Pizza is one of the most requested items among soldiers. So, listen up! If you are in the US military, finally you will get what you have asked for. It’s called the “everlasting pizza” and was created as a gift for American soldiers who always wished to have pizza, their favorite meal, in their rations.
A group of scientists at a US military laboratory in Massachussets spent almost two years doing research and recently came up with a recipe for a pizza that can be kept on the shelf for three years (and still be good!!!!) without the need for refrigeration or freezing.
"You can basically take the pizza, leave it packaged on the counter, for three years and it would still be edible," said the creator of this project Michelle Richardson.
Scientists have been experimenting for many years in the kitchen trying to develop this kind of recipe. However, they encountered many obstacles such as the moisture of the tomato sauce, cheese and other ingredients, which converted the dough into a soggy substance. And let’s face it, who ever wants to eat soggy pizza?
So, researchers started to use ingredients known as humectants: sugar, salt and syrups. These ingredients hydrate the product, but prevent the water from getting into the dough, avoiding the formation of mildew and other bacteria. Moreover, they added iron filings to the package in order to absorb the air that remains inside of it.
Not many people were able to try out this incredible experiment. However, those who did, said that the pizza tasted pretty good and was very similar to the original pizza taste, even though the crust was not very crispy... This is something that surely will be improved in the next few years!
For now, lets be happy with this prototype of “everlasting pizza”... at least it has pepperoni!!!
Source URL: http://test.casaitaliananyu.org/magazine/focus/facts-stories/article/pizza-lovers-in-military-have-their-miracle-may-be
Links
[1] http://test.casaitaliananyu.org/files/pizzaprototype1392668501jpg