The Historical past of Astronaut Ice Cream

There could also be no novelty candy extra polarizing than astronaut ice cream. Those that adore it reward its gentle, crunchy texture, and a taste that’s nonetheless unmistakably creamy and candy. Its detractors will say biting into it’s akin to chomping down on a chunk of chalk: powdery and unnatural. And for many who have by no means tried it, your entire idea of consuming ice cream stripped of all liquid could appear downright weird. However regardless that so-called astronaut (or to be extra exact, freeze-dried) ice cream is not the most well-liked of novelty treats, its longevity proves that it has discovered a small, however fiercely loyal fan base.

Even its creator has been a bit shocked on the product’s endurance.

From One-Off Fad to Reward Store Finest-Vendor

Astronaut ice cream’s story begins within the late Seventies with Ron Smith, the founding father of American Outside Merchandise, an organization that specialised in meals for backpackers. Someday, Smith bought a message from the corporate he contracted to make a few of their freeze-dried meals (a class widespread with hikers for its shelf stability). “They stated, ‘Goddard Air and Area Museum contacted us and stated that freeze-dried ice cream was utilized by the area program. They wish to know if we will make it, to allow them to promote it of their reward store.’ And we stated, ‘Certain, we’ll attempt it,’” recollects Smith. The preliminary product was a far cry from the neatly packaged bars you’ll see at this time: “It was half a gallon of Neapolitan ice cream that you’d purchase within the retailer,” he says. “It was frozen strong, after which lower with a bandsaw, when you can imagine it.” Then, the ice cream was freeze-dried utilizing a specialised machine, which turned the ice instantly into fuel. That course of—which, when you recall from highschool physics, is named sublimation—is what’s accountable for the tiny air pockets in freeze-dried cream; it’s the place the ice crystals had been within the unique, frozen product. Lastly, about three-quarters of an oz was loaded right into a pouch. “Fairly frankly, after we first began doing this, we thought, ‘Nicely, this can be a fad. It’s going to final a few years.’ And that was what, 44 years in the past?” Smith says.

The product additionally in all probability bought a lift from the distinctive financial situations of the time: “A protracted recession made small luxuries far more enticing. Ice cream is an efficient instance of a small luxurious—you completely don’t want it bodily, however emotionally it may possibly make you fairly joyful for little or no additional expense,” says meals historian Megan Elias, the director of the Boston College gastronomy program. And, with its lengthy shelf life, it could possibly be stashed within the pantry till the craving hit.

As we speak, the division of American Outside Merchandise that markets freeze-dried ice lotions and fruits (and Astrodog canine treats!) to customers is named Astronaut Meals. The unique Neapolitan taste remains to be going robust in ice cream sandwich type, together with vanilla and banana cut up. When you’ve by no means tasted it, the feel’s closest analogue might be honeycomb sweet: gentle with quite a lot of air bubbles. The flavour, nevertheless, is pure ice cream, because the substances are the identical as what’s in a daily scoop. Astronaut Meals stays a preferred product in lots of museums across the nation, in addition to theme parks like Walt Disney World. “I inform individuals, ‘Look, yearly there’s about three million new children in the USA. So, there’s three million new prospects. My guess is [the company] will go on lengthy after I am gone,” Smith says.

A Humble Deal with Goes Upscale

Astronaut Meals might have been the primary to market freeze-dried ice cream and different snacks on to customers, however they now not have the class cornered. To wit: on Etsy, there are practically 800 listings for freeze-dried meals, together with Skittles, camel milk powder, and, in fact, ice cream. And maybe it was solely a matter of time earlier than somebody in Brooklyn created a design-forward and more healthy different to conventional freeze-dried ice cream. Cosmik is the invention of Robert Collingnon, who give up his job in promoting in 2016 to make an artisanal model of certainly one of his favourite snacks. After his Kickstarter marketing campaign blew previous its goal of $9,500 to hit over $70,000, he realized he wasn’t the one non-hiker secretly dipping into EMS to seize freeze-dried treats. “It confirmed me that there have been quite a lot of like-minded people who would respect a higher-end, cleaner-ingredient, freeze-dried ice cream,” he says. His merchandise, which characteristic zero synthetic substances, can be found in traditional flavors like cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, and strawberry. There may be one taste, nevertheless, that he leaves to his predecessors. “I’m by no means going to make the Neapolitan,” he says. “It’s good! I’ll allow them to deal with that. It’s what I grew up on.”

Whereas each corporations’s merchandise are usually offered at locations like museums and area facilities, they noticed an uptick in gross sales from their web sites in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. In spite of everything, when you’re stocking up on shelf-stable meals for a pandemic, you’ll be able to’t do significantly better than a product that was hardy sufficient to fly into area (though, to be clear, it is not eaten in area).

Nostalgic Attraction

Novelty treats like astronaut ice cream could also be related to childhood, however it’s adults who’ve given them their enduring recognition. And one thing particularly magical occurs when an ice-cream obsessed child grows up and creates one of the well-known sweet retailers within the nation. “I keep in mind getting astronaut ice cream at a visit to a theme park throughout camp,” says Dylan Lauren, of famed Dylan’s Sweet Bar. “I assumed it was so neat that I may eat a candy that is additionally loved in outer area. A lot in order that I savored every chunk and stored half in my bunk to indicate my dad and mom after camp as a substitute of consuming the entire thing directly.” As we speak, Lauren’s shops have a nostalgia part, which at all times shares freeze-dried ice cream. “I see from the response on prospects’ faces that it’s a spotlight for adults to reminisce about and for youths to see as a result of it is so cool,” she says.

Nicely, possibly not actually cool, however you get the purpose.

August 2020