How do astronauts season their meals in space?

Uploaded on May 31, 2019

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How do astronauts season their meals in space?

2019-05-31 - CSA astronaut David Saint-Jacques shows us how astronauts season their meals aboard the International Space Station. (Credits: Canadian Space Agency, NASA)

David Saint-Jacques: Let’s spice it up! A lot of astronauts complain that because of fluid shift, their head is kind of swollen a bit, we’re congested, so that reduces your sense of smell and of taste, so it can make food taste a bit bland. So for that, most people like to add some spicing or condiments to their food. But you can’t just add salt or pepper. Imagine that flying in the air. That wouldn’t work. So, if we want to add salt, well, it comes like this: liquid salt. If you want to add pepper, this is it: liquid pepper. You just squirt it on your food. I like to use olive oil, again, squirtable olive oil. Or soya sauce, squirtable soya sauce like this. We also have classics like mustard, of course, squeezable pots. Dijon, also great on steak. Spicy Asian sauce. Maybe some balsamic reduction vinegar. And I guess it counts as seasoning, but for the morning, when I feel far from Canada, I have some maple syrup. A little secret stash here in a tube. Great, great addition to any breakfast. Voilà! That’s how we spice it up in space.

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