Article: The Combat Ration Collectors Who Eat Decades-Old Military Meals

[kman]

Hi all. I wanted to point out this article that just got published online today. It looks like Steve and I (and possibly another forums member or two) got interviewed for it:

The Combat Ration Collectors Who Eat Decades-Old Military Meals
By Ella Morton
May 02, 2016
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/th ... tary-meals

Intro:

Even if they’ve been baked to perfection and stored in an airtight tin, cookies just don’t taste so scrumptious when they’re 71 years old. Youtube user Steve1989 can tell you this from personal experience.

In January, Steve—who keeps his last name secret—uploaded a video to YouTube in which he opened a tin of Canadian army rations that had been packaged in 1945. “Oh, man. Those smell awful,” he said, as he unwrapped the foil surrounding a dozen cookies.

He tasted one.

“Hmm. That’s pretty disgusting.”

Click here to read more

[gschultz9]

Thanks kman! It's pretty cool to see an article like that published about our "odd" little hobby! I'm glad they went straight to the source and interviewed you for the piece. I was also interviewed. Steve can confirm or deny, but I don't believe he was interviewed. The author mentioned to me that she reached out to him, but didn't hear back (at least as of Friday). The quotes attributed to him seem to be direct quotes from his reviews on YouTube. But either way, I thought it was a good article that put the information out there plainly without trying to make us all look like a bunch of loonies or anything!

[Name_not_found]

Nice, decent article too.

Glad youtube has brought so much attention, to think i ate 25 year old schweinefleisch and only took pictures lol

[kman]

Thanks, gschultz9. I saw you mentioned in that article a good bit but didn't want to call you out directly in the forums in case you were trying to keep a low profile. But the cat's out of the bag now! Good job by you, too!

[gschultz9]

Thank you kman. I had them keep me anonymous as far as my real name, but I don't mind the "gschultz9" name being bandied about! I'm especially glad that they went to you directly so we could really learn about the true genesis of the ration community.

[parafireboy]

Great article! Like gschultz9 mentioned, it's nice that it was written well and not making the ration community sound like a bunch of wackos. It's great they gave credit to kman, since he started the ball rolling with this website, and gschultz9 and steve1989, who are some of the pioneers of the YouTube ration reviews.

[Norton]

Kman
I enjoyed reading this article and felt they treated us very fair.
This paragraph is very accurate

This less-than-appetizing meal might be assumed to have little appeal outside the military. But civilians are interested in MREs for a few reasons. Some are ex-military, and develop a nostalgic curiosity. Others are concerned with emergency preparedness. Still others fall into a YouTube hole, end up watching a guy sample a vacuum-packed tuna-noodle entree from 1989, and get hooked on the MRE buy-swap-sell phenomenon.

Both Steve1989's and gschultz9 written and youtube reviews are perfect examples of good on line reviews for taste and research to the lifespan of military rations

I would add their are some active duty , reserves or veterans from different nations that are interested in international rations.
Historical information in the area of field feeding and information from different national points of view
Some Hunters, fishermen, 4x4 and off road enthusiasts are interested in this subject

Also people like me who camp,canoe, hike and enjoy eating outdoors. I am interested in both military and civilian ready to eat meals
Any outdoor event the meal is the thing you look forward to at days end and a flavorful, easy to prepare balanced meal is important
We all gain a great deal from on line reviews and posting, This forum is a fantastic resource for me
I took some of my Russian IRP entrees on a two canoe canoe trip with 12 of my old friends. They were very interested in the Russian products and some were impressed with the improvements made to U.S. MRE components since the Brown bag days.

[RC Gusto]

Fantastic exposure. Good work everyone. You all inspired me to step into the review community. Steve1989--thank you for being me biggest supporter. This has been a great adventure that just keeps getting better, and it is because of the people in this community. Keep up the great work everyone!

[BlackDogBob]

Great article. I think they caught the essence of the hobby.

[RockyRaab]

I'll go read it in a minute. I spend part of almost every day watching a video ration review. I started doing so to find out which current MRE/TOTM tastes better than others, but soon got hooked into watching the vintage reviews, too. I enjoy eating MRE/TOTMs but do so almost exclusively while fishing in my kayak. Since I can buy current production meals I wouldn't be interested in risking old ones. I don't do video reviews but I'd love to try some international meals. That is NOT a subtle hint to have somebody send me one, please note. I'm just saying I'd find one interesting.

Anyway, thanks to you folks who do videos. I applaud your courage (or deplore your judgement!) in consuming the really old stuff. Please keep it up.