2002 Cheese Tortellini MRE Review

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

2002 Cheese Tortellini MRE Review

Post by SentientTootsieRoll » Sat Mar 06, 2021 4:42 pm

I was feeling adventurous again one afternoon and wanted to try another expired MRE. So I grabbed a 2002 Cheese Tortellini ration. Let's take a look and see what's in it!
IMG_0046.JPG
IMG_0047.JPG
IMG_0048.JPG
Here is a closeup of the cheese tortellini and the applesauce in their retort pouches.
IMG_0049.JPG
And here's the entire meal, prepared!
IMG_0051.JPG
As you may be able to tell by looking at the photos, this ration was pretty heat stressed, I believe. First of all, the cheese tortellini didn't taste terrible. The sauce was nicely seasoned if not a bit sweet. The cheese on the inside of the tortellini was a bit dark, almost brown in color. While I could eat it and be okay, I was afraid of having a minor stomach ache after the fact so I didn't eat much of it. The noodles were perfectly soft and the cheese tasted a bit sour.

The applesauce was still edible but somewhat fermented. Again, I could have ate all of it but decided against that, mostly because it just tasted like old, expired, overripe apples. The pound cake tasted okay for a few bites, but as I ate more of it towards the center of the cake, my tongue was starting to feel numb and bitter. I couldn't bring myself to eat the rest of it. I wonder what went bad in it.

The Charms were a surprising treat, but they didn't hold up either. They tasted great, but had softened over time and made my hands very sticky when I tried to unwrap the individual pieces. I stuck through it and ate all of them, they were simply too good to pass up.

The crackers and peanut butter tasted great and as they should. Lastly, the apple cider and iced tea included in the accessory packet gave me the opportunity to end this ration eating experience on a positive note as they tasted great.

Post Reply