2012 menu 18 beef ravioli

[Basementcat]

Hey all back with another review. This time for a 2012 menu 18 beef ravioli.

Standard packaging pic.


It's ameriqual so it has the inner bag as well.


Contents include:
Beef ravioli entree
Whole grain snack bread
Cheese spread
Cranberries,osmotic
Corn nuggets
Orange beverage powder
Acc bag
Frh
Hot beverage bag
Spoon

Here's a shot of the contents spread out.


I decided to have the ravioli, snack bread, cheese spread, and orange beverage for lunch. Here's a shot of it all. (Thanks to Steve1989 for the awesome tray. Just need a cup to match it)


On to the flavor. As always I try it first with no additions then after I use the included seasonings etc.
the ravioli with nothing added was pretty plain. Tasted like typical canned ravioli but much less salt. Not a lot of flavor. Texture was softer than most canned ravioli. Not bad. Not amazing. I'd give it a c to c+.

Next I tried the snack bread with the cheese spread. This one was alright. Not great but definitely had the salt that was lacking in the ravioli. The bread is very dense. The cheese highly salty. Alright overal.

I then took the salt packet and added some to the ravioli and some of the hot sauce.


With the additional salt it gave it a much better flavor. The hot sauce didn't do much. It sort of ruined it for me. I'm not a fan of the highly vinegar flavor of tobacco type sauce. Love spice. Don't love vinegar.

Next wast the orange bervage.


I didn't like this much to be honest. Maybe I used a bit too much water but not sure. It was pretty bland. Definitely had an orange flavor but highly artificial. It was alright.

Here's a pic of the included accessories.


Typical accessories. Including some coffee I've yet to try. I had the cranberries and corn nuggets later as snacks. They were the typical cranberries. Very tart but sweet from the sugar osmosis process they use to dry them. The corn nuggets are like slightly softer corn nuts. Probably the best thing in this whole mre.

Overall I'd say this was a decent meal. Nothing special. Would I eat it again? Probably but I wouldn't exactly pick it if I had a choice. Would this raise my moral in the field? Maybe. The entree wasn't great but the other stuff was pretty decent. Not a bad little meal.

[Evergreen21]

Nice review! I hear you on the tabasco, spice is nice but the vinegar taste not so much.

[Basementcat]

Nice review! I hear you on the tabasco, spice is nice but the vinegar taste not so much.

Thank you! Glad to know I'm not alone.

[steve1989]

Loving these reviews, basementcat!

To really spice up some of those MRE entrees, some good old chili powder is better. But so many times we're given tobasco which really isn't always the best thing for them. That vinegar is enough to make ya cough if you catch the wrong whiff of it.

US MRE drink mixes are so.. colorful! But not much else. So much food dye and sugar. But natural flavors are sparse at best.

Still looking for my melmac mess cup for ya. I think it may have been given away but then again, maybe it's hiding in a box somewhere.

[Simon2002mre]

Great job on your review, I do like that Tabasco sauce, but personally chili powder gives me the flavor I need. Other than that it looked like a great meal!
Have a good one

[Basementcat]

Loving these reviews, basementcat!

To really spice up some of those MRE entrees, some good old chili powder is better. But so many times we're given tobasco which really isn't always the best thing for them. That vinegar is enough to make ya cough if you catch the wrong whiff of it.

US MRE drink mixes are so.. colorful! But not much else. So much food dye and sugar. But natural flavors are sparse at best.

Still looking for my melmac mess cup for ya. I think it may have been given away but then again, maybe it's hiding in a box somewhere.

I'd have to agree that chili powder would be better. I use my own blend of Carolina reaper powder and other spices that I've dried and made up. I'll have to send you some if you're interested. It's extremely hot. The drinks are sort of ok. They're definitely not great. Not sure why they would give out something so colorful though. Seems to go against the whole olive drab and brown of everything else. A melmac mess cup would be great. I may have to scour eBay to find one whenever I get a few bucks.

[Basementcat]

Great job on your review, I do like that Tabasco sauce, but personally chili powder gives me the flavor I need. Other than that it looked like a great meal!
Have a good one

It was a decent meal. Chili powder would have gotten me by far better than Tabasco.

[Simon2002mre]

Loving these reviews, basementcat!

To really spice up some of those MRE entrees, some good old chili powder is better. But so many times we're given tobasco which really isn't always the best thing for them. That vinegar is enough to make ya cough if you catch the wrong whiff of it.

US MRE drink mixes are so.. colorful! But not much else. So much food dye and sugar. But natural flavors are sparse at best.

Still looking for my melmac mess cup for ya. I think it may have been given away but then again, maybe it's hiding in a box somewhere.

I'd have to agree that chili powder would be better. I use my own blend of Carolina reaper powder and other spices that I've dried and made up. I'll have to send you some if you're interested. It's extremely hot. The drinks are sort of ok. They're definitely not great. Not sure why they would give out something so colorful though. Seems to go against the whole olive drab and brown of everything else. A melmac mess cup would be great. I may have to scour eBay to find one whenever I get a few bucks.

Hey there, I have a surplus store here right by my house and I can look for those cups for you. Would you rather have one like this,

s-l300.jpg (14.38 KiB) Viewed 8592 times

or this

rsz_set-of-4-halsey-us-amry-mililtary-1973-mess-hall-melamine-melmac-brown-mugs-cups-7d16365ddd1872aaa3e2ebf8790d638c.jpg (11.37 KiB) Viewed 8592 times

lemme know and I can always look!
Have a good one

[Basementcat]

Loving these reviews, basementcat!

To really spice up some of those MRE entrees, some good old chili powder is better. But so many times we're given tobasco which really isn't always the best thing for them. That vinegar is enough to make ya cough if you catch the wrong whiff of it.

US MRE drink mixes are so.. colorful! But not much else. So much food dye and sugar. But natural flavors are sparse at best.

Still looking for my melmac mess cup for ya. I think it may have been given away but then again, maybe it's hiding in a box somewhere.

I'd have to agree that chili powder would be better. I use my own blend of Carolina reaper powder and other spices that I've dried and made up. I'll have to send you some if you're interested. It's extremely hot. The drinks are sort of ok. They're definitely not great. Not sure why they would give out something so colorful though. Seems to go against the whole olive drab and brown of everything else. A melmac mess cup would be great. I may have to scour eBay to find one whenever I get a few bucks.

Hey there, I have a surplus store here right by my house and I can look for those cups for you. Would you rather have one like this,
s-l300.jpg
or this
rsz_set-of-4-halsey-us-amry-mililtary-1973-mess-hall-melamine-melmac-brown-mugs-cups-7d16365ddd1872aaa3e2ebf8790d638c.jpg
lemme know and I can always look!
Have a good one

The plastic type ones are what I'm looking for. In that color exactly actually. Though the canteen cup would be fine too. Just something better than a water bottle lol. I'd surely appreciate it. The closest surplus store to me is around 3 to 3 and half hours away and they're more of a camping supply store than anything else it seems like these days. I'm on limited income otherwise I'd just drive and find one or use eBay. I'm sure I'll end up doing the eBay route eventually. Just need to get a few extra bucks up which is tough especially since back to school just tapped us out for our two girls. Soon though I hope. Borrowed a video camera from a friend so I'll be setting up to do video reviews soon. I love this community so far and want to be able to do as much as I can to give back. Such a great group of folks. Thanks for the offer of help. Just let me know if you find something and I'll see what I might be able to pay or trade. Appreciate it highly.

[Simon2002mre]

The plastic type ones are what I'm looking for. In that color exactly actually. Though the canteen cup would be fine too. Just something better than a water bottle lol. I'd surely appreciate it. The closest surplus store to me is around 3 to 3 and half hours away and they're more of a camping supply store than anything else it seems like these days. I'm on limited income otherwise I'd just drive and find one or use eBay. I'm sure I'll end up doing the eBay route eventually. Just need to get a few extra bucks up which is tough especially since back to school just tapped us out for our two girls. Soon though I hope. Borrowed a video camera from a friend so I'll be setting up to do video reviews soon. I love this community so far and want to be able to do as much as I can to give back. Such a great group of folks. Thanks for the offer of help. Just let me know if you find something and I'll see what I might be able to pay or trade. Appreciate it highly.

For sure man' I'll be keeping my eye out for em'
I'll PM you if I find any,
Have a good one buddy