ISS Astronauts Enjoy Food Prepared By High School Students

First Posted: May 26, 2016 06:00 AM EDT

Earlier this year, NASA announced a cook-off for high school students to feed astronauts in the International Space Station. Ten teams are competing to have their dishes selected and met in a nationwide culinary challenge on April 21 at the Space Center Houston.

The winning recipe is a red pepper risotto created by high school students from Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne, New Jersey. According to CNN, the team consisted of students Carolan Terro, Jada Sanders, and Sierra Bronas.

In their presentation, the team discussed their decision to make risotto, saying that their recipe would work best with the rehydration process and microgravity conditions as presented by the astronauts.

The NASA-held competition encouraged teams to create a vegetable entrée between 300 and 500 calories, less than 30% of fat, 8 grams or less of sugar, and 3 grams or more of fiber. It should also be processed well for flight, and can be used in microgravity.

The dishes were evalutated using a sensory evaluation sheet, including taste, texture, and odor. The risotto got votes for its flavor combination and just the right amount of spice as to not overpower the taste of the actual dish.

The students' recipe won't make it to the ISS this year, though. In fact, ISS crewmembers were only able to enjoy last year's recipe early in April, when it arrived via the SpaceX Dragon cargo vehicle.

Last year's dish was a spicy Jamaican rice and bean combo with coconut milk, and is now being enjoyed by ISS crew members Tim Kopra, Jeff Williams, and Tim Peake.

The risotto, on the other hand, will be sent up to the station in November, after the Johnson Space Center Food Lab processes and readies it for flight. Most food on the ISS is preserved through freeze-drying or thermostabilization, or heat preservation, and either one will be done to the winning risotto recipe.

The ISS astronauts should be able to enjoy it early next year. For now, check out how much they are enjoying the dish from last year's winners: