Cosmonauts to go on Mediterranean Diet

Mediet food tray
27/4/2004

Two Russian cosmonauts will try the Mediterranean Diet on the International Space Station to show today's fast food can both be delicious and nutritious.  

The experiment using top quality Mediterranean products will be done by Alexander Kaleri and Gennadi Padalka.  

The Mediet food tray serves as a prototype of the system which may be used in extreme environments on Earth or simply when time for cooking or a dining table is not available.  

The Mediet consists of five items of food from Italy: dried tomatoes, mature cheese, piadina bread (special Italian white bread), peaches and chocolate.  

During the experiment, one cosmonaut will evaluate the quality of the food including odour, flavour, texture, colour, and overall appearance. The second cosmonaut will make a video recording of the test. 

The experiment is the European Space Agency's program to commercialise the International Space Station under a contract with the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation. 

Source: Space Now  

Check that you understand what these words mean in this document
Delicious: having a very good or pleasant taste.
Nutritious: food that gives the necessary vitamins, proteins carbohydrates and minerals.
Extreme: of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity.
To evaluate: to place a value on; judge the worth of something.
Texture: the feel of a something (e.g. soft, hard).
To commercialise: to make something appropriate or ready for putting it for sale on the market.