U.S. MREs

[Schokakola]

So really what you wise folks are telling me is that what I really need to do is go out and purchase a ton of different MREs and then have a taste testing field day thread, with lots of pictures and opinionated statements in regards to preparation ease and flavor?

I like that idea!

If you order all 24 MREs currently in production, does that ensure that I will receive those 150 side items as well or would it be better to purchase every little thing separately?

What should I expect to pay for these MREs? I figure that a thousand dollars or so spent now, to find out what all I like is better than buying a bunch of stuff that I might not like down the road.

I am very interested in food storage, just as a general rule, as my grandparents and so on before them for generations always made sure that they had ample food stores available to them at all times, just incase disaster struck. I feel compelled to do the same and while I have literally thousands of ordinary canned goods, MREs are completely different and longer lasting.

What is this about carrot cake? That is my favorite dessert. I want to try that one.

What about the rations of foreign countries? The Japanese Imperial Ration from WW2 sounds like the ration I would be the most pleased to receive if I were a Soldier.

I have seen things like canned hamburgers, which sounds like it would be a cruel tease to anyone far away from home in a fox hole, wanting a taste of Americana and thinking he has it, until he actually tries it.

I am sensing an interesting thread to come.

You only need 2 cases (a+b) and you have all meals. If you're in the US that'd be around $120 and in the EU it'd be around €150. Other than a few items (different M&M and pound cake flavors) you'll have everything in current production.

They seem to show up way too often in the cake lottery. I liked them too but after the 10th one they get boring.

We have 2 sections for just that. WWII ration are almost impossible to find tho.

Oh yeah, that hamburger. It ain't even a cruel tease, it's just nasty. viewtopic.php?f=12&t=2526

Is there a way to tell what pound cake or M&Ms are in your MREs without opening the packages? I want to be sure I get everything and I want to do some side by side comparisons.

Are the WWII rations really that hard to find? It is not like they are Revolutionary War or Civil War rations or something. They do not seem like they would be too difficult to recreate, but I wonder if you can get the same kind of shelf life that MREs have?

[housil]

I have seen things like canned hamburgers, which sounds like it would be a cruel tease to anyone far away from home in a fox hole, wanting a taste of Americana and thinking he has it, until he actually tries it.

As "Unimproved" mentioned above, I did the "Hamburger in a can taste test"...

[Unimproved]

So really what you wise folks are telling me is that what I really need to do is go out and purchase a ton of different MREs and then have a taste testing field day thread, with lots of pictures and opinionated statements in regards to preparation ease and flavor?

I like that idea!

If you order all 24 MREs currently in production, does that ensure that I will receive those 150 side items as well or would it be better to purchase every little thing separately?

What should I expect to pay for these MREs? I figure that a thousand dollars or so spent now, to find out what all I like is better than buying a bunch of stuff that I might not like down the road.

I am very interested in food storage, just as a general rule, as my grandparents and so on before them for generations always made sure that they had ample food stores available to them at all times, just incase disaster struck. I feel compelled to do the same and while I have literally thousands of ordinary canned goods, MREs are completely different and longer lasting.

What is this about carrot cake? That is my favorite dessert. I want to try that one.

What about the rations of foreign countries? The Japanese Imperial Ration from WW2 sounds like the ration I would be the most pleased to receive if I were a Soldier.

I have seen things like canned hamburgers, which sounds like it would be a cruel tease to anyone far away from home in a fox hole, wanting a taste of Americana and thinking he has it, until he actually tries it.

I am sensing an interesting thread to come.

You only need 2 cases (a+b) and you have all meals. If you're in the US that'd be around $120 and in the EU it'd be around €150. Other than a few items (different M&M and pound cake flavors) you'll have everything in current production.

They seem to show up way too often in the cake lottery. I liked them too but after the 10th one they get boring.

We have 2 sections for just that. WWII ration are almost impossible to find tho.

Oh yeah, that hamburger. It ain't even a cruel tease, it's just nasty. viewtopic.php?f=12&t=2526

Is there a way to tell what pound cake or M&Ms are in your MREs without opening the packages? I want to be sure I get everything and I want to do some side by side comparisons.

Are the WWII rations really that hard to find? It is not like they are Revolutionary War or Civil War rations or something. They do not seem like they would be too difficult to recreate, but I wonder if you can get the same kind of shelf life that MREs have?

Nope, all you know is there should be a pound cake in there and the supplier decides what flavor goes in. The M&Ms are the same as store-bought ones, nothing special about those. For the rest you can use http://www.mreinfo.com/us/mre/menus-xxxiii-2013.html .

As for WWII rations, there are many of them (http://www.qmfound.com/army_rations_his ... perational Rations in World War II) but many were eaten since there was a shortage. And no, it's not gonna last as long, most were simply cans with beans and such.

[housil]

Are the WWII rations really that hard to find? It is not like they are Revolutionary War or Civil War rations or something. They do not seem like they would be too difficult to recreate, but I wonder if you can get the same kind of shelf life that MREs have?

At least, it´s 70 years ago and over here in Europa, food was short so they ate everything they could get their hands on.
Check out ->this article<- Do you want to give them a try? Let me know - that place is just one hour far from me

Our Grandparents and parents cooked food into Mason jars. They last "for ever". Canned food have a similar shelf life. The problems with cans is, the acid from the food could cause corrosion from inside once the inner cover was damaged. I had swollen and popped open MCI can´s "just" after 25 years. I also had spoiled MREs after 8 years. Shelf life depends to many factors, mostly the storage temperature.

[Schokakola]

I guess I forgot how bad Europe had it after WW2. That would account for the lack of surviving rations, given that 20 million people died of starvation in the war itself, accounting for 1 out of every 3 casualties of the war.

I would love to try my hand at making recreation WW2 rations. I would not dare try any surviving rations, as they are no doubt spoiled by now. The only ration I would try, given the extreme age, would probably be hardbread, hardtack or in some places known as ships biscuits. Those seem like they could hold up for hundreds of years.

Is the gum in MREs really that bad? I once bought some old trading card packs from the 1980's that had sticks of gum in them. I tried to chew the gum, just for fun and since it is mainly made from sugar, which has a long shelf life. The gum literally disintegrated and it was utterly disgusting. Does the same problem exist with MRE gum? I have heard it is hard as a rock sometimes.

[rationtin440]

I think the gum that we got in the MCIs was better, not sure why. There are probably more rumors and gossip about the MRE gum than you could shake a stick at, some of the more popular ones pertaining to how it will nearly instantaneously relieve constipation if chewed in sufficient quantity, or vice-versa (OMG, I sound like Sheldon on "The Big Bang Theory"! ) One thing I will say though; I don't ever recall anyone in any unit I was in actually trading other MRE stuff to get more chewing gum. soooooo......

[Schokakola]

I think the gum that we got in the MCIs was better, not sure why. There are probably more rumors and gossip about the MRE gum than you could shake a stick at, some of the more popular ones pertaining to how it will nearly instantaneously relieve constipation if chewed in sufficient quantity, or vice-versa (OMG, I sound like Sheldon on "The Big Bang Theory"! ) One thing I will say though; I don't ever recall anyone in any unit I was in actually trading other MRE stuff to get more chewing gum. soooooo......

Some persons have a reaction to chewing gum, in that it acts as a laxative. It is not that there is a laxative ingredient, it is that their stomach has difficulty dealing with the air bubbles and ingredients used to sugar and flavor gum.