THE FUTURE IS here, friends.

Soldiers have been asking for pizza to be included in their field rations since canned food was replaced with ready-to-eat meals back in the ’80s.

However for a long time scientists were thwarted by the moisture in tomato sauce, cheese and toppings, which over time seeps into the dough, allowing mould and bacteria to breed.

But now, researchers at a US military lab are finally closing in on a pizza recipe that stays fresh without refrigeration or freezing.

Food scientist Michelle Richardson explains:

You can basically take the pizza, leave it on the counter, packaged, for three years and it would still be edible.

To do this scientists have tweaked the acidity of the sauce, cheese and dough to make it harder for bacteria to thrive, and added ingredients like sugar, salt and syrups, which stop moisture from getting to the dough.

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That’s all well and good, but IS IT TASTY?

Scientist Jill Bates, who runs the lab, said she was happy with the taste of the last prototype batch.

It pretty much tastes just like a typical pan pizza that you would make at home and take out of the oven or the toaster oven. The only thing missing from that experience would be it’s not hot when you eat it. It’s room temperature.

And what of the crust? Bates says it’s “a little moist, and not super crispy.”

Hmm. We do like our crispy crust. Back to the drawing board, boffins.

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