What the First Astronauts Ate - Food in Space

[@TastingHistory]

CORRECTION! John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth, Alan Shepard was the first American to get to space. Thanks to Factor for sponsoring this video: Use code TASTINGHISTORY50 to get 50% OFF your first Factor box plus 20% off your next box at bit.ly/47TL1yd!

[@criminal7592]

W

[@puzzlingread]

Tang! I used to drink it as a kid and pretend I was an astronaut 😄🍊

[@AllTheWay-zz3zy]

Do you have a girlfriend or wife?Cause i'm so lonely and hungry baby

[@RobertMarshall]

LOL! I just posted this before seeing your correction. 😂

[@XwX1001]

I didn't know Commander Shepherd's first name was Alan.

[@Allronix]

That reminds me of a sci fi convention where my sister was in charge of the hospitality (snacks and such). As we had no money for soda, we made a big industrial sized jug of Tang. Since it was the year Glenn went back to space, we covered our impoverished butts by calling it "The John Glenn Celebratory Tang Toast"

[@SCCelticGoddes]

I like that. That was brilliant!

[@Allronix]

​@@SCCelticGoddesYeah. Sci fi conventions in the 90s and 00s were a little unhinged. We also made grilled cheese sandwiches for 300 using a panini press we scrounged from Goodwill to go with the Tang. The interesting part about going with Tang instead of soda is that fewer people got the post-convention hangover known as "con crud. Seems the vitamin C and hydration of Tang actually did some good!

[@theweirdo7571]

​@@Allronixgrilled cheese and Tang does sound pretty filling.

[@AnniCarlsson]

​@@Allronix sound like better and tastier food option then todays often overpriced taste like skit food they have that they claim are whatever.

[@obliviouscandybar]

Sounds tasty! Today's convention food leaves much to be desired.

[@RaulRib]

I absolutely love the hoops that Max goes through to include the Hardtack joke in as many episodes as possible. Please never stop this.

[@VideoMask93]

Once he said it was as hard as masonite I knew it was coming. The buildup made it so much funnier.

[@kingofthings7929]

When I saw the Temp and pressure, I knew where it was going. Makes sense I guess, hard tack was well within living memory. Someone would have the idea of sending it up there.

[@plumbthumbs9584]

Absolutely live for the **clack-clack**!

[@farenmareeramos]

Me too.. I felt “clack clack” coming 😂😂😂

[@shad0wdream]

It makes me so sad that it's one of the things that just wrankles my neurodivergent wife. She loooves the show, and we always watched it together like five minutes after a new episode dropped. But the hardtack joke just hits one of those things that bugs her now and she can't/won't watch it. She knows it's not a rational thing, but brain chemistry be like that sometimes. I miss watching it together.

[@DoggoneNexus]

One dude invented Tang, Cool Whip, and Pop Rocks. William A. Mitchell you legend.

[@evlkenevl2721]

Put 'em together and what've you got? Gibbledy gobbledy goo.

[@jjjacer]

@@evlkenevl2721 hmm, as someone that likes sour and sweet things, i might try this lol

[@LadyBeyondTheWall]

@@jjjacer Yeah.. it doesn't sound like a bad combo honestly, lol.

[@Sam2sham]

Mr Edison, please take a seat.

[@DRWDesigns]

The Ron Popeil of food.

[@margaretgodwyn1292]

Hello, Max. I can add a little to your story. I studied food, nutrition and dietetics at UC Berkeley from 1970-1975, and this subject came up. Our professors helped determine what astronauts (and soldiers) needed and the specifications were turned over to the food scientists. Berkeley's recommendation was to send orange juice which was served at most American breakfast tables. However, it did not reconstitute in zero gravity. Tang was chosen because it was similar to orange juice and mixed easily in space. For years after, nutritionists had to counter the idea that Tang and orange juice were equally nutritious. Tang was astronaut food, for technical reasons, but, it does not have the same nutritional benefits of real juice.

[@dipfried3965]

Oh my goodness that is fascinating! Thank you for your input!

[@jimtalbott9535]

Speaking as a type-two diabetic, I cringe when I hear the phrase “benefits of juice”. But I do understand that we’re not considering calories in this instance.

[@RedWolfenstein]

Juice is just concentrated sugar and acid with some vitamin C. Not very beneficial.

[@RickJaeger]

If you drink fresh unfiltered orange juice, you also get fiber from the pulp. I used to enjoy that at home, since the house I grew up in had a great orange tree out back. The no pulp version in all the bottles is so sad; I'm disappointed each time.

[@vinusundarv1648]

Hi! I really enjoyed your perspective on this matter. I am studying food technology in Anna University India. What is the food program like in UC Berkeley? Can I join there for Pg?

[@Anopano3000]

13:03 like carcinization (all animals eventually evolve into crabs), all travel food evolves into hardtack

[@biohazard724]

CLACK CLACK

[@stevenschnepp576]

Not _all_ animals, just water bugs.

[@Serai3]

@@biohazard724 Beat me to it! 😛

[@PerogiXW]

​@stevenschnepp576 For now, but in the future, when all humans have a carapace and powerful claws, you'll see.

[@Intranetusa]

​ @PerogiXW So we all become the Brine Kingdom? kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXmZkmVof7Wgatk

[@seraphale]

There are only two options of Tang dilution in any given glass of water: 1. the shadow of an orange passed over this glass an hour ago, 2. holy ascorbic acid frag grenade!!

[@VeretenoVids]

😂😂😂

[@lainecolley1414]

How they thought travel into space would exacerbate scurvy 😅🤔

[@TinyScorpion44]

I prepare it the latter way and I'm feeling called out

[@CombatMosquitoTrainer]

I loved Tang and wish I could still buy it here in Australia

[@rogerbarton6004]

I never had Tang pie, but my aunt used to make what she called "Chemical Pie" using bottled lime and lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk in a graham cracker crust. The acid in the citrus juice polymerized the milk proteins, and that's all there was to it.

[@TastingHistory]

😂

[@rexcatston8412]

'i hate you' In pie form

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

@@TastingHistory Actually, condensed milk and lemon juice (the actual stuff) make for a nice frosting. Super sweet, and not terribly sour.

[@peterprime2140]

That's basically what key lime pie is.

[@Vincent_Beers]

That's in the direction of a key lime pie, not as crazy as it sounds.

[@agentrikamcgee]

This is so hilarious to me because Tang is part of every Filipino kid's childhood. It's marketed as an easy to prepare and "vitamin loaded" drink for those hot summer days (which these days is practically every day). Their ads are iconic for their soundbite of a spoon hitting a pitcher of the juice three times, which summons said children to come enjoy an icy glass of the stuff. We think of it much in the same way as Americans think of Kool-Aid. And yet this is the first time I've heard of it being made into pie... though if I were to be honest I definitely see some Filipino attempting this lol. I'd love to see this being made with the other flavors of Tang we have here- coz we have a LOT of 'em, some of them are pretty new too coz I never saw them growing up. Honey lemon Tang pie, anyone? 😂

[@A_TP]

Same here! Although I had it every time I went to India. It's been a while since I last had it but we still use the Tang bottle as our sugar container.

[@craggleshenanigans]

Perhaps not pie, but it's actually used as a food coloring substitute for pancakes and muffins (we have a bakery, and orange Tang is one of the secret ingredients our baker use in making mamon)

[@yooo9480]

It's usually either Tang ice cream or Tang ice candy in my household. Or Tang with Milo (my favorite!!)

[@vintagejock3951]

Same in Pakistan and India too i guess

[@baronedipiemonte3990]

I want that GRAPEFRUIT TANG !!!

[@allenhilburn8686]

When I was in high school, we had an astronaut come to the school and give a talk about the space program. After the address, he took questions, and someone asked if they really used Tang. I will never forget his reply. "Unfortunately." 🤣

[@africanpenguin3282]

Thats pretty much the same reaction when kids would ask if I ate MREs lol

[@jacthing1]

​​​​@@africanpenguin3282would you prefer them to hardtack?... *Clack, Clack*

[@tchao1995]

​@@africanpenguin3282 During Quarantine, when we weren't eating MRE's, our packed lunch had tang with every meal. Waking up to tang everyday almost made me hurl.

[@candacerain1]

@@tchao1995 During COVID in Korea, at the end of the mandatory 14 days Camp Humphreys made us do I was gagging on the powdered eggs for breakfast. UGH!

[@nigelis2345]

@@tchao1995 Tang is actually popular in India. Before the 1992 liberalization of the Indian economy, the only way to get tang way to get Tang was either through an import store (which was expensive) or have a relative who worked abroad in the middle east. Nowadays, you can get Tang from any local store. The reason for the popularity was that is was easy to store so you don't have to use fridge space for carbonated soft drinks and quick to make so you can serve it to guest faster than making tea or lemonade.

[@johnbeauvais3159]

8:55, back in like 2007 I got to go to a “Lunch with an astronaut” at Kennedy Space Center, and the two astronauts there were John Young and Charlie Duke. They get to the Q&A portion and this old guy gets the microphone and asks “How did you get that corned beef sandwich past me?” The gentleman was none other than Gunter Wendt, an engineer that would strap the astronauts into their seats. It was probably the most interesting interaction I’ve ever seen. Edit: Ok here’s how he did it, there was an accomplice, Wally Schirra, had picked up the sandwich and slipped it to Young after he had been suited up, it was tucked in a pocket in his pressure suit and since he had already been approved by the other technicians suiting him up Wendt was none the wiser.

[@beckycaughel7557]

Love it what a great story!

[@nikkiewhite476]

Oh but did he say how he got it past him?

[@hfar_in_the_sky]

@@nikkiewhite476I second this inquiry!

[@itsmeabbylee]

I work for JSC in Houston, we have a corned beef sandwich on the menu in the cafeteria inspired by that incident! It’s called “The Smuggler” 😆

[@12345.......]

But not interesting enough the tell the answer?

[@nferraro222]

Holy crap. This could lead to the weirdest collaboration video ever: Tasting History + the Hydraulic Press channel = potential banana Space-Cereal.

[@Aging_Geek]

with the new 300 ton unit, image the possiblities. good call.

[@madmanminkler1382]

I would LOVE a collaboration that weird!

[@Amcsae]

Yes!

[@test74088]

@@Aging_Geek or maybe they could use the heated press Profi made for the Avans lab! @HydraulicPressChannel can you try making astronaut banana bread?

[@jrobson100]

Funny, when he was talking about the tube food I was thinking about a collaboration with SteveMRE1989 because he's actually managed to get hold of the modern tube food they make for the long endurance spy plane pilots. Apparently they've gotten it down pat now and the food is really good.

[@wintersrevenge5958]

Really curious how many people see his pokemon plushies and realize how smart he his with each choice for each episode. This one is pretty simple, but he's always so methodical and persistent with this little Easter egg that he never brings any attention too. I love this so much

[@qawsedrf23]

Side note on Cool Whip. I learned about this while working as a contractor for NY factory. There are different kinds of Cool Whip. A sweeter version goes to Canada and a version with less air whipped in was made for transportation to the west coast- less air to prevent containers popping when they go over the Rockies

[@Grayald]

Interesting. I'm intrigued by the one with less air whipped into it. As a southerner I guess we just get the plain old normal stuff, but the extra creamy one is amazing.

[@hechetonchieres]

I'm surprised to hear that the sweeter version comes to Canada. I have a friend who works at Quaker who marvels at the amount of sugar/molasses/what-have-you that goes into the already very sweet cereal mixes destined for the US.

[@Mrshoujo]

So making Cool Whip on the West Coast in a factory never occurred to them?

[@danielleclark-zack864]

@@Mrshoujo I imagine it's just easier/cheaper to ship if your factory can already meet demand? You'd double your upkeep and likely triple the complexity of your operations dealing with two different states' taxes and labour laws. All over something that can be corrected with a little less whipping (for once).

[@GravesRWFiA]

I like the flavor or cool whip but you can get that far easier by making sweetened whipped cream. add 1 table spoon of sugar for each cup of heavy cream and whip- the flavor is the same with less cost and much fewer chemicals.

[@donaldwert7137]

Speaking of the flavor of Tang: when my brother served in Vietnam, he asked our mother to send Tang because the water didn't taste good and he needed something to mask it.

[@jamesyoungquist6923]

I haven't had Tang since 1996. One time was enough... But my uncle worked at NASA and I loved the dehydrated ice cream he'd bring us

[@RangerOfTheOrder]

We drank a lot of tang in Scouts. The summer camp water had a weird taste to it. It was perfectly safe, but kids would get dehydrated because they didn't want to drink the "funny water" so the scout master, who grew up in the 60s, started mixing batches of tang to keep us all hydrated.

[@jasonflay8818]

Even in more modern conflicts, I had buddies request ANY dehydrated flavoring to be set over because of the sheer amount of water they had to drink in Iraq it became monotonous, Tang, Kool-Aid, Crystal light whatever, just something to mix up the mandatory hydration. Also water from Water buffaloes is notoriously bad, part due to the chemicals used in cleaning the tank, part to keep the water from growing bacteria

[@Kruegernator123]

@@jasonflay8818 One of the guys in my platoon told me a story where they drank water from a Water Buffalo that was previously filled with diesel fuel by mistake. He said they were vomiting and pooing their brains out for days.

[@SomeDeadHippyProductions]

My dad sent tang to me in Afghanistan because his dad sent it to him in Iraq and by the end of that year I never wanted to touch tang again.

[@b.elzebub9252]

The soviet Cosmonaut playing a prank on his American counterpart during such a monumental historical moment has got to be one of the most wholesome things in history. That's fucking hilarious.

[@clothar23]

Bet he was disappointed it wasn't Vodka.

[@spyczech]

@@clothar23 Oh man I am in so much trouble but at least I get to try this vodk- the borcsht hits

[@Zerbey]

Leonov and Stafford ended up becoming lifelong friends, Stafford gave the eulogy at his funeral.

[@jillianc949]

I always wondered why Deke Slayon looked like he was trying not to laugh in that picture - now I know why!

[@alishaparr577]

I like that Max didn't just say this is gross, he said more like "I don't like this, but if you like key lime pie You might like it." Tang is tangy. . .

[@gretchenkiley6615]

My husband hates Tang but I love it - I do think it's a love or hate thing 😂 I do love sour/tangy things in general though.

[@Blondie42]

More of a drinking history thing: I know of a cocktail made for the moon landing in '69. A bartender at the Savoy American bar in London came up with a cocktail: "The moonwalk" which has grand marnier, grapefruit juice, and rose water. It was shared with NASA and reportedly was the first thing Buzz Alderan and Niel Armstrong drank after returning to Earth.

[@jenelaina5665]

That sounds great actually. I'd want some fizz but other than that - OH what if you put Pop Rocks in it! I'll see myself out

[@Blondie42]

@@jenelaina5665 You can add whatever you'd like. Even give it an egg white foam on top.

[@Serai3]

The Savoy. Famous hotel.

[@Blondie42]

@@Serai3 A hotel with no bar? And 1969 was a good while ago.

[@Serai3]

@@Blondie42 I didn't say it had no bar. I said it was the SAVOY, not the "Savory". And so what? If you don't know any history, that's hardly my problem.

[@abigaillancaster382]

My cousin studied astrobiology, which focuses on growing food crops in space, and this involved a study on growing chili peppers in a simulation of the space station to make sure that the peppers were still spicy because the effects of being in space on astronauts’ taste buds means that they go through a lot of hot sauce and other spicy foods. Their fiancé recently got a post-doc position studying growing potatoes in space.

[@ixchelkali]

My late husband studied the effects of weightlessness on growing plants, back in the 1960s. He was a plant biochemist. He grew wheat plants in satellites. At first they didn't even know whether it would be possible to grow plants in space. But the idea was that one day there might be something like the space station which would be entirely self sustaining, rather like Biosphere 2.

[@RadenWA]

This makes me wonder, does spicy food only affect the tongue? What about the bowels? If our tastes are dulled that we can eat the hottest chili in the world, would we still get explosive diarrhea the next day? 🌶️

[@AnonymousAnarchist2]

​@@RadenWAthats asking how the sausage get made. You dont want the answer.

[@ixchelkali]

@@RadenWA , the burn from chilies isn't actually a taste. The capsaicin in the peppers activates a protein in our cells called TRVP1, which is responsible for sensing burns and activating a pain response. Usually TRVP1 signals real heat, like a hot stove, but capsaicin fools it. That's why you can feel the burn outside of your mouth. The taste of chilies uses different receptors, in our taste buds.

[@JBSouls]

My 3 favourite things in these videos: a) somehow fitting the hardtack **clack clack** into any video b) Max's face when he doesn't like the food during tasting c) the food history / anecdotes :3

[@MossyMozart]

I think a little hard-tack clip goes a long way.

[@LaurieSavage]

He sure shouldn't play poker.

[@ioncekilledamanwithmyshoe]

I also really love the people who share their relevant stories in the comments.

[@DVXDemetrivs]

19:01 They carried a whole lemon and onion (which were then divided into 3 parts each). According to the rules of the Soviet space program, all food had to be pre-ground or cooked so that there was no splashing or cracking into small pieces in space that could get into electronics or somewhere else. The cosmonauts were simply pleased to eat something with a structure that can be chewed, and not just swallowed

[@anonomuse9094]

They died a week later, sadly. A valve opened mid flight, during the soyuz 11 mission, and drained the atmosphere from the craft, suffocating all inside. I got curious because it says he died in 1971, but the soyuz 11 mission was in 1971.

[@kida4star]

“Tang!” Loved Max’s reaction to his first bite. We drank Tang as part of a spiced tea mix as kids anytime we felt bad. It has a special place in my heart

[@kramermariav]

I think I had that mix too! It was great for kid me as I recall

[@ixchelkali]

We called that Russian tea. People would make a dry mix with Tang, Lipton's instant iced tea crystals, and spices. It was a popular homemade Christmas gift for neighbors, teachers, people you just wanted to give a little something to. All those warm spices make it smell like the holidays. I occasionally make some when I'm feeling nostalgic.

[@absalomdraconis]

​@@ixchelkali: Sounds like a powdered chai.

[@melmoomlem7321]

​@absalomdraconis more like just orange spice tea

[@2degucitas]

Making jars of this to gift was a popular thing for awhile. Just mix Tang with spice.

[@wanderingspark]

For anyone who would like a pie recipe that is similar but not Tang flavored, I offer my mother's recipe for Evaporating Pie: one 3-oz pkg. strawberry jello 2/3 c. boiling water 8 standard-size ice cubes 8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed (Do not use whipped cream.) 3/4 cup strawberries, chopped small 2/3 cup blueberries, chopped 8” or 9” graham cracker pie shell Directions: 1. Dissolve jello in boiling water and stir until no granules are left. Add in ice & stir until jello begins to thicken. Remove any ice remaining. 2. Whisk jello together with Cool Whip. Add fruit. You may leave some swirls of Cool whip. 3. Pour into pie shell and refrigerate until firm.

[@obsidiancrow450]

This pie really brought back memories of every cool whip pie ive ever eaten in the midwest LOL

[@seanodonnell9826]

Anything that involves Jello is immediately great! I'm gonna try this!

[@ffwast]

"cool whip,do not use whipped cream" well into the trash it goes.

[@childofcascadia]

@ffwast I hadnt eaten cool whip until I was im my 20s. Its...odd. I cant say my brain registers it as food.

[@denimadept]

The Jello makes it sound like something Dylan Hollis would do to himself. 😀

[@itsmeabbylee]

I'm a presenter and historian for NASA-JSC in Houston and was wishfully hoping you'd eventually do an episode on early spaceflight foods!! You've made my day, Max :D

[@MarsJenkar]

From what I know about the Apollo missions, they _did_ in fact have to bring up water for a couple of reasons. One was that they needed water for the early part of the mission because the fuel cells hadn't generated enough, and water was used not just for drinking but also for cooling the spacecraft and its systems. But more importantly, the water created by the fuel cells was not potable; it had some acidity to it that made it unfit for human consumption without further processing. The water created by fuel cells was used for the cooling systems later, so they did save weight in water that way.

[@figmo397]

As someone who was around during the 60s, I can certify that Tang Pie was not popular. Tang itself, however, was popular. Supposedly every mission has been sent up with Tang since the 1970s at the request of the astronauts, especially those who grew up in the space age.

[@lachouette_et_le_phoque]

I could imagine it working well since it's presumably a strong flavor, so if everything is more dull it's probably more enjoyable than more muted natural food flavors

[@maruzze]

I was only a kid when the Cool Whip pies were popular, but I can tell you this: They need to go into the freezer to set up properly. Then either slice with a knife heated under very hot water, or thaw slightly in the fridge, before cutting and serving. Great episode as always, thank you!

[@Fyr365]

I would guess the cold dial down the tang?

[@dreyhawk]

​@@Fyr365 It's more about how soft it is. The freezer made it firmer and easier to slice and eat. In just the refrigerator it ends up more of a thick pudding consistency.

[@Fyr365]

@@dreyhawk Ah, alright that makes sense. Thanks!

[@maruzze]

@@dreyhawk Yes, exactly!

[@JeansWithPockets541]

​@dreyhawk can confirm thick pudding consistency. Actually kind of a ultra-rich and creamy cheesecake texture.

[@TheFloatingSheep]

Freeze drying is a fairly complete form of dehydration, the actual reason the texture is preserved is that the product is first frozen and then vacuumed dry, in the process the ice sublimates directly into vapor and doesn't boil, combined with the fact the cells are frozen stiff, it all results in no tears and ruptures of the cell structure within foods.

[@lindamcneil711]

I mentioned it too.

[@emilysha418]

don't the cells tear from the freezing alone?

[@TheFloatingSheep]

@@emilysha418 they would in a normal freezer where ice has time to crystalize, freeze dryers freeze things more quickly and to a lower temperature, so as to avoid large crystal formation

[@lindamcneil711]

@@emilysha418 fruits and veggies do have cell wall rupturing during freezing for some parts, not all. It does still maintain some insoluble fiber structure. FDing, however, does keep more nutrients intact better than other preservation methods like canning and dehydration. FDing is the closest to nature preservation method to maintaining shelf stability.

[@blackstone777]

Still tastes like sh!t

[@catherineoneal1030]

I grew up with Tang. When we couldn't get real orange juice my Mom gave us Tang instead and told us "If it's good enough for the astronauts, it's good enough for us." I loved it, haven't had it in awhile, but this is a super easy "no bake" dessert that would be perfect for the summer. I'm going to buy some next time I go shopping and make it. Thanks Max for this awesome recipe.

[@denisesorensen5591]

The hard tack clip never gets old! Every time it’s in one of the videos, I go back and watch it a couple times before moving on with the rest of the episode. It always gives me a giggle!

[@Johnrich395]

FYI, on making water: Yes, it was the Hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell that was used to produce electricity for the craft, with a byproduct of water. This was used on the shuttle as well as the capsule craft. The ISS and other Space stations on the other hand use recycled wastewater (yesterday's piss is today's coffee), which was highly filtered to be purer than tap water in the US.

[@mwater_moon2865]

If you go to the Houston Space Center, they will give you a small bottle of water with a label that says "recycled urine". They also made the good point that with the water cycle working how it does, all tap water was likely urine at some point...

[@pz48128]

I wondered about that.

[@Trendyflute]

Dunno how it works on a smaller scale but I toured a wastewater treatment plant that was required to output very clean water to a local creek for spawning fish, and that water was SPARKLING with a secchi depth in excess of 50 feet. It didn't go through the last couple steps of drinking water treatment (e.g. chlorine and flourification) but was absolutely cleaner than most drinking water sources otherwise.

[@BlackTigr]

Iirc this process was also shown in the movie "The Martian" with Matt Damon.

[@MarthaDwyer]

​@BlackTigr One of the best recent sci fi movies based on lots of science fact backing it.

[@pbyguy7059]

Tang may be the astronaut's drink but we all know that prune juice is a warrior's drink

[@i.b.640]

I love you so much for this Worf-quote.

[@andersjjensen]

Warrior of the Porcelain Throne that is....

[@aerocarnie]

Qapla'!

[@jandavis1523]

Thank You Vulcan Friend!

[@andersjjensen]

@justmeherethereandeverywhere They do. They just don't bother doing anything about as the pungent smell sometimes gives the enemy pause at a critical moment.

[@RobbyGarber]

Max, so far this is my favorite video of yours. As a kid I was obsessed with the space program and the original Mercury astronauts were my heroes. Now when I was in middle school the principal of my school, her brother was an astronaut and she and her brother pulled some strings and got a way for me to speak with John Glenn after the achievement of an all a report card. I was able to spend time with the astronaut and I thought he was joking that they drank tang in space as I thought it was only on the early space flight missions. Anyways, great video and history on NASA!!!

[@zbenefield76]

I was an army transporter in Iraq. Some of the camps we went to had frozen meat and little charcoal grills. Unfortunately, spices were harder to find. Tang makes an excellent steak in a pinch.

[@StonedtotheBones13]

I mean I'll put pineapple on steak, makes sense to me

[@jakklump]

Tang FLAVORS a steak excellently.... or did you actually mean to write that you ate Tang steaks, steaks made entirely out of Tang?

[@michaelb1478]

I can believe this. There is an Asian barbecue KZbinr who has a chicken rub based on Tang.

[@Player-1313]

U2 Spy Plane pilots actually still eat food through toothpaste-like tubes. They basically wear astronaut suits and they stick the tube into their helmets to their mouths. I hear people say the tube food is actually pretty good. The food is also specially formulated to help prevent the need to go to the bathroom since there's no going number 2 on the plane.

[@craggleshenanigans]

Steve1989 actually has a review of one

[@darthguilder1923]

Stevemre has a video trying them

[@DKF_oli]

Tube food.

[@patron8597]

Yeah, I don't doubt that. Say what you want about the unhealthiness about today's food but we sure came a long way regarding artificial flavours.

[@garysouza95]

The "low residue" meals.

[@RalphReagan]

Thanks for showing Joe Kerwin. I flew with him on the KC-135. He had to use a rehydrating machine to rehydrate a bowl of corn flakes with dried milk. It was covered with plastic film with a slit in it. He ate it during the zero gee part of the parabola. He did not recommend it for spaceflight.

[@jillianc949]

That sounds like it would have been messy, lol

[@MossyMozart]

The space food in "2001: A Space Odyssey" looked like it was a lot better.

[@RalphReagan]

@@jillianc949 the film on top had slit that overlapped the hard part was getting food out

[@wompa70]

The pause at, “I haven’t had them in 30 years.” I felt that. In my soul.

[@welcometothejungle3222]

I love how honest you are with the flavor and if you like it or not. A lot of chefs on KZbin act like everything they cook is the most amazing thing ever, even though their faces say different.

[@Levacque]

Another good one for being honest about his bad dishes is Adam Ragusea. He'll actually explain why things don't work and why a mistake makes something taste worse.

[@welcometothejungle3222]

@@Levacque I'll check him out. Thank you!

[@tgriffin8179]

Love the smile as Max pans the dish.

[@lindabrashear57]

B Dylan Hollis makes no secret of recipes he makes that taste bad, and he usually does so in a hilarious manner--I particularly remember when he called one dish a "demon quiche" after tasting it. 😂

[@welcometothejungle3222]

@lindabrashear57 I'll check him out, too. Thank you! I love these suggestions!

[@meghanjenks2963]

When I was a kid, my grandmother would make us “Russian tea.” It was a mix of Tang, lemonade powder, ice tea powder, sugar, cinnamon, and whole cloves you would add hot water to. I believe it is a twisted take on the Russian custom to serve tea with lemon. It is something I enjoy even now when I want something hot but fruity in the winter!

[@medicaoctavia8002]

Lemon and marmalade. It’s an old Russian tradition to sweeten tea with jam or jelly or preserves.

[@fredericapanon207]

​@@medicaoctavia8002 in Asian store, you can get citron tea which is a marmalade made from citron, a type of citrus. It's nice in tea or on bread.

[@cam4636]

I believe it was meant to be an American-ingredient attempt at kompot, a fruit 'tea' (as in, fruit boiled and served as a drink) from Eastern Europe

[@fredericapanon207]

If you go to an Asian grocery store, you'll find "citron tea" which is actually a citrus marmalade meant for tea. It is tasty that way, but heathen that I am, I have also had it on bread. Yummy!

[@fredericapanon207]

Similarly, there is also a ginger version.

[@sashagolden753]

I'm actually a russian speaker and the bits about cosmonauts are great! Minor correction about the dried fish: it's vobla, not volba. Also, my granddad used to bite into raw onions, he was military guy from a small Siberian village and saw this as normal, very manly :)

[@MuirlySims]

When I was like 3-5 years old, I would sneak into the kitchen, grab an onion, and take a big bite out of it like an apple. I absolutely loved them raw!

[@Katya-rl3cc]

Yes! Came here to say these things! Raw onions are eaten like apples by a lot of people in eastern european countries. Not me tho ;D

[@LB-yg2br]

Ok…and the lemon???

[@sashagolden753]

@@LB-yg2br there's also another option. My cousin has to take meds that reduce her senses of smell and taste. She eats lemons and onions like they are candy, because their strong tastes give her at least something. And Max mentioned the loss of smell

[@LB-yg2br]

@@sashagolden753 this sounds like the culinary equivalent of “I cut myself just so I can feel something” or “if I didn’t feel pain I wouldn’t feel anything at all” lol

[@jorenbosmans8065]

Somehow I'd love to have Max interview surviving people who were at historical events and try food with them from those events. Like an Apollo mission astronaut eating the food. Bonus points if we can get Buzz Aldrin (I think he is the only one still alive) to try a replica of the fruit cake

[@4.0.4]

I love how some things, being a novelty or less widespread, were seen as respectable cooking, and how that changed. Like those fancy jell-o dishes, tang pie, fanta cake, etc.

[@nikkiewhite476]

Oh don't think people don't make similar things now. My sis-in-law favorite cake is cherry Dr Pepper cake. One can of Dr pepper, one can of cherry pie filling and a box of Devil's food cake mix. Mix all together, turn out into a 8-9 inch pie tin and bake as directed on the box.

[@ashkitt7719]

Pilk anyone?

[@fanusobscurus]

Look, I will die on the hill of chocolate Coca Cola cake. That stuffs amazing.

[@marsy6359]

@@nikkiewhite476how does it taste??

[@deeznutz629]

tumblr gatorade bread

[@AndyFriedl]

The hard tack clip gets me every time. It is so great.

[@brianconner1266]

Clack clack

[@mikegallant811]

Astro-Hardtack... 😅

[@Kosake86]

That onion (and likely the lemon as well) was highly likely used as "zakuska" to go with some smuggled in alcohol. I guess they would not want to have the later part on the official report, but it explains a) why onion and b) why he enjoyed it more.

[@Nixx0912]

That makes sense.

[@Levacque]

I always learn something in the tasting history comments

[@asmith8692]

Weren't raw onions also munched like apples at some point? Though they were probably a sweet variety.

[@psychodboy1511]

I figured it was because it cut through the stuffed up nose, but the alcohol seems more likely.

[@peterlem1]

@@asmith8692 Some people still eat onions like that. I know in Iran people like to have a plate of herbs and spring onions to eat raw with a lot of meals, it's nice, I tried it. I'd also take sweet onion with a meaty sandwich any time.

[@danno938]

I was watching the part where you introduced Cool Whip and was legit worried that Family Guy clip wouldn't be shown. You proved me wrong, and I appreciate it.

[@Tunnelfish2]

Pillsbury came out with a product called "Space Food Sticks" which were quite the rage between myself and other kids at the time when the Apollo missions fascinated us. They came in chocolate, peanut butter and I think perhaps vanilla flavors from what I can remember. Many of the kids that I went to school with at the time were also involved in model rocketry as well.

[@strangebear6992]

Peanut butter was my favorite

[@ohppig1]

I begged my mom for those

[@thebec8853]

OMG...those! The Chocolate ones...ate way too many.

[@Corie-Amore]

I was surprised Max didn't mention Space Food Sticks ~ they were pretty popular. i remember the consistency was kind of like modelling clay.

[@SWATT101]

Yup used to eat them as a kid...who else was a Jr Astronaut? Still remember building the lunar lander lol

[@InABroadwayStateOfMind]

Can I just say that I wholly appreciate how you often choose music befitting the culture/time period of whatever food/drink each video focuses on? Maybe most people don’t notice and is such a niche thing to point out but it delights me, and I’m not a music buff in any manner.

[@westernmasswonderwoman3326]

I have also noticed and greatly appreciated this. Max is a true professional!

[@noonynoonynoo]

me too!

[@sharonsloan9676]

Grew up in the 1960s drinking Tang, didn't realize it still existed until a few years ago, and now my old self, who has to take a fiber supplement now and then, mixes it with Tang. It's like a bedtime treat. Now and then mom would make a lemon meringue pie. Not having money to blow she'd put all the egg yolks into a Tang jar to use later. Once one of my brothers (probably 6 or 7 at the time) saw the jar in the fridge, thought it was Tang, and took a big swig; could hear him yelling all the way out to the street. 🤣

[@KayPrescesky]

I'm dying of laughter!

[@D31taF0rc3]

That tape recorder prank is hilarious. No harm to the mission but bizarre enough to confuse the shit out of mission control.

[@puffapuffarice]

If you’re looking for a meal for car rides may I suggest a version of Boiled Supper my grandparents used to make on long car trips from the maritimes to Montreal. Imagine a big o’l Chev with large engine compartment with loads of space to fix a big aluminum pot next to the engine block. Into the pot went a cut up pot roast, carrots, potatoes, turnips & onion together with some water, salt, pepper, & I believe both garlic & celery powder. The pot was encased in 2 or 3 layers of tin foil then tucked into a space next to the engine & some wire to hold it in place. After a long few hours on the road, my grandparents would find a picnic spot get the steaming pot out from under the hood & serve up a hot & hearty boiled supper.

[@2degucitas]

My husband did this once or twice on car trips with the kids. It wasn't very popular and things got interesting when he forgot to remove it after the trip. 😱🥵

[@chargermopar]

I often cook on the engine, have made videos of it on my channel.

[@lainecolley1414]

My parents tried that once but put the potatoes on the wrong side.

[@edwardkantowicz4707]

I was thinking about engine block cooking as well when Max said he hadn't featured anything with the automobile... In the 70s & 80s there were multiple twists on this idea, with many recipes calling for aluminium foil hobo wraps: Essentially any dish one could prepare en papillote would work... Mileage and temp may vary!

[@TestTemp-rd1tu]

I've read about this. He's not making it up. Some people really did this. Not my parents, though.

[@splendidcolors]

I grew up during the moon landing era, and Tang was our breakfast drink. We didn't make anything like "Tang Pie," but couple of tablespoons or so made a pleasant orange flavor for sponge cake (and a delicate orange color). I still have my mother's 1960s McCall's cookbook with the Hot Milk Sponge Cake recipe. My mom actually bought me the astronaut food bars, which I ate for snacks like we have energy bars these days. Pop Rocks were THE hot trend when I was in 3rd grade near the Bicentennial...

[@BradYaeger]

I'm 57 and we drank MASSIVE amounts of Tang as kids . Along with various powdered chocolate, strawberry and malted milk . Or soda. I honestly dont think I drank any water except the occasional 5 gulps from a hot garden hose during the summer .

[@glenchapman3899]

You and 3/4 of the rest of the English speak world lol

[@RaimoHöft]

Been there, done that... 😅

[@TestTemp-rd1tu]

I drank tang and garden hose water, exclusively.

[@jeannine1739]

And the soda was usually Shasta, in our house. lol

[@essaboselin5252]

FYI : Freeze drying removes far, far more water than regular dehydrating does. That's why it has a shelf-life of decades. The food is frozen, exposed to an extreme vacuum, and the temperature increased. Water can't exist as a liquid in a vacuum, so it immediately sublimates to water vapor, which is sucked out. Dehydrated food is essentially slowly cooked at a very low temperature. That's why the texture is so different.

[@THEGRUMPTRUCK]

Taking a recording of his wife's voice saying she was bringing them a home cooked meal. 😂😂😂 Someone at NASA must have had an aneurysm that day.

[@Aging_Geek]

probably pissed off the nasa kitchen staff.

[@sarahleonard7309]

Fun fact about Pop Rocks: They are used in the introductory chemistry lab at my university in a procedure that allows the students to capture and quantify the carbon dioxide in the bubbles. The hardest part is always keeping the students from trying to eat their candy packet before the experiment could start!

[@KayPrescesky]

Give out two. One to eat and one to, wait, you're never supposed to put anything from a chem lab in your mouth in the first place!

[@ixchelkali]

In about 1963, I attended a Girl Scout jamboree where one of the activities was to sample foods developed for astronauts to eat in space. I don't remember exactly what we had, but several of them were goo in a tube. It was a good lesson in how important texture can be in our enjoyment of food. No matter how much it tastes like roast beef, the purée is...odd. Not pleasant. Temperature, too, is a factor, because one item we sampled was freeze-dried strawberry ice cream, which tasted just like ice cream, but it was weird having it be room temperature. And yes, we got to try Tang. That was the first time I tried it, and I liked it. More than 60 years later, I still like it. That workshop is the thing I remember best from that jamboree. The NASA representative answered any questions we had, even the one about how the astronauts went to the bathroom. That was pretty bold in those days.

[@teslashark]

Fun! Chinese spacecraft actually carried the kind of ice cream advertised in America

[@flwrcrwnbncr]

the bit about helen made me smile so much, that’s adorable

[@zennvirus7980]

It is always a sign that Max is skeptical about the Tasting part of a Tasting History episode when he has a ready made meal provider be the sponsor. It's like "just in case this piece of history is not... palatable, better have a good meal ready". And DAMN, that story about the banana cereal block is really the confirmation of the proverb: "All travel rations come from Hardtack, and to Hardtack they return". Somehow, I think humanity has yet to outlive (pun intended) the psychological endurance of Hardtack.

[@maeve4686]

As Max would "say"...clack clack....😅

[@Neockoen]

Love the continuation of Pokémon plushies matching the theme in the background. This time Palkia, the Pokémon that can distort space

[@SergiusOnesimus]

I'm so glad that you mentioned the Soviet space program, because, like 12 days ago we had a holiday to celebrate the flight of Yuri Gagarin (you nailed the pronounciation by the way, great job!). So, happy Cosmonautics Day, Max! Also I feel like I need to clarify a thing: Titov didn't vomit because of the food, but because of a sunlight surprisingly hitting his eyes. I actually tried modern cosmonaut food in a space museum. It still comes in tubes, but a separate bag with a chemical heater is provided to heat it up. Mine contained french fries, though it was more like mashed potatoes with a hint of fried taste. It tasted pretty nice thought. P.S. The soup you mentioned, kharcho, is a very tasty thing by itself. It contains garlic and a special georgian mix of spices called khmeli-suneli. I really like it and it would be awesome if you'd make a video about it one day.

[@TuberculosisRose]

Discovered your videos a week ago and have been watching several every day. I don't think a single one has gone by without the mention of "hard tack" and that dedication is keeping me around for the long haul. I also love that you don't lie about your taste preferences.

[@celestine5231]

I got to meet an astronaut a few months back, my dad actually was getting an award from NASA and they sent the guy down to present it. We talked about a bunch of stuff like what training is like and the surreality of seeing Earth from so far away, but now I'm upset I never asked him about the food! He had some great stories, though. He's also an MD so he was doing a lot of medical research up there, including looking into how low gravity affects healthcare. It's so easy to forget that most of them are up there to do research that's literally impossible to conduct anywhere but in space.

[@teambanzai9491]

It’s worth mentioning that Alexei Leonov was the first human to spacewalk/conduct an EVA (Extravehicular Activity) in 1965 from Voskhod 2. His spacesuit ballooned from internal pressure against the vacuum of space that he was in danger of being stranded outside the spacecraft. The problems he encountered during his EVA would remain secret until the end of the Cold War. Had the Soviet N1 program been successful, Leonov had been selected to be the first human to land on the Moon. Instead, his second flight into space was as the commander of Soyuz 19, the Soviet half of the historic Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975. Leonov was not only a space pioneer but also the first artist in space. In 1975, he did portraits of the Apollo crew during the Apollo-Soyuz mission. Author Arthur C. Clarke named the Soviet spacecraft in his novel, 2010: Odyssey Two, after the legendary cosmonaut.

[@teambanzai9491]

Obviously, Leonov didn’t go to the Moon, the N1 program was axed and the crew of Apollo 11 took the prize. But unlike the Apollo 11 mission, the Soviet one involved only two crew, an EVA to the lander, and just one of the two cosmonauts to ride it down to the lunar surface. It was also a lot riskier. So all things considered, I’m glad Leonov wasn’t first. But you know, check out the TV series, For All Mankind.

[@HeartLockHex]

I had no idea Tang was used to create things aside the drink that made my mouth burn during childhood.

[@antoniomromo]

Oh my lord!!! The same thing happened when I drank it!!!

[@MrSheckstr]

We make milkshakes, cookies , even homemade dream sickles

[@eugeniaamariei8626]

I am from the UK, so I have never heard of Tang before but I guess if you were an astronaut back then, eating it would make your mouth feel like it's on fire.

[@Grom-rl8bm]

Sunny D does the same thing for me

[@4.0.4]

@ULTRAOutdoorsman what makes you think a real orange had any part in that creation?

[@cak813]

I loved your reaction to the Tang pie, Max. And I also loved that you included the story about John Young bringing the sandwich with him into space on Gemini 3. I’m old enough to remember that and I admired his sense of humor and rebelliousness for doing that. He later was on Gemini 10, Apollo 10 (the “dress rehearsal” flight for Apollo 11), and Apollo 16 - the flight where he walked - and drove - on the moon. He also flew on the first space shuttle mission. Needless to say, a very accomplished man. I’m glad NASA didn’t hold the sandwich incident against him!!

[@matthbva]

Viktor Patsayev and his crew died just days later, when their capsule depressurized just prior to reentry. RIP.

[@MegaZeta]

If sharp tastes were best to overcome the way cosmonaut/astronaut life dulled that sense, I suppose raw onion and lemon slices would have been a treat. Some other comments suggest they hint at a celebratory nip, but, in any case, I'm glad he got a birthday party. RIP.

[@DocNob0dy]

I wonder if the cause of incident was related to that onion 🤔

[@sizer99]

Yeah, I saw 'for his birthday party in 1971!' and then 'Viktor Patsayev (1933-1971)' and went 'uh oh.' At least he got his birthday party. RIP.

[@haroldhenderson2824]

​@@DocNob0dyA vent valve opened much too early during decent. The cabin depressurized.

[@LordMizumaru]

@@MegaZeta Yeah... Having a birthday party in space at least is something almost no other person could ever claim. He's part of history

[@catherinejones5807]

I grew up having Tang as a household staple. I used to add Tang to vanilla ice cream, which gave it a rich, creaminess and worked as a cold dessert (think Creamsicle). I think if you were to put that Tang/vanilla ice cream mixture into a graham cracker pie crust and freeze it, that it would be a refreshing summer dessert. The vanilla ice cream takes some of the edge off of the sourness from the Tang. You might enjoy it in this form.

[@Levacque]

If you begin re-freezing the Tang ice cream in a container, stirring it every 10 minutes until it begins to firm and THEN putting it into the crust to finish freezing, the end result will be especially creamy. I've done that with a pink lemonade ice cream pie and it worked amazing.

[@catherinejones5807]

@@Levacque Pink Lemonade Ice Cream Pie sounds amazing! Will have to try that technique making both ice cream pies!😋

[@Levacque]

@@catherinejones5807 it honestly is pretty good. I might make Tang ice cream pie now.

[@ArikElman]

I came across this channel absolutely accidentally and got hooked. Besides the combination of my two favorite things - history and food - nothing beats Max's raw excitement at every new thing he gets to learn and to do and his amazing ability to transfer this sense of wonder and surprise to the audience. "Tasting history" is a great example of how, when Internet and KZbin work as they are supposed to work, they give rise to creative abilities that otherwise might never go beyond the circle of friends and relatives, and enrich all of us in amazing ways. Thanks, Max.

[@meimei8718]

I appreciate the polite way you handled you disgust. You’re a legend.

[@davidsmith8997]

TANG! 22:45 You look like a kid who ate their first black licorice! 🤣🤣 Good job keeping it down!

[@TastingHistory]

😂

[@KenMcKim]

The “Tang” face needs to be a stock clip going forward when Max encounters anything particularly sour/tangy 😂

[@Rosa-kd2cl]

22:45

[@GravesRWFiA]

I made the pie, using sweetened whipped cream instead of cool whip and we liked it. it is NOT very tangy at all just a little citrus bite with an orange cream feel.

[@justcallmeavi3255]

History correction, while Yuri Gagarin did have beef and liver paste available he did not eat it, in his notes on the mission he stated that he wasn't feeling hungry and did not eat the main meal, he did eat a small amount of the chocolate sauce as Sergei Korolev, the leader of OKB 1 and the head of the mission told him to eat something as they were unsure whether or not men could eat in space due to the low gravity, John Glenn drank water, it was dispensed from a hose located in Freedom 7's cockpit/ capsule, this was because NASA was unsure if the deglutition response (swallowing) would function under low gravity conditions, the water was under some pressure to make sure it made it into the astronaut's mouth, Glenn also had a "sponge" in his helmet to soak up "excess liquids", in Russia, shallots are often eaten raw, this is what Patsayev ate, lemons are also used as remedies for colds and stuffy noses, ironically it was the Russians that stopped using food tubes before the American's did, this was because on one of the Soyuz missions, when they performed a space walk, the decompression caused some of the tubes to rupture, spraying the contents around the inside of the capsule, the Soyuz program leaders scrapped the use of tubes shortly after and started using canned foods and heaters for the cosmonauts!

[@LAHFaust]

Fun fact: Owen Garriott, the guy who brought the recording of his wife up into space is the father of Richard Garriott, the creator of Ultima and Ultima Online, some of the first RPG and MMOs in history. Richard would also be one of the first private citizens to go to space.

[@slwrabbits]

My first RPG was Ultima VI in four color!

[@LAHFaust]

@@slwrabbits I still remember when Lord British was assassinated in Ultima Online.

[@jamesyoungquist6923]

That's so cool! Ultima 7 had the easter eggs of a crashed spaceship, and the roof cache of op weapons. And Ultima 8 had that weird space maze sequence. Kind of makes sense now.

[@BryanCrowson]

Max, my wife and I enjoyed this episode! I am 60 years old, so I grew up in this era. Your reaction to the pie as being tart triggered a memory. I loved Tang as a kid. As an adult, I tried it again, as a nostalgic comfort food. I was disappointed that the taste had changed. It was far less sweet, and more tart, than I remembered. The original taste was more like what Sunny Delight tastes like nowadays, richer and sweeter. I assumed that the formula was changed at some point, when food companies deemphasized sugar in foods marketed for children.

[@MrKDHay]

As soon as you said the banana flake brick was as hard as tempered masonite, i knew the hardtack clip was coming. Love it!!

[@robertsherman7978]

This is the first recipe Max has shared that I thought I could make and it worked! I was surprised how easy it was, it’s basically just a lot of stirring. It made a LOT of filing, too. It was easily enough for two pies so I made one regular pie and six mini pies that I shared with family. It was a hit with everyone and the end result tasted like a Dreamsicle or one of those orange push pops. I’m going to make it again to take to our family Fourth of July celebration. Thanks, Max!!

[@cygnata]

Some folks do eat raw onions like apples. I'm told my great-grandparents, Ukrainian immigrants who came to the US in 1912, enjoyed doing so. And some folks around the world still do so today.

[@mwater_moon2865]

My grandpa ate onions like apples, my other grandpa would talk about people who did like they were crazy, but from what I gather, it was far more common in the early 20th century. I often wonder if factory farming changed onions, kinda like how they genetically engineered brussel sprouts in the 2000s to get rid of the bitter taste so all the old jokes about kids hating them don't play the same way these days...

[@gregmunro1137]

I love raw onion - give me a cheese and onion sandwich any time .

[@55mmartin]

i used to eat an onion with some hard cheese and bread, just like an apple. Can't do that now at my age, LOL!

[@iboofer]

The titular figure of the book "Onion John" gained his moniker from this habit.

[@jjudy5869]

I love eating onion like an apple. White onions or vidalia are the best.

[@Mrx2848]

There was one episode of "Chopped" where 'Astronaut Ice Cream' was a secret ingredient, and Ted Allen noted that it was only ever sent into space once, because the astronauts ended up disliking it so much.

[@Levacque]

Also, just thinking about its texture, it seems like it could very easily pulverize into tiny, instrument-clogging bits. It has never seemed spaceworthy to me, ever since I watched that Simpsons episode as a kid.

[@BlackTigr]

​@@LevacqueSpeaking as someone that got to try it multiple times, yeah. It turns into crumbs and bits STUPIDLY easily. Most of the time when you buy it now, it's rare to find it all in one piece cuz it breaks so easily. It's usually in at least a few pieces with a bunch of bits in various sizes and a bunch of, what's essentially, crumbs turned into fine powder.

[@haroldhenderson2824]

Not just because astronaut dislike it. It breaks into tiny, sharp particles which get inhaled! Breath in some powdered sugar, it is an intense, non-stop coughing fit.

[@its_clean]

Actually, historical consensus is that it was never sent to space even once. It was listed on the menu for one of the Apollo missions but none of the astronauts recalled ever seeing or eating it on orbit, and at that time menus were known to change between planning and launch.

[@MossyMozart]

@Mrx2848 - As a child, I thought that it did taste just like ice cream, but the texture was lacking that creaminess and most importantly, NO SATISFYING COLD slithering down your throat. I loved it nonetheless.

[@MYJ61]

I also used to love “Space Food Sticks”. I believe this was another one of Mitchell’s food products. Chocolate and peanut butter flavored sticks resembling a small Slim Jim.

[@drswaqqinscheckingin7210]

12:42 actually super easy to prepare this at home you can get a cheap press that does well in excess of 3k lbs of pressure for like $100 and then just stick the whole press in an oven

[@tall1sobay]

1. Growing up in the 70's, this is what we had as it was cheaper than OJ in most forms. and 2. This would have been the perfect collab with B.Dylan Hollis!

[@timd7683]

11:20 the way hydrogen and oxygen are mixed in a fuel cell is the same way you mix wood and oxygen in a campfire. Burning is just another word for the process of oxidization, i.e. combining something with oxygen (or any other oxidizer). The same fuel cells are now used in those Japanese hydrogen powered electric cars. By the way, since the main engines of the Space Shuttle also burned hydrogen in oxygen, their exhaust was just water.

[@nicholruaya8120]

It took me a moment to realize the background plushie for this episode is Palkia, Sinnoh diety of space. Clever

[@questianna]

Orange cream pie is made with just orange Jello (sugar-free version doesn't alter flavor) using less water, and whipped topping/cream (a lot of it). Homemade graham cracker crust is superior to store-bought. But using Jello instead of Tang makes it less tart.

[@christinescreativitycabine280]

I was born in 1960, and back then we were told that The Year 2000 was The Future. They told us we would have flying cars and jet packs and eat Tang Pie. They didn't tell us that half of the everyday tasks we did on all different kinds of technology would all be done on our phones, that going through airport security would take hours, or that everything would be made in China.

[@jlastre]

I was born in 64. Had a picture book with all that stuff. But even then I just didn’t see it.

[@johnnyxmusic]

Back then, everything was made in Japan, and it was kind of a joke

[@absalomdraconis]

​@@johnnyxmusic: No, "Made in Japan" came a little later, they were mostly still building up in the 60s.

[@johnnyxmusic]

@@absalomdraconis Okay…I was born in 64…

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

​@@absalomdraconis"Made in Japan" was the "Made in China" since the 1930's and was subsequently used as a mocking callout in many WW2 propaganda works...

[@EdDale44135]

Reminds me of the icebox pie I used to make - pie crust, lemon pie filling and cool whip. Mix the lemon filling and cool whip, add it to the pie shell, put it in the freezer and Bob is your uncle.

[@beckycaughel7557]

My mom used to make a hot drink that we called “Russian tea” that was made with tang and a bunch of spices. I wish I still had that recipe.

[@SilvaDreams]

My grandmother (and great grandmother) use to make something of the same name only they used actual orange juice and it was clover and cinnamon. We mostly drank it in the fall and winter to warm you up after being outside and for our health.

[@MR2spyder100]

Russian Tea: 2 cups Tang 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1 cup lemon flavored instant (dry) tea Combine all ingredients; To serve, mix 2 tsp mixture per cup of hot or ice water. Per: Favorite Recipes from Lutheran Brotherhood, submitted by Mrs Dale Moen of Fargo ND. A similar recipe was submitted by Mrs Odean Holter of Devils Lake ND; she uses plain instant tea and adds a package of lemon-flavored drink mix.

[@beckycaughel7557]

@@MR2spyder100 thank you very much for your quick response

[@sayhello5377]

This reminded me of a funny story. When I was in college, I was at a party at my friends house, and of course, there were some people there who I had never met. It was snowing and freezing cold outside, and a bunch of people had brought things with them to share with everyone. And this one girl brought a crockpot of tang tea. As she was trying to seem all sophisticated and interesting, she was telling everyone about how her great grandmother used to make this special family recipe tea from her home country of Russia. My husband tasted it, and exclaimed, “that’s Tang tea! My dad used to make it. Everyone makes this. It’s not from your grandmother‘s home country.” 🤣

[@amyroos]

To share the recipe I grew up with, which uses the lemonade mix: - 2 cups orange Tang - 2/3 cup instant tea - 1 cup sugar - Wyler’s lemonade mix (sugared) for 2 quarts - 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional) - 1/2 tsp cloves (optional) Mix well. 3 heaping tsp to 1 cup hot water

[@jonathangibson9482]

Gosh dang, this is a fantastic video. Truly excellent research and presentation of the issues of feeding astronauts.

[@christineh14]

I can’t believe my mom missed out on this recipe as she jumped on every other 60s and 70s food trend. She did make Russian tea, which was made with Tang, instant iced tea and lemonade powder, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. All those chemicals and sugar made a pretty delicious hot drink.

[@brostoevsky22]

Thanks for mentioning Yuri. I once saw his space capsule at the Cosmonaut Museum in Moscow, Russia. People often forget about important historical Russian achievements.

[@hogofthefuture]

I know Neil and Buzz left a memorial for him and the Apollo 1 astronauts on the moon.

[@gfhit7520]

I love that the pie is basically a triumph of American artificial food, very 50-60s! About Gemini, it might be that NASA went for the latin pronunciation (after all it's a latin word), which would indeed be 'nee' and not 'ni' at the end -although in latin the g would be a hard one (as in 'go')

[@Damonnanashi]

The real question is this: "gif," or "gif?"

[@samanthab3292]

​@@Damonnanashiit's gif

[@Damonnanashi]

@@samanthab3292 I know, right? I'm so glad there are so many others that agree lol

[@ichibanmanekineko]

Honestly becoming one of my favourite channels. Abaolutely love the challenges and the rapport between you! ❤

[@samreid6010]

11:22 for your somehow: a hydrogen fuel cell works by introducing a steam of oxygen and a stream of hydrogen into a reaction chamber. Molecules want to become the most stable possible (this has to do with electron shells, I won’t bore you with the details) and the most stable combination oxygen and hydrogen is water. Therefore, when oxygen and hydrogen are mixed and a bit of start up energy is applied, the oxygen will rip the hydrogen apart to form water. The hydrogen is basically just a proton and an electron, so when the oxygens capture hydrogen protons the electrons are just left free floating. It gets picked up by an cathode and can then flow through a circuit, providing power

[@jenniferstrover1276]

The photos of Skylab look incredible! It looks like it was definitely an inspiration for the interiors of the Nostromo in Alien.

[@jet_flyer]

As someone that works in aerospace I appreciate the effort you put in to getting even small seemingly insignificant (to a cooking show) details. This just shows to me personally the effort and passion you put into any of your videos. Although I never doubted you before this gained even more respect from me 😁

[@Sabrowsky]

My girlfriend does this kind of pie a lot (its a rather common low budget dessert here in Brazil) and she pointed out a couple of issues with the recipe. 1- Don't use the whole pack, maybe half of what Max here used. 2- The flavour choice of orange isn't a good one, it has to go well with milk, so strawberry or grape flavoured is best. 3- Powdered chocolate (the cheap stuff) makes for a great substitute for Tang if you have an issue with the sour flavour Cheers!

[@vjudnich]

I love that you smiled through the whole "I don't like it". Best part of being an adult, you don't have to sit there and suffer through a bad meal.

[@vintagetubeamplifiers]

I grew up in Chicago going to the Museum Of Science & History in the 70's & 80's and my Dad would get me the "Astronaut Ice Cream" after seeing the Lunar Module and Aurora 7 capsule. Of course we had Tang in the house too.

[@user-gk9lg5sp4y]

I grew up in DC and we got it at the Air & Space museum 😁

[@paulg1134]

Oh I'm from Milwaukee and it was an absolute treat when we would make the trek down to Chicago to visit the MoSH, and of course no trip would be complete without getting astronaut ice cream. I'm both surprised/not surprised that it was never an actual space food. In any case this has been maybe the best history portion of Tasting History so far!

[@AmericanBeautyCorset]

Yes, I remember the Astronaut Ice-cream..That museum was So Cool. 😊

[@Alexei2539]

Was it those freeze dried blocks of Neapolitan ice cream?

[@kevnotrite]

From St. Louis and remember the first time I had the ice cream was at the McDonald Planetarium, which eventually turned into the Science Center. Also remember Heading up to the Museum in Chicago for the exhibits and of course, the ice cream. Also remember the Tang drink which was the alternative to the Kool-aid packages at the time.

[@MsLeenite]

Thank you, Max. You're a brave man, taking a hit for the team. Tang Pie looked interesting, but not like anything I'd want to try. I was a schoolgirl in the early 1960's, and we were all crazy for anything related to the space program. I drank Tang just because the astronauts did, but I can't say I really liked it. And Cool Whip is just ... no. Once, when I was a teenager, I was having dinner at a friend's house. At dessert time, I was asked to go get a defrosted, unopened tub of Cool Whip out of the refrigerator, open it, and bring it to the dining room. When I peeled the foil seal off the tub, I got a whiff of the stuff in its fresh, un-aired-out state. It smelled like a newly opened vinyl shower curtain. I checked the ingredients and I don't remember recognizing any of them. I declined to have any Cool Whip on my Jello (or whatever the dessert was). And I have never eaten it to this day.

[@idalily3810]

You haven't missed anything.

[@LaundryFaerie]

I've made this pie twice now, and I recommend three changes: reduce the sour cream by half, add a small amount of orange extract, and add a generous spoonful of vanilla extract. This creates a product that tastes more like an orange creamsicle.