Recipes that are truly out of this world
Space food has come a long way since the early days of off-world exploration. While space pioneers were subjected to unmentionable foods in tubes, indistinguishable freeze-dried bits and the infamous astronaut ice cream, modern space explorers can now enjoy the comforts of home.
Indeed, today’s food of the heavens tastes less like space debris and more like, well, heaven. And the best part: You don’t have to be a space cadet to try it. Rakuten Recipe has partnered with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to bring space food recipes down to Earth.
Rakuten Recipe is a free-to-use recipe site that features more than one million crowd-sourced recipes covering everything from fried chicken and tonkotsu ramen to matcha pudding and creme brulee. Last year, this haven for home cooks partnered with Google to make the Rakuten Recipe application available on the Google Home lineup in Japan.
Now, through Rakuten Recipe’s recently announced partnership with JAXA, recipes created for consumption on the International Space Station can be made with fresh ingredients available in any local market. In celebration, Rakuten Recipe is showcasing three recipes provided by a few avid users of the service who have shared instructions on preparing the dishes. A how-to video is also airing on Japan Airlines (JAL) domestic flights.
Curious cooks can try out recipes for curry-seasoned stuffed peppers and aromatic mixed rice. And for dessert? Rakuten recipe has step-by-step instructions for creating your very own fruit-filled daifuku, a sweet Japanese confectionery made from pounded rice.
The recipes were made public on April 12, the United Nations International Day of Human Space Flight. So next time you’re hungry for something new, take the astronauts’ word for it: These recipes are out of this world.
