What Do You Eat in Antarctica? | Antarctic Extremes — Transcript

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1. 0:00- [Arlo] Antarctica is a continent
2. 0:02where basically no food grows.
3. 0:05(calm instrumental music)
4. 0:07- Penguins regurgitate seafood (penguin growls)
5. 0:09to feed their young.
6. 0:10And we caught a bird feasting on the placenta
7. 0:14of a newborn seal.
8. 0:15(bird caws)
9. 0:17- [Arlo] You could say options are pretty limited here.
10. 0:21So, what are we, now hardened Antarctic explorers,
11. 0:25supposed to eat?
12. 0:32- From the moment we landed--
13. 0:34What's this?
14. 0:35Arlo and I were basically obsessed with food.
15. 0:39Stop eating nuts.
16. 0:40We're about to order a pizza.
17. 0:41(muffled speaking)
18. 0:43- [Caitlin] If you're gonna get a slice of pizza
19. 0:4420 minutes before dinnertime
20. 0:46I'm at least gonna shame you about it. Ew!
21. 0:49For good reason.
22. 0:51- That's the fuel, yeah.
23. 0:53- [Caitlin] Tom Senty is the culinary manager
24. 0:55at McMurdo Station.
25. 0:57- The amount of calories needed for somebody
26. 0:59working out in the deep field can be 32
27. 1:02to almost 5,000 calories everyday.
28. 1:04- [Arlo] For context, the USDA recommends average adults
29. 1:07to consume between 1,600 and 3,000 calories per day.
30. 1:12(shovel whooshes) Not only is working
31. 1:13down here, just by nature, very physically demanding
32. 1:16but the extreme cold (wind blows)
33. 1:17also itself causes you to burn more calories to keep warm.
34. 1:21- And we're not just making this up.
35. 1:23Loads of scientific research supports it.
36. 1:26(bells ding)
37. 1:29So we craved food, especially carbs,
38. 1:32all the time.
39. 1:35There's like three more pounds of pasta in there.
40. 1:37- [Arlo] And it's not just us.
41. 1:39- My second year, I decided to go on a diet
42. 1:41and my diet meant no thirds.
43. 1:43- No what?
44. 1:44- No thirds. - No thirds.
45. 1:45(people laugh) - You still have seconds.
46. 1:46- So.
47. 1:47(upbeat instrumental music)
48. 1:49- [Arlo] The station is home to around 900 people in summer
49. 1:53so the kitchen staff is responsible for feeding
50. 1:56a lot of very hungry mouths.
51. 1:59- [Caitlin] And a huge amount of food needs to be prepared
52. 2:02to keep the station running.
53. 2:05Wow, this is big.
54. 2:07Everything in here is like supersized.
55. 2:09- Yes. - Like that is a tub of chips.
56. 2:12And that takes a lot of planning.
57. 2:13- So we're creeping on almost thinking a million meals out
58. 2:16to make sure I don't run out of bacon right at the end,
59. 2:19if you will.
60. 2:20- [Caitlin] A massive food order is placed in May
61. 2:22for the following year.
62. 2:24All the food then gets shipped down on a boat
63. 2:26that arrives in January, and that food
64. 2:29needs to feed the population for the next year.
65. 2:32That's unfathomable. (machines whir)
66. 2:34You're planning for a million meals 18 months in advance.
67. 2:37- Right.
68. 2:37- [Arlo] So, how do they do it?
69. 2:39What is the secret sauce?
70. 2:41(muffled speaking)
71. 2:43- Our first clue can be found here,
72. 2:45(peaceful instrumental music)
73. 2:47in the historically preserved hut of Robert Falcon Scott.
74. 2:50So is everything that we're seeing in here vintage from--
75. 2:53- Yes, it's exactly as--
76. 2:54- So like that pot.
77. 2:56- That pot, yeah.
78. 2:56- Scott used that pot.
79. 2:57- Yeah, Scott used that pot.
80. 2:59- And this table.
81. 3:00Oh sorry, I probably wasn't supposed to touch it.
82. 3:02(Michael laughs)
83. 3:03We'll cut that part out.
84. 3:04- [Arlo] Scott's team was
85. 3:05one of the earliest (Caitlin laughs)
86. 3:06to explore the continent.
87. 3:07- Okay, I told you I'd cook you something. (laughs)
88. 3:10- [Arlo] And some of their provisions
89. 3:11are literally still on the shelf.
90. 3:13Hold it.
91. 3:16All right, no wait, come back.
92. 3:17Where you going?
93. 3:18All right, I just wanna point out how Heinz was still
94. 3:22a thing at this time. (Caitlin laughs)
95. 3:24- Pickling, canning, jarring, and other methods
96. 3:27kept these foods shelf-stable for those explorers,
97. 3:31and they're still here today.
98. 3:33Anchovy paste, gooseberry, pickles,
99. 3:38those are a big thing here. - What do you think that is?
100. 3:39- [Caitlin] They're kinda my favorite Antarctica food.
101. 3:42I wonder if this stuff is still edible,
102. 3:45like can you eat something that was pickled
103. 3:47a hundred years ago?
104. 3:49- [Arlo] You could try. (laughs)
105. 3:51- Somebody in the galley mentioned to me
106. 3:52that expiration dates are not really a thing.
107. 3:55- [Michael] That's true.
108. 3:56- [Arlo] That might sound like an exaggeration
109. 3:58but it's no joke.
110. 4:00Expiration dates are actually just ignored down here.
111. 4:03- I've had like a sandwich in my backpack
112. 4:07that I've had for a month and I still would not hesitate
113. 4:10to eat that thing.
114. 4:12- [Arlo] We were told that they're more of a suggestion.
115. 4:15(engine roars)
116. 4:16- What's your expiration date?
117. 4:18- It's rubbed off.
118. 4:20I think it's 10 June 2015.
119. 4:23And that's just something we had to embrace.
120. 4:26- [Zac] How's it taste?
121. 4:27- Like cardboard with a slight peanut butter tinge.
122. 4:30And it's not just bars.
123. 4:32Would you like a bite?
124. 4:33- [Zac] You're really selling it.
125. 4:34(Caitlin laughs)
126. 4:35(upbeat instrumental music) - Even in the McMurdo galley
127. 4:37a lot of the food that's served is expired.
128. 4:41- Expired food is something that you've been eating
129. 4:45the entire time you're here.
130. 4:46- Yeah, I noticed. (laughs)
131. 4:49- It's inevitable.
132. 4:50Lots of categories like cheese, for instance,
133. 4:52that cheese will get down here already expired.
134. 4:54We haven't even gotten it here yet and it's already expired.
135. 4:57Just because it takes longer than that to even get here.
136. 5:00So we freeze the cheese.
137. 5:02- The second secret to Antarctic cuisine,
138. 5:04freeze it.
139. 5:05This is a massive amount of meat.
140. 5:06- And you can feel it's still pretty frozen.
141. 5:08- This is just one.
142. 5:10There's a tub full of them.
143. 5:12Fortunately, there is no shortage of cold space here
144. 5:15and this is part of why eating expired food is okay.
145. 5:20We all know that food rots
146. 5:21if left out at room temperature.
147. 5:23(liquid splashes) Freezing food can slow
148. 5:25the biological activity that makes food spoil.
149. 5:28- [Arlo] So what Caitlin is trying to say is
150. 5:29freezing food makes food last longer.
151. 5:31(bell dings)
152. 5:32- [Caitlin] The challenge down here
153. 5:33is actually thawing the food.
154. 5:35- We'll have to turn on that heater
155. 5:36because that much frozen food
156. 5:38will bring down the temperature in this cooler
157. 5:40to so low that it won't thaw.
158. 5:42- You actually have to heat your refrigerators
159. 5:44in Antarctica.
160. 5:45- Yes, exactly.
161. 5:46- Wow. (cheerful instrumental music)
162. 5:47In the McMurdo galley, lots of foods like vegetables
163. 5:50and meat arrive frozen and are thawed when needed.
164. 5:53- [Man] Oh man--
165. 5:54- [Caitlin] Frozen veggies.
166. 5:56The third secret of Antarctic cooking, recycle food.
167. 6:00- [Arlo] Yep, you heard that right, recycle.
168. 6:03- Well, I mean we are in Antarctica, it's harsh continent,
169. 6:06we can't just run down to whatever grocery store is near by
170. 6:09and pick up more product.
171. 6:10- [Caitlin] So you're taking the leftovers
172. 6:11and you're just gonna repurpose them
173. 6:13and put them right back out there.
174. 6:14- [Justin] Just repurpose,
175. 6:14bringing it back up to temperature,
176. 6:15throw a little cheese on it,
177. 6:16makes it look like it's hot and fresh and ready to go
178. 6:19and people eat it up.
179. 6:20- Add cheese, just add cheese, that's the trick.
180. 6:23Sometimes the food is delicious.
181. 6:26Oh, this is what I helped
182. 6:27when we saw them cooking in the back.
183. 6:28- [Arlo] Sometimes, it kinda feels like, well,
184. 6:31frozen then thawed then recycled food.
185. 6:33Ah, I think I'm good. (laughs)
186. 6:35- I'm definitely getting some bread.
187. 6:37Hey, guys.
188. 6:38- [Man] Hi.
189. 6:39- I was okay with the vegetables for like the first few days
190. 6:42and then after about three days of frozen vegetables,
191. 6:45you're like, it's really like eating your vegetables.
192. 6:47- There was a line for spinach.
193. 6:50- Raw spinach. (laughs) - Raw spinach.
194. 6:52Like, there is never a line for spinach anywhere
195. 6:54except in here in Antarctica.
196. 6:56- [Man] It's been a while since we've had
197. 6:58just green beans though.
198. 6:59It was just green beans for like seven days in a row.
199. 7:01- [Caitlin] After a while, it gets tiring, huh?
200. 7:03- [Man] You just lower your standards.
201. 7:05Get used to it. (Caitlin laughs)
202. 7:06- You make do and the galley does what they can
203. 7:08with what they have.
204. 7:09- [Caitlin] But there are some ways
205. 7:11that the McMurdo kitchen truly shines.
206. 7:13- [Man] When there's chicken tenders for lunch
207. 7:15I have a better day.
208. 7:15- Taco Tuesdays. - Chicken tenders for that.
209. 7:17- [Caitlin] What is it with the chicken tenders?
210. 7:18- [Man] They're so good.
211. 7:19- [Hooded Man] What is it not with the chicken tenders?
212. 7:20- [Caitlin] See, now I get excited.
213. 7:21- [Arlo] Aside from the chicken tenders,
214. 7:23it's a carb factory.
215. 7:25- [Caitlin] Vats of pasta are made everyday.
216. 7:28They have a bakery with four bakers.
217. 7:30Fresh desserts and artisan bread are made from scratch.
218. 7:34- And perhaps the biggest crowd pleaser--
219. 7:36McMurdo Pizza, this is Bill, how can I help you?
220. 7:39Pizza.
221. 7:40They bake about 18,000 pizzas a year.
222. 7:42So how long you been doing this?
223. 7:43- So this is my fourth season coming down.
224. 7:46- Well pizza, McMurdo pizza, we call it the McMurdo garnish
225. 7:51because we have pizza fresh right there,
226. 7:54right as you walk by it.
227. 7:56So often, people walk by and take a quick gander
228. 7:58and they realize there's fresh, hot pizza
229. 8:01sitting right there so they may go over and grab one piece
230. 8:04and slide it right onto the top of their plate
231. 8:06with all of the food.
232. 8:08- [Caitlin] And it's delicious, it's fresh baked.
233. 8:09- It's amazing, yeah.
234. 8:10- [Caitlin] Not frozen and rethawed.
235. 8:12- Oh no.
236. 8:13- [Caitlin] Not expired.
237. 8:13- We don't have room in our freezer to buy frozen pizzas.
238. 8:16(Caitlin laughs)
239. 8:17- It was so good that I ate an embarrassing amount
240. 8:20of pizza on this trip.
241. 8:23Hey, is this the line to order a pizza?
242. 8:26So we'll do pineapple on half, anchovies on the other half.
243. 8:29Do you have whole wheat pizza dough?
244. 8:30And it's not the kind of food I usually eat at home.
245. 8:34I'm more of a fruits and veggies kind of girl.
246. 8:40(plane whooshes)
247. 8:43In summer, when the big C-17 planes can land on the ice,
248. 8:47they can bring fresh food, or freshies as they're called.
249. 8:50(muffled speaking)
250. 8:51Stuff like veggies, eggs, and fruit.
251. 8:53And it is coveted.
252. 8:55We haven't had
253. 8:56any fresh food in-- - Wait, one more.
254. 8:57- Stop, you're a pig. (Man laughs)
255. 9:00And we haven't had
256. 9:01any fresh food (door clacks)
257. 9:02for, what was it, a week?
258. 9:03- [Arlo] 10 days.
259. 9:04- 10 days.
260. 9:05- [Arlo] Did we wash these?
261. 9:08- Time for a quick tour of camp.
262. 9:10While McMurdo is equipped with an industrial kitchen--
263. 9:13Welcome to the Whillans Ice Stream.
264. 9:15(upbeat instrumental music)
265. 9:16A lot of scientists are living and working at field sites
266. 9:19far from the station.
267. 9:26And for them, the food situation is a bit different.
268. 9:30Hello Marino.
269. 9:32- [Marino] You're not recording, right.
270. 9:32- [Arlo] I am recording, in fact.
271. 9:34- [Caitlin] Before they head out into the field--
272. 9:36- So down this aisle we have teas and Gatorade.
273. 9:39- [Caitlin] They pass through McMurdo
274. 9:40and pick up everything they'll need.
275. 9:42Oh peanut butter, that's important.
276. 9:43- Peanut butter and jam. - Very important.
277. 9:45- [Bija] So a lot of the condiments.
278. 9:46- Peanut butter and jelly, that's gonna be my staple
279. 9:48when I'm out there.
280. 9:49- Yeah, so we have basically shelves and shelves
281. 9:51of all of the different types of food that folks would need
282. 9:56to make a pretty good meal out in the field.
283. 10:00So there's cereal, there's chips, there's crackers--
284. 10:03- [Caitlin] And because they especially will be working
285. 10:05and living out in the cold--
286. 10:07- Dehydrated.
287. 10:08- [Caitlin] They get access to this shelf.
288. 10:10- I love the Bumper Bars, too.
289. 10:11I don't know if you all have had Bumper Bars.
290. 10:14- So I've been saying to everybody where I go
291. 10:16that I feel like a kid in a candy shop,
292. 10:17now I'm like actually a kid in a candy shop here.
293. 10:20- (laughs) It's all the bars.
294. 10:23It's all the bars, it's all he sweet treats.
295. 10:25What do you think? - I am not endorsing
296. 10:26this product but it's very good.
297. 10:29(laughter)
298. 10:32- [Arlo] They are also provided with frozen foods like meat,
299. 10:36and depending on the size of the camp,
300. 10:38they might get a small kitchen or even a grill.
301. 10:41I feel spoiled now.
302. 10:42- Yeah, we're super spoiled out here.
303. 10:44- [Arlo] Often, scientists have to cook their own food.
304. 10:47So what are another examples of recipes that you make?
305. 10:50In the past, we've made a lot of pizza on the grill.
306. 10:52Lots of pasta, pretty much anything with carbs and protein.
307. 10:56- Hold on, hold on, you cook pasta on the grill?
308. 10:57- No, not on the grill.
309. 10:58No, yeah, we have some nice Coleman camping stoves inside
310. 11:01to boil up a bunch of water. (stove whooshes)
311. 11:03Yeah, (grill sizzles)
312. 11:04it's a pretty nice setup.
313. 11:05- And they can eat pretty well.
314. 11:06Man, this whole time I thought you guys
315. 11:08were suffering out here.
316. 11:09- [Shane] Oh yeah, I wouldn't say we're suffering, at all.
317. 11:11No, it's pretty nice.
318. 11:15- [Man] Shane, you are the man.
319. 11:18Thank you. (door creaks)
320. 11:19- [Tom] Food is the morale.
321. 11:21- [Server] Here you go. (laughs)
322. 11:23- You know, morale equals food, food equals morale.
323. 11:25They go hand in hand and that's always so true.
324. 11:29Down here, it goes a long way.
325. 11:31- [Arlo] Food down here isn't just about calories.
326. 11:34(muffled speaking)
327. 11:35More than ever, food makes people happy.
328. 11:38- It is fun to make some fresh muffins
329. 11:41and see a smile on someone's face
330. 11:43who was just staying up all night working on their samples.
331. 11:46- [Caitlin] And it brings people together.
332. 11:48How long do they need? (oven door creaks)
333. 11:49Both in the field--
334. 11:50- My parents actually have a pizzeria back at home
335. 11:52so I'm very used to this all-pizza all the time diet.
336. 11:55- I'll do seven days of pizza with you right now.
337. 11:56- There we go, deal.
338. 11:57(men laugh)
339. 11:58- [Man] I'm in.
340. 11:59- [Arlo] And in McMurdo.
341. 12:00- [Caitlin] And the way to make friends,
342. 12:03(woman laughs)
343. 12:04especially when heading out into the field--
344. 12:06- Oh, I can't believe it. - It's the door in front
345. 12:08of the little-- - Oh, I can't believe it.
346. 12:10- [Caitlin] Is to bring them some good food.
347. 12:12- (laughs) Ooh hoo hoo.
348. 12:17- [Caitlin] While not much grows in Antarctica today,
349. 12:20that actually wasn't always the case.
350. 12:23Antarctica used to be green
351. 12:25and filled with massive dinosaurs
352. 12:26that feasted on lush vegetation.
353. 12:29Wanna know more?
354. 12:30Check out NOVA's "Polar Extremes"
355. 12:32and follow paleontologist Kirk Johnson as he uncovers
356. 12:36the surprising climate history of the poles
357. 12:38and investigates how the polar past might hold the key
358. 12:42to predicting our climate's future.