Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski will be far from his country when he reaches the International Space Station this spring, but he’ll bring a taste of home with him. Uznański-Wiśniewski is taking some pierogi, Polish dumplings, along for the epic ride. The European Space Agency called it “a first for space cuisine” in a statement on Feb. 14.
The pierogi are stuffed with cabbage and mushrooms and are part of a larger Polish menu that includes tomato soup with noodles, a stew with buckwheat and apple crumble. “I wanted a truly Polish menu that I could share with my fellow astronauts,” Uznański-Wiśniewski said. “Food brings psychological comfort, and I instantly thought it would be worth taking some Polish delicacies into orbit,” says Sławosz. Polish celebrity chef Mateusz Gessler created the dumpling recipe.
Freeze-dried pierogi
The pierogi will be a little different than what you make at home, buy in a supermarket or get at a restaurant. They’re freeze-dried. Uznański-Wiśniewski will have to add water to the pierogi packet up in space to reconstitute the meal.
Astronauts can’t pop down to the local space bodega for snacks. Their meals are carefully planned and prepared to survive the rigors of launch and space travel. They also must not make a mess inside the station. “Any food delivered to the International Space Station must be crumb-free, lightweight and keep for at least 24 months,” ESA said. Astronauts occasionally get fresh fruit or vegetable deliveries, but that’s an exception to the usual packaged foods.
Uznański-Wiśniewski was involved in the creation process for the space-pierogi. “The first batches kept bursting! It was not only about cooking the food, it was also the technological process behind,” he said. “It took us a while to master freeze-drying, to remove moisture from the stuffing through the dough and to dispose of the water left after rehydration.” LYOFOOD, a Polish company that uses freeze-drying technology, dealt with the challenges of preparing the pierogi.
Pierogi on Axiom Mission 4
Uznański-Wiśniewski is a project astronaut with the European Space Agency. Project astronauts are slightly different than regular ESA astronauts. They’re on fixed-term contracts and are usually connected to a specific spaceflight mission or project. For Uznański-Wiśniewski, it’s Axiom Mission 4. Ax-4 is a commercial mission sponsored in part by the Polish government. He will be only the second Polish astronaut in space.
Ax-4 will use a SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft. The mission is scheduled to launch sometime this spring with an assist from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The four international astronauts will spend 14 days on the ISS conducting research, doing educational outreach and eating pierogi. Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is the commander. The other astronauts are Shubhanshu Shukla of India and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
Space station menus may be limited, but the crew still eats well. US astronauts, for example, typically enjoy a Thanksgiving meal in space with roast turkey, cranberry sauce, squash and corn. The international nature of the crew means astronauts from all over the world have the opportunity to sample cuisine from other countries. It might be freeze-dried, but it’s still an important connection to the comforts of home down below.
