2005 Chili and Macaroni MRE Review

Reviews and taste-tests of any MREs from 1981-present
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SentientTootsieRoll
Posts: 463
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 2:26 pm
Location: US

2005 Chili and Macaroni MRE Review

Post by SentientTootsieRoll » Thu Nov 12, 2020 4:51 pm

A few days ago I wanted to try another old MRE for lunch so I grabbed this Chili and Macaroni ration produced by The Wornick Company in 2005.

Here's a look at the front and back of the ration.
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Here's what the inside of the ration pack looked like prior to removing the contents and a look at the contents laid out on a tray.
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Old candy packaging is always fun to examine. Here's what the back of the Skittles packaging looked like.
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And the chili and macaroni in its retort pouch. I put it in boiling water for about 10 minutes.
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If we take a look at the contents of the accessory packet, it includes ground red pepper, coffee and other standard components.
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Since this ration included cocoa and coffee, I decided to prepare an Army mocha!
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And here's the ration prepared and ready to eat!
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I think the chili and macaroni was just starting to go bad as it left a mild bitter/numb feeling on my tongue but it was still edible. It really didn't have much flavor. I seem to recall the current production version of this menu having a more spicy flavor. Either that's due to age or the recipe was just bland back then. I suppose that's why they included the ground red pepper. Ultimately, the texture of the noodles and beef were good but the flavor is where it was lacking.

The Skittles were starting to stick to the packaging but they don't taste any different than current production Skittles from what I can tell. I know that the green ones were lime flavored whereas now they are apple flavored. That's the only difference I know of. The cheese spread wasn't great since it was a bit grainy/chunky but it was still edible. I added it to the wheat snack bread, which was a bit hard and chewy compared to the current production wheat snack bread. I'm also not sure if that's due to age or a change in recipe.

I really enjoyed the creamsicle cookie. It was basically a chocolate chip cookie but with orange flavored chips added instead. It was crunchy and broke apart easily but still perfectly edible and full of sugary flavor. The mocha was a great way to finish of this ration, as always. The instant coffee doesn't do it enough justice. I can see why coffee instant type I is much more cherished since it adds a sharper, fresher coffee flavor to the mocha compared to the standard instant coffee included in this ration.

norge
Posts: 1708
Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2005 3:57 pm

Re: 2005 Chili and Macaroni MRE Review

Post by norge » Fri Nov 13, 2020 10:38 am

nice review, the cheese didnt look good... i always have a fresh cheese spread just in case :D

cheers ken

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