Space food is a type of food product created and processed for consumption by astronauts during missions to outer space.The food has specific requirements of providing balanced nutrition for individuals working in space, while being easy and safe to store, prepare and consume in the machinery-filled weightless environments of crewed spacecraft. Email us at contact.blog@genmills.com. So lets take a look back and celebrate this iconic treat. While a serviceable product for people in space, Space Food Sticks, would become more iconic as a treat and is well-remembered, although not always fondly, by many people who grew up in the Seventies. She manages and preserves the company’s collection of historic documents, images and artifacts. Cut in the peanut butter. The consumer version of the “perfectly balanced energy snack” was slightly modified, and a shorter version of the food sticks eaten by astronauts. FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon. https://blog.generalmills.com/2019/07/space-food-sticks-went-to-the-moon-too 2 tbsp. Calorie break-down: 35% fat, 58% carbs, 7% protein. Space Food Sticks did actually get their start as snacks for astronauts, eventually being utilized during a Skylab mission. Learn more about our history on GeneralMills.com or in our History category on this blog. It is this release, sold at museums, such as the Kennedy Space Center and the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, that most people are familiar with. Share Your Recipes! When I asked one of my older sisters who remembered them how the originals tasted, she said, “mild.” Which makes sense since these were a food that needed to be acceptable to anyone who happened to be in space and couldn’t have a flavor that might be overwhelming or offensive. But in 1971, just two years after Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon, Pillsbury decided to drop ‘Space’ from the advertising for the sticks, and ultimately from the product name. Saved by I Have Issues. or 2 pkg. They never fell out of favor in our house. She always kept a bunch in her purse. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | Our blog seeks to provide unique perspectives on news and behind-the-scenes stories from General Mills’ businesses and brands around the world. The success of Pillsbury Food Sticks was short-lived. There are 72 calories in 1 serving of Nestle Space Food Sticks Chocolate. Space Food Sticks, or food bars very like them, were actually used by the Apollo astronauts on their moon missions. So we don’t know if Armstrong or Aldrin actually ate them before or after walking on the moon. Then NASA had a request. Mix together all dry ingredients. The space food stick was created by Pillsbury in a form that could be inserted into a helmet port - but of course that was never going to work with the pressure differential. The lasting legacy of Pillsbury’s Space Food Sticks in the food industry – beyond their connection to space history and food safety – is that they’re considered to be the forerunner of the many popular energy bars available today. From time to time, we also feature guest bloggers from outside the company. Food in space has always been a challenge. I was more familiar with them because of my older sisters. Calories. Slowly but inevitably the fabled Sticks gradually disappeared from supermarket shelves. * The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. In 1973, a modified version of the commercially available Pillsbury Food Sticks was included on the third Skylab mission, as a NASA press release indicated. SPACE FOOD STICKS. Meal Planning. The downfall of Space Food Sticks began after the energy crisis of the mid-1970s when the space program took a back seat to other pressing issues. GoWISE USA 1700-Watt 5.8-QT 8-in-1 Digital Air Fryer with Recipe Book, Black. Still, they are considered by many to be the very first of what is now a pervasive foodstuff, “the energy bar.”. The snack had to be small enough to go through a small airtight opening in the helmet – so the rod-shaped food sticks were born, as the Apollo program drew closer to its historic moment. Applebee's Pizza Snacks. Still they are more fondly and widely remembered as a commercial product with out of this world origins. I have three recipes for these below. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), https://archive.org/download/retroist-podcast-episode-245-defender/retroist-podcast-episode-245-defender.mp3. Eventually, the Space Food Stick rocketed its way into space on the third Skylab mission. Vintage Recipes.. Pillsbury Food Sticks - 1972. Get it as soon as Mon, Jan 18. They’re a balance of fat, protein and carbohydrates. Chocolate was definitely the superior flavor. During the infamous Apollo 13 mission, when the crew had to abort their moon landing, the sticks were integrated into the daily menu for the three astronauts on board. Howard Bauman, Pillsbury’s chief food technologist at the time, led a team at the company that created the first solid food consumed by a NASA astronaut. I had the later version of them, which I am not sure were exactly the same. Other copycat versions soon became available in their place. Only reason we’re not still eating them regularly is that they got discontinued. Thanks for visiting “A Taste of General Mills.”, ©2021 GENERAL MILLS INC | So lets take a look back and celebrate this iconic treat. Nestle Starz Space Food Sticks (Flavour Snack & Biscuit): 4.8 out of 5 stars from 45 genuine reviews on Australia's largest opinion site ProductReview.com.au. 00 $90.00 $90.00. Order at FunkyFoodShop.com. Despite this, the originally caramel-flavoured sticks were part of the Apollo menu. They were only available until the 1980s, as waning interest led them to be discontinued. 0 % Daily Values* Total Fat. In 1966, Pillsbury won a contract to make a “rod-shaped contingency food designed to sustain a flight crew when they must remain sealed within their pressure suits.” The effort was led by food scientist Howard Bauman and after trial and error, a little over 3 years later, the Space Food Stick was born. During a two-week study conducted at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City, a woman was reported to have maintained her weight and health on 40 Space Food Sticks per day as her only source of nutrition. Described as a "non-frozen balanced energy snack in rod form containing nutritionally balanced amounts of carbohydrate, fat and protein," the original energy bars came in several flavors including caramel, chocolate, malt, mint, orange and the ever-popular peanut butter.