Eating mosquito ferns
I would expect it would become an acquired taste, like kimchee or durian. On the
other hand, I've had a can of silkworm pupae in the cabinet for 5 yrs that I
still haven't worked up the courage to try.
-Greg
Proposed space food suffers from 'smell problem'
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
If you'd like to travel to Mars someday, make sure you have a strong stomach.
The latest diet proposed for Martian astronauts includes a plant called mosquito
fern, which apparently has a pungent and not entirely pleasant odour.
The variety of foods available to humans trying to eke out an existence on Mars
would naturally be limited. The plants and animals brought along for food would
have to be carefully chosen in order to maximise nutrition while using the
smallest amount of resources possible.
With that in mind, researchers have previously proposed that Martian diets
include cookies made from silkworm pupae. I've never indulged in such fare
myself, and find the idea less than appealing. But taste is a very subjective
thing and plenty of people happily eat silkworm pupae on a regular basis here on
Earth.
The same cannot be said of a malodorous plant called Azolla, also known as
mosquito fern.
Azolla grows on the surfaces of lakes, ponds and streams and is rich in
nutrients like potassium and phosphorous. As an added benefit, symbiotic
bacteria that grow with Azolla take nitrogen from the air, making important
nitrogen-containing nutrients needed by other food crops like rice.
While the taste of Azolla may be okay, its odoriferous properties leave
something to be desired, according to the study. "Azolla roots taste similar to
Alfalfa sprouts, and the leaves resemble moss," the study says. "However, the
smell of Azolla might cause a problem of acceptance as food material."
This might be cause for concern, but the researchers are quick to add that
"boiling Azolla reduces its smell to an acceptable level". That may be the case,
but it doesn't exactly get my taste buds tingling. If people ever do travel to
Mars, I guess they won't be going for the food.