PrintIce Cream That's Out of This World
When I was little, my dad used to take me to the Museum of Science in Boston. Much to his chagrin, my favorite exhibit wasn't the Theater of Electricity, or the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, or even the baby chick hatchery. In fact, what I liked best wasn't even an exhibit at all—it was the gift shop, where they sold Astronaut Ice Cream.
It's been about twenty years now since I last had something freeze-dried for dessert. So when I stumbled across a website that sold the stuff for $2.50 a pop, I figured, why not?
Within a week a package arrived containing two slices of Neapolitan. They were a little broken and bruised from the journey (and that was just across state lines! What happens on the way to the moon?), but when I tore through the paper the stripes of strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate greeted me like a familiar—if somewhat crumbled—flag.
Happily, there was a note explaining how the treat is made (something that, at seven, I couldn't have cared less about). In a nutshell, the ice cream is sealed in a vacuum chamber and frozen until the water crystallizes. Then the air pressure is lowered, which forces the air out of the chamber. Next, heat is employed to vaporize the ice. Lastly, something called a "freezing coil" traps and removes the vaporized water. The process is repeated several times until the ice cream is perfectly done.
I'm not sure if I quite understood everything, but my astronaut ice cream sure tasted delicious. It was kind of like eating a small, hard nugget of cotton candy, in that it melted on my tongue halfway through chewing. But there was also something distinctly dairy about it—a creamy, milky quality reminiscent of...real ice cream. Of the three flavors, I liked the vanilla best. I found the chocolate a bit chalky, and the strawberry was more than a tad artificial.
I doubt if I'll be ordering more astronaut ice cream anytime soon, but I'm very glad to have revisited my culinary past. It reminded me of what I've always like best about eating: trying foods that are totally out there and making new discoveries.
About the author: Lucy Baker is a graduate student in the writing program at Sarah Lawrence College. Before returning to school to pursue an MFA, she was an assistant cookbook editor at HarperCollins. She lives in Brooklyn and is currently obsessed with all things fennel.
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11 Comments:
I used to love that stuff! Vanilla was my favorite flavor too. I'm happy to see that it holds up over time and it wasn't just my immature taste buds.
LttlMichey at 10:59AM on 04/04/08
Lucy, I also remember the fantastic astronaut ice cream, the best treat after seeing the giant T-Rex, the musical stairs, the reptile room and the planetarium. I had totally forgotten about it until a couple of years ago when Dippin' Dots came to New England. Though it had been a good 15 years since I'd experienced the thrill of freeze-dried ice cream, I think Dippin' Dots are remarkably similar, and way less chalky. I'll definitely check out that website though, I'm curious to see if it was only the idea of Astronaut ice cream that I liked so much. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
embolini9 at 11:05AM on 04/04/08
My brother and I thought that this was the best thing about the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. I bought it a few years back for his birthday.
absc17 at 12:05PM on 04/04/08
damn, I was so excited to get some astronaut ice cream from this site and try and see how disgusting the chicken and beef dinners probably are =D but minimum $15 for shipping! I'll just go to the Natural History Museum in Manhattan, they've got the ice cream hookup there. Or maybe I can get people to chip in...
methodp at 12:19PM on 04/04/08
How funny! I was just talking about the museum of science and my love of the astronaut's freeze dried ice cream to my boyfriend! I'm stuck in Atlanta these days and I was going on and on about how much I miss Boston (for a variety of reasons). That stuff was great to suck on, I loved the weird texture and the flavor was great. My parents never understood what I saw in it though. :-)
sylphon at 12:20PM on 04/04/08
Oh my goodness, I totally did the same thing at the Space Museum...I LOVED that stuff! It's been years...maybe I should copy you and order some online.
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 12:36PM on 04/04/08
For those of you in the New York City area, you can get your immediate fix of astronaut food at Mars 2002, where my almost five year old just received his first sampling. He was probably as thrilled as you were when you were seven.. Killjoy that i am, I had to read all of the awful articial ingredients in the package and only allow him to eat a small amount.
http://izzyeats.blogspot.com/2008/02/truly-alien-universe-izzy-attends-party.html
izzy's mama at 1:28PM on 04/04/08
Since I went to Space Academy Levels 1 and 2, (space camp for older kids). I too, enjoy the astronaut ice cream! They usually sell it at places like REI and other camping stores if people are really craving it!
They even make a version of it (with I think less sugar) for dogs!
bobcatsteph3 at 1:35PM on 04/04/08
Oooooo...I totally forgot about that stuff! It was the highlight of our 5th grade trip to Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. It was almost at urban legend status for all of us on the way (think Greyhound bus with 40 5th graders driving from Nashville to Washington D.C.).
I wonder if they sell it at Kennedy Space Center?
jcrisco at 2:37PM on 04/04/08
YES! This was totally the best part of the Museum of Science! I completely agree. I looked forward to the astronaut ice cream so much. My dad also ws very disappointed in my science acumen.
selizara at 10:38PM on 04/04/08
I took my mom to the Omni Theatre yesterday for Mother's Day, and I'm happy to report - the museum shop STILL SELLS astronaut ice cream! I was incredibly tempted to buy some, but settled for a rock candy pop instead.
embolini9 at 10:24AM on 05/12/08