Today after my morning run, I decided to try one more of the old MREs I have. This one is about 12 1/2 years old, packed in mid to late 1996. I have been intrigued by the description. I wasn't sure what to expect. Would it be a slice of ham with potatoes in a sauce? A bag of diced potatoes with bits of ham thrown in for flavoring?
I opened the bag. The seam appeared to tear open more easily than the new MREs. Immediately, I was surprised. The entree box had handwriting on it. Above the printed label "ESCALLOPED POTATOES WITH HAM THERMOSTABILIZED" someone had handwritten with a black marker DIT 19, then scratched over the 19 and wrote 16. Never saw anything like that in a sealed MRE bag before.
Everything was packed in the older style dark brown and dark green bags. It's hard to read the black printing on the dark brown bags. The heater performed admirably, heating up the vintage pork in ten minutes. I kneaded the cheese spread before opening it. It was a little darker in color (but not much) and had a sharper taste, more like aged cheddar cheese. There was some oil separation evident if I put it on a cracker, then moved it. MRE crackers must be indestructible because these were fine after such a long voyage through time. The cheese wasn't creamy, but still very edible. The applesauce was a little darker in color, a little more brown than yellow, and had a tartness to it. The gum in the accessory pack looked like the outer candy coating was starting to break down. The surprise was the grape beverage powder. When I opened the package, it smelled moldy. The powder had two distinct colors. I poured it into water and what was left in the pack stuck to the sides. I stirred it and it still smelled musty. A cautious tiny sip still revealed a musty flavor so the beverage was discarded. The coffee pack smelled and tasted like coffee. The sugar, creamer and salt seemed about normal, but I could feel that the sugar and creamer had started to harden.
At last, the main course was heated. I opened it and right away learned why many of you speak so highly of this now discontinued meal. The envelope was filled with diced ham, with a diced potato here and there. This was all meat - and tasty meat. I ate it and felt quite full after. This is one of my favorites of all the MREs I've eaten, and that's saying a lot for a meal that was cooked back when my high school aged son was still potty training.
For dessert, I opened the "FUDGE BROWNIE SHELF STABLE". It was very good, though dense. It had a dry feel in the mouth, but a moistness when it was broken up by hand. The chocolate taste was very good - another successful journey through time. I was too full to try the cocoa beverage powder so I put it aside for another time.
My overall impression is happy surprise at the longevity of the MRE. The purpose of these experiments is to gain some real knowledge of how long my fresh MREs will last in storage. While I will continue to open and test each vintage meal with caution, having found one component inedible in each MRE older than a decade, I have found that I can count on them to feed me in an emergency well beyond their inspection dates.
Oh, and 1996 was a very good year for ham.
Menu No. 16 - Escalloped Potatoes With Ham - 1996
Re: Menu No. 16 - Escalloped Potatoes With Ham - 1996
Nice review. Yes, that Escalloped Potaties with Ham was a pretty good entree - I'm sorry to see it go. Maybe they'll start bringing back some of these "vintage" menus at some point.
Re: Menu No. 16 - Escalloped Potatoes With Ham - 1996
That menu as well as the classic ham slice were definitely some of my favorites and I am sad to have seen them go.