US army scienticians have come up with a formula to make pizza in a pouch that last three years without spoiling.
With soldiers putting pizza at the top of the list of foods that they miss the most while out on the field of battle, Jeremy Whitsitt of the Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center says that they’ve finally come up with a formula for a pizza that will last for up to 36 months without the need for refrigeration.
“Since the dawn of time… pizza has been one of the most requested and sought-after components in an MRE,” Whitsitt told Military Times.
“We’re finally cracking the code in getting the crust and the cheese and the meat to all live happily in a pouch for three years, without refrigeration.”
An MRE is a ‘Meal Ready to Eat’ – pouch food that the US government came up with in the 1980s for soldiers far from a kitchen and even the means to heat up their grub.
And how is this pizza made? While the sauce would usually soak into the crust and turn the whole thing to mush, the 1000-day pizza would be made with humectants in the dough, which bind moisture and prevent the dough from going soggy.
Other gums and enzymes go into the bread to stop it from going stale.
Good heavens.
The pouch pizzas – which can be dropped from a helicopter or parachute without being damaged – will be field tested this summer and go into production in 2015.
Suddenly, JOE doesn’t feel quite as bad about having three fun-size Mars Bars for breakfast.
Cheers to Darren Creaven for bringing this to our attention…
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