Search Results

Three significant problems with food supply in bioregenerative lifesupport systems are addressable through use of fermented foods. The quantity of inedible and marginally edible biomass can be reduced; the hedonic quality of the diet can be enhanced; and food storage constraints can be relaxed due to the superior keeping qualities of fermented products. The authors have assessed potentially available materials and fermentation processes used worldwide, to identify promising food fermentations for use in lunar and planetary stations. Conversion of inedible biomass into acceptable food may include hydrolysis of waste biomass to produce sweeteners and acidulants; fermentation of physically fractionated biomass such as leaf protein isolates into acceptable foods; mushroom cultivation on agricultural residues; and conversion of volatile fatty acids produced during waste treatment into edible microbial biomass.