Kimchi goes to space
What lurks in the bowels of the
spacecraft?
Koreans say they must eat kimchi wherever they are.
When South Korea dispatched troops to the Vietnam War in the 1960s, tearful
mothers sent off their sons with clay pots containing homemade kimchi. Soon
troopships were filled with the pungent smell of the fermenting cabbage
slathered with pepper and garlic.
So it was only natural for Koreans to think that their first astronaut must have the beloved national dish when he goes on his historic space mission in April. Three top government research institutes went to work. Their mission: to create “space kimchi.”
“If a Korean goes to space, kimchi must go there, too,” said Kim Sung Soo, a Korea Food Research Institute scientist. “Without kimchi, Koreans feel flabby. Kimchi first came to our mind when we began discussing what Korean food should go into space…”
What about kimchi’s strong aroma, which often keeps non-Koreans from trying it?
“We managed to reduce the smell by one-third or by half,” Kim said. “So the other astronauts will feel comfortable trying our space kimchi.”
And then - there are other smells “derived” from Kimchi.
So it was only natural for Koreans to think that their first astronaut must have the beloved national dish when he goes on his historic space mission in April. Three top government research institutes went to work. Their mission: to create “space kimchi.”
“If a Korean goes to space, kimchi must go there, too,” said Kim Sung Soo, a Korea Food Research Institute scientist. “Without kimchi, Koreans feel flabby. Kimchi first came to our mind when we began discussing what Korean food should go into space…”
What about kimchi’s strong aroma, which often keeps non-Koreans from trying it?
“We managed to reduce the smell by one-third or by half,” Kim said. “So the other astronauts will feel comfortable trying our space kimchi.”
And then - there are other smells “derived” from Kimchi.
Posted: Mon - February 25, 2008 at 07:11 AM