1996 Menu 2 - Tuna With Noodles

Reviews and taste-tests of any MREs from 1981-present
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Biobrew
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1996 Menu 2 - Tuna With Noodles

Post by Biobrew » Tue Mar 07, 2017 1:14 pm

I decided to continue to make my way through the 4 pack of 1996 I purchased. After reviewing the Beef Frankfurters - viewtopic.php?f=10&t=7314 - I next selected the entrée I thought would be least likely to hold up over 20 years - the Tuna with Noodles.
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I apologize for the poor quality of the photos - between the lousy lighting and the dark coloration of the bags, it is impossible to read some of them. The contents of the MRE were as follows:
Tuna w/ Noodles
Fruit (1)
Pound Cake
Cheese Spread
Beverage Base w/sugar
Packet A - coffee
cream sub
sugar
salt
gum
matches
tissue
towelette

The beverage base was orange. Once again, the creamer had hardened. The Tabasco bottle was intact, with no leaks, although the sauce itself had darkened a bit.

I was excited to try the poundcake, so I tore into that first. But I was sorely disappointed. It was grainy and had an awful chemical taste to it, like I had taken a swig from the parts wash down at my local mechanic's shop.
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Then I tried the orange beverage. I noticed that the manufacturer of this beverage base was different then the grape beverage base included in Menu 6 of that year.
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This too had a chemical taste to it. A different chemical than the pound cake - more like leftover dry-cleaning fluid after I get my shirts laundered and pressed.
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The crackers looked fine and tasted just a bit - old. The cheese was . . . .well it was inedible, as you can see. Sorry for the blurry pic, my eyes were watering a bit :lol:
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Biobrew
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Re: 1996 Menu 2 - Tuna With Noodles

Post by Biobrew » Tue Mar 07, 2017 1:22 pm

The mixed fruit didn't hold up much better.
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And finally we come to the entrée, Tuna with Noodles
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No, I didn't taste it. I mean, look at it. I know some of you would have, but given the appearance, its age, and the fact that the first time I ever got food poisoning was from bad tuna, I just couldn't do it.

In the end, the only things that were actually edible were the crackers and the good ole' Tasters Choice coffee. I'm now accumulating a nice little stockpile of towelettes, toilet paper, and matches at my work bench. Hey, you never know.

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Synthpeter
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Re: 1996 Menu 2 - Tuna With Noodles

Post by Synthpeter » Tue Mar 07, 2017 6:50 pm

Urgh, nasty stuff.

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parafireboy
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Re: 1996 Menu 2 - Tuna With Noodles

Post by parafireboy » Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:32 am

Darn, too bad it didn't hold up terribly well. Thanks for checking it out and sharing it with us! :)

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