Scientists send beans into orbit and make ‘space miso'

Scientists have produced ‘space miso’ for the first time in an attempt to broaden the culinary options for astronauts.

The experiment on board the International Space Station (ISS) produced miso paste, which is thought to be the first food deliberately fermented outside Earth.

The ‘space miso’ had a similar umami, or savouriness, to miso made on Earth. But according to the researchers who sampled it, there was a key difference: a stronger roasted and nutty flavour.

Scientists Maggie Coblentz from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Joshua Evans from the Technical University of Denmark sent a container of cooked soybean paste to the space station back in March 2020, after 30 days fermenting it was returned to Earth as miso.

The miso’s temperature, humidity, pressure and radiation levels were closely monitored by sensors on its container, according to a paper released in iScience last week.

As part of the experiment, two other miso batches were fermented on Earth for comparison, one in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the other in Copenhagen.

“We didn’t know what to expect, fermentation had never been done before in space,” Joshua Evans said.

“The space miso one was darker and clearly more jostled, which makes sense, as it had travelled much more than either of the Earth misos. It was exciting to smell and taste the first bite.”

His co-author Maggie also said this experiment could show “potential for life to exist in space” by showing how a microbial community could thrive.

Miso, the salty fermented bean paste, forms the base of many soups, sauces and marinades.

It is traditionally made of soaked soybeans, water, salt and koji (a type of mould), and traditionally takes about six months to develop its distinct umami taste, with the flavors intensifying the longer it ferments.