Granted there isn't much left in this ration but everything else stood the test of time. The crackers with peanut butter tasted great, even though they were incredibly thirst provoking. The orange beverage base and coffee helped with that! The Taster's Choice coffee that was included in this MRE was crystallized but I had a good one from a different ration laying around so I used that instead. I finished this ration off by eating the Tootsie Rolls and they tasted as good as new. Despite the main items of this MRE going bad, you can almost always count on the dry goods staying good despite their storage conditions.
1997 Beef with Mushrooms MRE Review
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SentientTootsieRoll
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1997 Beef with Mushrooms MRE Review
I recently placed an order for some MREs that were dated from the late 1990s/early 2000s on eBay. I paid more than I should have for them but I wanted to relive my childhood a bit since that's around the time I initially started eating MREs. (If anyone has any from this time period that they would be willing to part with, I may be interested in purchasing them. Feel free to PM me.) The first ration I grabbed was a 1997 Beef with Mushrooms MRE produced by AmeriQual Packaging.
After opening the outer bag, here's what the inside of the ration looked like: Here's a look at the items laid out on the tray: The beef with mushrooms and white rice in their retort pouches: Here were the components in the accessory packet. It included the standard coffee items with two Tootsie Rolls: And here is the MRE, fully prepared! I hate to say it, but this ration didn't quite make it. I believe the batch of rations I ordered were improperly stored over the years. The beef with mushrooms didn't smell or taste like much. I took a small bite and my tongue reacted very negatively to it. It was that typical sour/bitter feeling I get when trying bad rations. The rice on the other hand, actually tasted ok. It was buttery and a bit salty. After a few bites, it made my tongue slightly numb so I didn't eat much more after that. Although, it was tempting to continue eating all of it. I promptly flushed those items down the garbage disposal.
Granted there isn't much left in this ration but everything else stood the test of time. The crackers with peanut butter tasted great, even though they were incredibly thirst provoking. The orange beverage base and coffee helped with that! The Taster's Choice coffee that was included in this MRE was crystallized but I had a good one from a different ration laying around so I used that instead. I finished this ration off by eating the Tootsie Rolls and they tasted as good as new. Despite the main items of this MRE going bad, you can almost always count on the dry goods staying good despite their storage conditions.
After opening the outer bag, here's what the inside of the ration looked like: Here's a look at the items laid out on the tray: The beef with mushrooms and white rice in their retort pouches: Here were the components in the accessory packet. It included the standard coffee items with two Tootsie Rolls: And here is the MRE, fully prepared! I hate to say it, but this ration didn't quite make it. I believe the batch of rations I ordered were improperly stored over the years. The beef with mushrooms didn't smell or taste like much. I took a small bite and my tongue reacted very negatively to it. It was that typical sour/bitter feeling I get when trying bad rations. The rice on the other hand, actually tasted ok. It was buttery and a bit salty. After a few bites, it made my tongue slightly numb so I didn't eat much more after that. Although, it was tempting to continue eating all of it. I promptly flushed those items down the garbage disposal.
Granted there isn't much left in this ration but everything else stood the test of time. The crackers with peanut butter tasted great, even though they were incredibly thirst provoking. The orange beverage base and coffee helped with that! The Taster's Choice coffee that was included in this MRE was crystallized but I had a good one from a different ration laying around so I used that instead. I finished this ration off by eating the Tootsie Rolls and they tasted as good as new. Despite the main items of this MRE going bad, you can almost always count on the dry goods staying good despite their storage conditions.
Re: 1997 Beef with Mushrooms MRE Review
loved that meal 
to bad it didnt hold up...
cheers ken
to bad it didnt hold up...cheers ken