Food fermentation in space: Opportunities and challenges

[amluto]

Barely discussed in the paper: bubbles.

Many fermentation processes produce gas, and some aerobic fermentation processes happen while fully exposed to the air. Gravity provides quite a bit of assistance separating gas bubbles from solids and liquids.

In space, how do you build a fermentation airlock? With a centrifuge? Can you safely punch down dough? How do you open a sealed, pressurized container of anything carbonated? Can you easily remove enough dissolved CO2 from your kimchi so that eating it won’t make you burp?

[blacksmith_tb]

Yes, and for lots of anaerobic processes like lactofermenting veggies, you would need some way to keep the pickles in the brine (without just being able to put a weight on them), maybe a sort of inner lid with some holes.

[Galatians4_16]

Coat one side of the container with mentos® surface, to encourage bubble forming on that side, or maybe use capillary wicks? Just spitballing.

[luqtas]

they purposefully chose miso... no one is making carbonated drinks on space because nasty stuff like CO2 floating in the stomach, without needing to go upwards)

why you need a airlock? just burb regularly by opening the can. you can also press the miso towards the bottom with some spring mechanism attached to the lid

[Baxxter]

Giant space-bound fermentation barges.

[Galatians4_16]

Fermentation-powered RCS!

[RoryH]

Mmmmm, space Kimchi!

[sybercecurity]

In the 70's we started putting Pigs in Space(https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Pigs_in_Space), so now we need the rest of the ingredients for pork and kimchi stew.

[thenthenthen]

Cheers!