The meal contained a commercial package of Austin peanut butter crackers, I was surprised how good they were after 15 yrs. I even got my wife to eat one without telling her where it came from, and she was surprised when I told her how old it was. She agreed it was still very good.
The wheat snack bread was still good and tasted basically like a new issue one, with a lil stronger slightly sweet taste. The package of cheese, while the consistency and color had not changed much, had the aroma and flavor of a well aged blue cheese. I personally enjoyed it and like old MRE cheese, but is not for everyone. It was not spoiled though.
The entree tasted like every other spaghetti MRE I ever had. Lots of meat and a few noodles in that generic tomato sauce. I put some tobasco on it, and it tasted fine. MRE entrees seem to last forever, I've had many over 10 yrs old. As long as the packaging is intact the entrees should be fine. The FRH worked, but I also used a Mreinfo forum trick and added a pinch of salt to the heater.
The real surprise was the cocoa beverage powder. I was sure it was gonna be spoiled so I used the smell,taste,wait test to sample it. I ended up drinking the whole thing, it was still good.
Overall I was surprised how well this meal held up over 15 yrs. This is the 2nd meal from this case I've sampled, with basically the same results. I am gonna keep half the case and make 6 available to anyone here that would like to obtain a 2001 mfr MRE. I will send you 1 if you agree to send me something in return. Not particular about what you send in trade, surprise me
Thank you for reading my review. Happy ration hunting!
