My first two MREs - opinions

[MRENovice]

Hi,
as you may recall, I bought my first (two!) cases of MREs a while ago.

Well, between yesterday and today I ate two of them.

The first was Menu 24 Southwest beef and black beans.

It contained:

- Mocha cappuccino instant powder - Not bad, a little (a lot) too sweet for me, but it was alright. Came in the handy mix-in-the-pouch thingy which I loved.
- Beef snack bar. This was a complete and utter disappointment. It tasted so much of artifical flavoring that you couldn't even taste the beef. Had to down it with some crackers to dampen the artificial flavoring a bit. The consistency wasn't very beefy either.
- Chocolate banana nut muffin top. Seriously, "chocolate banana nut"? Who comes up with these names? It was a bit dry and crumbly but the taste was very good.
- Cheese spread with jalapenos. It was quite badly separated and I expected it to be a bit more spicy. I didn't really fancy the ultra processed cheese taste, but all in all it went well with some crackers (see later for my take on crackers).
- Beverage base lemonade (in the small pen-style packet). The package had suffered a massive failure (in fact, I suspect it was never sealed) and the powder had clumped up in a single solid piece. I tried dissolving it anyway but it had what to me was a strange taste so I discarded it.
- Apple pieces in spiced sauce. I didn't really like them. The apple/cinnamon coupling was a bit awkward and I think there was some other spice in the sauce that spoiled it for me.
- Tortillas. Very good tasting and soft, they didn't even break down the middle.

And of course,

- The Southwest Beef and Black Beans. This was really good. Not like "good for a canned food" type of good, it was good period. I wished there were more than just 8oz.

This one didn't have any coffee. Maybe because there was the cappuccino powder already? In ended up drinking that before eating it...
And anyway an Italian is never supposed to have cappuccino outside of breakfast. I better hope nobody finds out

I didn't try the gum yet, but it had the one in the clear package (mint or wintergreen?).

All in all I'd say the entree was very good, and everything else was either good or OK except for the apple pieces and the beef snack bar.



The second MRE was Menu 4 Pork sausage in cream gravy.

So... this was very confusing.

I opened the bag only to be greeted with the Pork sausage gravy (Artifically whitened? ) as expected.

But then the next thing was... granola. With milk and blueberries. What?
How am I supposed to eat sausage and granola together?

It also contained a chocolate chip toaster pastry, a beverage base orange, crackers and cheese spread (regular).

Of all this I ate:

- Crackers. Well not much to be said there. They're crackers. A little bit on the bland side but nothing to complain about. I guess if they salted them they wouldn't be good for peanut butter anymore.
- Cheese spread. This one was a lot less separated and I think it might be starting to grow on me. I didn't mind the processed taste.
- Beverage base orange. It tastes very artificial, like a vitamin C tablet or something. I don't mind the taste though; actually I quite like it.

And of course the entree, Pork sausage gravy.

This had an unexpected spiciness to it. Not hot, more like... I don't know, I'd say almost minty? Well not minty, but I don't know how to describe it.
The sausage in itself was a bit bland.

I wasn't too enthustiastic about it at first, but as I ate more of it it grew on me. Again I wished there was more of it, and I actually cut my lip drinking the last bit of gravy from the pouch (yeah, I'm a dumbass, I know )

This one has cinnamon gum in it (red package) coffee and creamer, and I can see the sugar has leaked. There's sugar grains floating all over the place in the accessory packet.

Interestingly the coffee is a Coffee, Instant, Type III and the creamer is a Creamer, non-dairy, dry.
No Taster's Choice.


I haven't tried the granola, cookie and chocolate chip pastry (which I believe is gonna be a poptart, isn't it? I never had one so it's all good ), so I'll get back to you as soon as I do.

So far though, I liked everything in this one.


I really have only one complaint so far: it seems to me that there isn't NEARLY enough crackers/tortillas/whatever bread-type component in these MREs.
I don't like to eat a gigantic blob of cheese spread with half a cracker, so for menu 4 I used up all the crackers for the cheese spread, and I had to use some extra from my kitchen for the sausage in gravy.
For the southwest beef I saved the tortilla for the beef and beans, and again ate the cheese spread with some crackers of my own.

Does anyone share this feeling?
Why don't they put more crackers in them?

[Tulahex]

Awesome review!
I absolutely agree with you about the crackers.... Would like to see at lease four when they include cheese spread but that's just my opinion

[Norton]

To my Italian friend. First I enjoyed your detailed review.
Must agree, I wish they placed two pouches of crackers in the MRE.
I also think the beef snack bar is very poor. But do not judge American Jerky type products from that. We make good Civilian bars
I would think the U.S. could purchase high quality bars, but sometimes they make mistakes

Southwest beef and black beans is one of my favorites for winter camping, tastes good with Tabasco and U.S. MRE crackers work well as an extender


The Sausage gravy is white from being made from enriched bleached flour. When this dish is made in civilian home it is made from the left over sausage grease mixed with white flour,salt and a bit of milk in same frying pan. Then a huge amount of Black pepper.The original did not even contain much sausage The idea was get a second meal out of the first. They would pour this on stale bread hard biscuits in 1880's frontier days. Same meal was made with dried beef and eaten the same way, spooned over bread toast or biscuits

In modern times 1930's to 1970's it would have a large amount of crumbled pieces of sausage and be spooned on toast .
Good meal for farmer, hunters, construction workers or military personnel in mess hall. We also would have this meal brought in trucks and dished out on bread as breakfast. For us it is something to fill you up and keep you full. If you every get this meal again try it with Russian IRP Black Pepper, they have good strong pepper. I like this meal for camping trips and use it on US MRE Biscuits.

[RockyRaab]

Good job, Novice!

As you struggle down (but usually UP - and steep!) the long trail of military rations, remember that every step you take farther from real meals, the better rations taste. Or, if in doubt just read the website slogan again.

I agree wholeheartedly that Southwest Beef and BBs is great. And also that MRE plastic cheese does seem to grow on you. I have a sausage and gravy meal in my stash but I'm saving it for a long fishing trip because breakfast MREs are darn far and few between. The granola? think of it as a first breakfast. Or a second one after the sausage and gravy has worn off.

[MRENovice]

The granola? think of it as a first breakfast. Or a second one after the sausage and gravy has worn off.

Yeah, you could eat them at separate times but I don't think soldiers in the field have that luxury
I guess I'm just not used to the American way of eating breakfast.

I mean, I usually don't even actually do eat breakfast, I just get a coffee when I get to work, at most accompanied by a sad prepackaged croissant from the vending machine.

I could be fine with either eating milk and cereals for breakfast, or eating sausages.
I just can't figure eating sausages and milk together...

I also think the beef snack bar is very poor. But do not judge American Jerky type products from that. We make good Civilian bars

Good! I always wanted to try some american beef jerky. While beef jerky is so popular in the states, it's almost impossible to find here. I've only had it like twice in my life.

The Sausage gravy is white from being made from enriched bleached flour.

This is a use of chemistry I really don't understand. Who cares if the gravy is white or beige? Why go to the lengths of bleaching flour just to change the color?

When this dish is made in civilian home it is made from the left over sausage grease mixed with white flour,salt and a bit of milk in same frying pan. Then a huge amount of Black pepper.The original did not even contain much sausage The idea was get a second meal out of the first. They would pour this on stale bread hard biscuits in 1880's frontier days. Same meal was made with dried beef and eaten the same way, spooned over bread toast or biscuits

Interesting bit of trivia. All cultures around the world have methods to reuse leftover foods.
In Italy a popular one is to make an omelette with them.

[Delicious]

I was also a little bit disapointed with the US MREs, but...., when you taste MRE's you have to face three factors:
1. this is a shelf-stable/eternal food - this requires to use some preservatives or methods, which makes the food not tasty as the fresh ones (e.g. the pasta is overcooked)
2. this is targeted to a veeeeerry wide group of recipients -this means - the taste should be an "average" - is more blunt/not spicy etc. - it has to match different tastes - the same is valid for the ready made food , what you can buy in the shops. Of course the Asian dishes will be different form the european/american
3. The taste (and "what is tasty") differs from country to country. Especially for countries with big cuisine traditions like Italy, France some taste combinations can be strange.
I'm interested what will be your opinion on the eastern rations.

[housil]

3. The taste (and "what is tasty") differs from country to country. Especially for countries with big cuisine traditions like Italy, France some taste combinations can be strange.
I'm interested what will be your opinion on the eastern rations.

I think that´s the main reason.

To me, Asian ones are "strange" and mostly way to hot/spicy.
Eastern ones have (for me) too much fat.

MREs are either hot or bland, but never salty. That´s because due to US food recommendations "salt" harms the body.

[gundog4314]

The problem I see with Field/Combat rations is they are designed by a dietitian in an office based off a highly subjective set of guidelines for "a healthy diet" for a particular lifestyle. That is forwarded to a bureaucracy that decides how it should be packaged, what environments does it need to survive in, how long the contents should last for full nutritional value before they degrade, what types of meals should be made and to who's palate and finally cost.

Then once all this is decided it goes to bid. Now bidding for these contracts isn't as bad as it used to be as far as the lowest bidder as the new practice is awarded for "Best Value". The vendor winning the award/contract now has to factor in their pricing for producing the product, overhead for the production facility, transportation of the product and labor. You could imagine at least 50% falls into this category, at least. In fact some rations like the First Strike Ration are produced in pieces, shipped separately and assembled at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, to be shipped again.The recipes they use are all to spec issued by the government and Department of Defense. They have to be bland so they they can be made available through a wide range of palates. So when the end user or the soldier gets it he better have his spice pantry ready to doctor it up.

At least if your country uses commercial off the shelf items, you know the company is trying to sell a decent product to the consumer cause they are trying to make a buck.

I know this incredibly simplified, but do a social experiment in your own homes. There are 3 of us living in mine, plus 2 dogs and a cat. The 3 humans all have grossly different palates. Me I love spicy, curry and acidic pasta sauces. The other half hates spicy, and acidity gives her heart burn. The boy likes anything out of a frozen box and has too little time to be associated with us as we are "embarrassing".

As far as the perfect ration....it is elusive. The only perfect one for each of us has to be tailor made with your own personal likes and favorites.

[RockyRaab]

gundog, my tastes are simple: if it's slower than I am, it's lunch.