Scientists have successfully fermented miso aboard the International Space Station, marking a major breakthrough in food fermentation in space. The traditional Japanese condiment is made by combining cooked soybeans, salt, and koji, a mold culture typically grown on rice or barley. A research group led by Joshua Evans at the Danish Technical University tested whether fermentation was possible in space and how foods fermented in space would compare to their Earth-based counterparts.
The team sent a small container of high-koji, low-salt “miso-to-be” to the ISS to ferment for a month before returning it. They also created identical miso batches on Earth as controls. Once the ISS miso was back on Earth, the researchers analyzed its microbial communities, flavor compounds, and sensory properties.
The results showed that the space miso fermented successfully, with all three samples containing similar salty umami flavor profiles. The ISS miso had a more roasted, nutty flavor than Earth miso, likely due to microgravity and increased radiation in the low Earth orbit environment. These findings can be harnessed to create other flavorful fermented foods in space.
The study’s lead author, Joshua Evans, stated that it “opens up new directions” for exploring how life changes when traveling to new environments like space. This research has significant implications for future long-term space missions and could even expand culinary and cultural representation in space exploration.
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/space-miso-nuttier-earth-miso-150000107.html