Foods That Are Actually Banned from Space ( courtecy;- reader's digest )BY BETH DREHER Zero gravity and little storage space seriously limits astronauts' menu options.

 

Zero gravity and little storage space seriously limits astronauts' menu options. Here's what's off limits in outer space.

Bread

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Crumbs—from bread, crackers, cookies, etc—don't do well in space. They float around, and can fly into an astronaut's eyes and interfere with important equipment. That's why you'll find tortillas used instead of bread on all crafts traveling out of orbit. Don't miss these mindblowing facts about the International Space Station.

Soft Drinks

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A funny thing happens to carbonation without gravity—nothing. On Earth, a big part of soda's appeal is in its effervescence, but with bubbles in a state of "free float," fizzy drinks don't fizz. As astronauts found out in the 1980s and '90s when soda made brief appearances in space, warm, flat carbonated drinks don't go down quite as easily as they do back home.

Salt & Pepper

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There's no "sprinkling" in space. Small particles of salt, pepper, or other seasonings would simply float, rather than land on food. Space shuttles do stock salt- and pepper-infused liquid, though.

Check out these incredible pictures of city lights from space.

Fresh Milk

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In place of fresh milk, the dehydrated kind, which takes up only a little space and doesn't require refrigeration, has been a staple of international space missions since the 1960s.

Ice Cream

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The real stuff can't make the trek to outer space—there are no freezers on space shuttles—but freeze-dried astronaut ice cream can and has gone up as dessert.

By the way, in case you were wondering—this is what outer space smells like.

Pizza

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While not exactly banned from space, pizza isn't on astronauts' most requested foods list. "You can't get a crispy crust," says Vicki Kloeris, NASA's Johnson Space Center space food manager. "It's always soggy or chewy. It doesn't meet anyone's expectations."

Here's what it's really like in space, according to NASA.

Alcohol

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In 1972, alcohol (Paul Masson Rare Cream Sherry, to be specific) was on the menu for the upcoming Skylab 4 mission. But when the public got wind of the plan, many sent angry letters to NASA and the idea was nixed. "Astronauts represent a form of purity," said scientist and astronaut Edward G. Gibson. "As soon as you taint that purity with alcohol [some people] really get upset."

Next, don't miss these science facts you never learned in school.