process,” explained co-lead author Joshua D. Evans from the Technical University of Denmark in a press release. “We aimed to investigate the impact of these conditions.”
Not only were there variations in flavor, notably the pronounced roasted nuttiness of the space miso, but there were also differences in the microbial composition of the various misos. The research team concluded that “overall, the space miso is a miso,” but acknowledged that the findings “suggest a specific fermentation environment in space.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/researchers-who-made-miso-in-space-say-it-tastes-good-but-different-215410333.html?src=rss
