There could also be no novelty candy extra polarizing than astronaut ice cream. Those that adore it reward its mild, 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 individuals who have by no means tried it, your entire idea of consuming ice cream stripped of all liquid could appear downright weird. However though so-called astronaut (or to be extra exact, freeze-dried) ice cream is not the preferred of novelty treats, its longevity proves that it has discovered a small, however fiercely loyal fan base.

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

From One-Off Fad to Present Store Greatest-Vendor

Astronaut ice cream’s story begins within the late Nineteen Seventies with Ron Smith, the founding father of American Outside Merchandise, an organization that specialised in meals for backpackers. Sooner or later, Smith received a message from the corporate he contracted to make a few of their freeze-dried meals (a class standard with hikers for its shelf stability). “They stated, ‘Goddard Air and House Museum contacted us and stated that freeze-dried ice cream was utilized by the area program. They need to know if we will make it, to allow them to promote it of their present store.’ And we stated, ‘Positive, we’ll attempt it,’” recollects Smith. The preliminary product was a far cry from the neatly packaged bars you’ll see right now: “It was half a gallon of Neapolitan ice cream that you’d purchase within the retailer,” he says. “It was frozen stable, after which lower with a bandsaw, for those who can consider it.” Then, the ice cream was freeze-dried utilizing a specialised machine, which turned the ice straight into fuel. That course of—which, for those who recall from highschool physics, is known as sublimation—is what’s chargeable for the tiny air pockets in freeze-dried cream; it’s the place the ice crystals have been within the unique, frozen product. Lastly, about three-quarters of an oz was loaded right into a pouch. “Fairly frankly, once we first began doing this, we thought, ‘Nicely, it is a fad. It will final a few years.’ And that was what, 44 years in the past?” Smith says.

The product additionally most likely received a lift from the distinctive financial situations of the time: “A protracted recession made small luxuries way more engaging. Ice cream is an effective instance of a small luxurious—you completely don’t want it bodily, however emotionally it may well make you fairly joyful for little or no further 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.

Right this moment, the division of American Outside Merchandise that markets freeze-dried ice lotions and fruits (and Astrodog canine treats!) to shoppers is named Astronaut Meals. The unique Neapolitan taste continues to be going sturdy 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: mild with numerous air bubbles. The flavour, nonetheless, is pure ice cream, for the reason that substances are the identical as what’s in an everyday scoop. Astronaut Meals stays a well-liked product in lots of museums across the nation, in addition to theme parks like Walt Disney World. “I inform folks, ‘Look, yearly there’s about three million new youngsters in the US. 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 shoppers, however they 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 various to conventional freeze-dried ice cream. Cosmik is the invention of Robert Collingnon, who stop his job in promoting in 2016 to make an artisanal model of one in every 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 numerous like-minded people who would respect a higher-end, cleaner-ingredient, freeze-dried ice cream,” he says. His merchandise, which function zero synthetic substances, can be found in traditional flavors like cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, and strawberry. There’s one taste, nonetheless, 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 bought at locations like museums and area facilities, they noticed an uptick in gross sales from their web sites through the COVID-19 pandemic. In any case, for those who’re stocking up on shelf-stable meals for a pandemic, you may’t do a lot better than a product that was hardy sufficient to fly into area (though, to be clear, it is not eaten in area).

Nostalgic Enchantment

Novelty treats like astronaut ice cream could also be related to childhood, but it surely’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 crucial well-known sweet retailers within the nation. “I bear 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 might eat a candy that is additionally loved in outer area. A lot in order that I savored every chew and stored half in my bunk to point out my mother and father after camp as an alternative of consuming the entire thing without delay.” Right this moment, Lauren’s shops have a nostalgia part, which all the time 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 teenagers to see as a result of it is so cool,” she says.

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

August 2020